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We present a gravitational lensing and X-ray analysis of a massive galaxy cluster and its surroundings. The core of MACS J0717.5+3745 ($M(R\lt 1\, {\rm Mpc})\sim$ $2 \times 10^{15}\, \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$, $z$ = 0.54) is already known to contain four merging components. We show that this is surrounded by at least seven additional substructures with masses ranging $3.8{-}6.5\times 10^{13}\, \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$, at projected radii 1.6–4.9 Mpc. We compare MACS J0717 to mock lensing and X-ray observations of similarly rich clusters in cosmological simulations. The low gas fraction of substructures predicted by simulations turns out to match our observed values of 1–$4{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. Comparing our data to three similar simulated haloes, we infer a typical growth rate and substructure infall velocity. That suggests MACS J0717 could evolve into a system similar to, but more massive than, Abell 2744 by $z$ = 0.31, and into a ∼ $10^{16}\, \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$ supercluster by $z$ = 0. The radial distribution of infalling substructure suggests that merger events are strongly episodic; however, we find that the smooth accretion of surrounding material remains the main source of mass growth even for such massive clusters.

 

Abstract. This work measured $ \mathrm{d}\sigma/\mathrm{d}\Omega$ d σ / d Ω for neutral kaon photoproduction reactions from threshold up to a c.m. energy of 1855MeV, focussing specifically on the $ \gamma p\rightarrow K^0\Sigma^+$ γ p → K 0 Σ + , $ \gamma n\rightarrow K^0\Lambda$ γ n → K 0 Λ , and $ \gamma n\rightarrow K^0 \Sigma^0$ γ n → K 0 Σ 0 reactions. Our results for $ \gamma n\rightarrow K^0 \Sigma^0$ γ n → K 0 Σ 0 are the first-ever measurements for that reaction. These data will provide insight into the properties of $ N^{\ast}$ N * resonances and, in particular, will lead to an improved knowledge about those states that couple only weakly to the $ \pi N$ π N channel. Integrated cross sections were extracted by fitting the differential cross sections for each reaction as a series of Legendre polynomials and our results are compared with prior experimental results and theoretical predictions.