Measuring metal abundances in galaxy clusters and groups in the era of high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy

An essential component of the cosmic cycle of metals is found in the hot, X-ray emitting gas pervading clusters and groups of galaxies, as well as the cosmic web. On paper, the (near) collisional ionization equilibrium of this intracluster medium (ICM) allows extraordinarily accurate measurements of its abundances – potentially allowing for a thorough understanding of the chemical history and dynamics of our Universe, as well as the stellar physics and evolution on the largest scales. In practice, however, the limited spectral resolution of past X-ray missions is known to induce biases and systematic uncertainties in our abundance measurements, hence restricting the physical interpretation on chemical enrichment processes and history at Mpc scales. In this presentation, we will use mock cluster observations from various X-ray observatories (at CCD-like, high, and very high resolutions) to quantify such biases – in Fe and other key elemental abundances as well. Doing so, we will provide a fresh view on the abundance reliability from (and enrichment-related questions answered by) past, present, and future X-ray spectroscopy.