AMICO-COSMOS galaxy cluster and group catalogue up to z=2: Sample properties and X-ray counterparts

Aims. We present the results of a new galaxy cluster search in the COSMOS field obtained using the Adaptive Matched Identifier of Clustered Objects (AMICO). Our aim was to produce a new cluster and group catalogue up to z = 2 by performing an innovative application of AMICO with respect to previous successful applications to wide-field surveys in terms of depth (down to r < 26.7), small area covered (similar to 1.69 deg(2) of unmasked effective area), and redshift extent. This sample and the comparative analysis we performed with the X-rays, allowed for the calibration of mass-proxy scaling relations up to z = 2 and down to less than 10(13) M-circle dot, and constitutes the basis for the refinement of the cluster model for future applications of AMICO, such as the analysis of upcoming Euclid data. Methods. The AMICO algorithm is based on an optimal linear matched filter and detects clusters in photometric galaxy catalogues using galaxy location, photometric redshift and, in the simplest case, one galaxy property. We chose to use a single magnitude as the galaxy property, avoiding the explicit use of galaxy colour for the selection of clusters. We used three different magnitudes by performing three independent runs in the r-, Y-, and H-bands using both COSMOS2020 and COSMOS2015 galaxy catalogues. We created a composite visibility mask and cluster models for the signal to detect, and we estimated the noise directly from the data. Results. We performed a matching of the catalogues resulting from the three runs and merged them to produce a final catalogue that contains 1269 and 666 candidate clusters and groups with S/N > 3.0 and > 3.5, respectively. A total of 490 candidates are detected in all three runs. Most of the detections unmatched between runs have S/N < 3.5, which can be set as a threshold for selecting a more robust sample. We assigned X-ray properties to our detections by matching the catalogue with a public X-ray selected group sample and by estimating, for unmatched detections, the X-ray properties at the location of AMICO candidates using Chandra+XMM-Newton data. There are in total 622 candidate clusters and groups with an X-ray flux estimate. This large sample of candidates with X-ray properties allowed the calibration of the scaling relations between two AMICO mass-proxies (richness and cluster amplitude) and X-ray mass and the study of their redshift dependence for the selection of the most stable photometric bands.