The Next Generation of High-z Cluster Studies (Anthony Flores)

The Intracluster Medium (ICM) encodes the integrated history of cosmic feedback processes from the formation of their host systems to the moment of observations. In order to determine the profound effects Active Galactic Nuclei and Star Formation processes have on the evolution of galaxy clusters, we require spatially resolved X-ray measurements of the ICM out to high-z. While the current generation of X-ray instruments (Chandra+XMM-Newton) have provided crucial insights into cluster evolution at low-to-intermediate redshifts, they struggle significantly at high redshift where both high spatial resolution and soft sensitivity are required to fully characterize these systems. The Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS) will revolutionize the field of high-z cluster science, extending thermodynamic and chemical measurements of the ICM into the period of Cosmic Noon and placing tight constraints on when and how AGN and SF processes influenced the evolution of the most massive objects in the Universe.