Suzaku Observations of the Cluster Outskirts and Intercluster Filament in the Triple Merger Cluster A98

We present Suzaku observations of the Abell 98 (A98) triple galaxy cluster system and the purported intercluster filament. The three subclusters are expected to lie along a large-scale cosmic filament. With partial azimuthal coverage of the northernmost cluster, we find that the inferred entropy profile of this relatively low-mass cluster (kT approximate to 2.8 keV) adheres to expectations from models of self-similar pure gravitational collapse in the region of the virial r.dius. There is evidence of extended structure beyond r(200) to the north of the northernmost cluster, along the merger axis, with properties consistent that are expected for the warm-hot intergalactic medium (kT = 0.11(-0.02)(+0.01) keV and n(e) = 7.6 x 10(-5) +/- 3.6 x 10(-5) cm(-3)). No such emission is detected at the same radius in regions away from the merger axis, consistent with the expectation that the merger axis of this triple system lies along a large-scale cosmic filament. In the bridge region between A98N and A98S, there is evidence of filamentary emission at the 2.2 sigma level, as well as a tentative detection of cool gas (kT similar to 1 keV). The entropy profile of this intercluster filament suggests that the A98 system is most likely aligned closer to the plane of the sky rather than along the line of sight. The structure to the north of the system, as well as inbetween A98N and A98S, is indicative that the clusters are connected to a larger-scale structure spanning at least 4 Mpc.