Corrected empirical limits show the most massive galaxies never exceed the theoretical baryonic maximum of 0.16 times halo virial mass, keeping observations consistent with LambdaCDM at all redshifts.
The most massive objects in the Universe
2 Pith papers cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.
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abstract
We calculate the most massive object in the Universe, finding it to be a cluster of galaxies with total mass M_200=3.8e15 Msun at z=0.22, with the 1 sigma marginalized regions being 3.3e15 Msun<M<4.4e15 Msun and 0.12<z<0.36. We restrict ourselves to self-gravitating bound objects, and base our results on halo mass functions derived from N-body simulations. Since we consider the very highest mass objects, the number of candidates is expected to be small, and therefore each candidate can be extensively observed and characterized. If objects are found with excessively large masses, or insufficient objects are found near the maximum expected mass, this would be a strong indication of the failure of LambdaCDM. The expected range of the highest masses is very sensitive to redshift, providing an additional evolutionary probe of LambdaCDM. We find that the three most massive clusters in the recent SPT 178 deg^2 catalog match predictions, while XMMU J2235.3--2557 is roughly 3 sigma inconsistent with LambdaCDM. We discuss Abell 2163 and Abell 370 as candidates for the most massive cluster in the Universe, although uncertainties in their masses preclude definitive comparisons with theory. Our findings motivate further observations of the highest mass end of the mass function. Future surveys will explore larger volumes, and the most massive object in the Universe may be identified within the next decade. The mass distribution of the largest objects in the Universe is a potentially powerful test of LambdaCDM, probing non-Gaussianity and the behavior of gravity on large scales.
years
2026 2representative citing papers
ComPACT is a new SZ-selected galaxy cluster catalogue from CNN analysis of ACT+Planck data with 2,962 candidates, ~60% confirmation, 116 new redshifts, 158 new masses, and five new massive clusters at z>0.7 that increase the known high-mass high-z population by ~10%.
citing papers explorer
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Empirical estimates of how massive galaxies can be in {\Lambda}CDM
Corrected empirical limits show the most massive galaxies never exceed the theoretical baryonic maximum of 0.16 times halo virial mass, keeping observations consistent with LambdaCDM at all redshifts.
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ComPACT: Mass-Redshift Properties of the galaxy cluster catalogue
ComPACT is a new SZ-selected galaxy cluster catalogue from CNN analysis of ACT+Planck data with 2,962 candidates, ~60% confirmation, 116 new redshifts, 158 new masses, and five new massive clusters at z>0.7 that increase the known high-mass high-z population by ~10%.