Density Profiles of ΛCDM Clusters

We analyze the mass accretion histories (MAHs) and density profiles of cluster- size halos with virial masses of 0. 6-2. 5x10¹4/h Msun in a flat LCDM cosmology. In agreement with previous studies, we find that the concentration of the density distribution is tightly correlated with the halo's MAH and its formation redshift. During the period of fast mass growth the concentration remains approximately constant and low cᵥ ~ 3-4, while during the slow accretion stages it increases with decreasing redshift as cᵥ ~ (1+z) ^-1. We consider fits of three widely discussed analytic density profiles to the simulated clusters focusing on the most relaxed inner regions. We find that there is no unique best fit analytic profile for all the systems. If, however, a cluster is best fit by a particular analytic profile at z=0, the same is usually true at earlier epochs out to z ~ 1-2. The local logarithmic slope of the density profiles at 3% of the virial radius ranges from -1. 2 to -2. 0, a remarkable diversity for the relatively narrow mass range of our cluster sample. For all the studied clusters the logarithmic slope becomes shallower with decreasing radius without reaching an asymptotic value down to the smallest resolved scale < ~1% of the virial radius. We do not find a clear correlation of the inner slope with the formation redshift or the shape of the halo's MAH. We do find, however, that during the period of rapid mass growth the density profiles can be well described by a single power law rho (r) ~ r^-gamma with gamma ~ 1. 5-2. The relatively shallow power law slopes result in low concentrations at these stages of evolution. This indicates that the inner power law like density distribution of halos is built up during the periods of rapid mass accretion and active merging, while outer steeper profile is formed when the mass accretion is slow.