The Hot and Energetic Universe: The evolution of galaxy groups and
  clusters
  Major astrophysical questions related to the formation and evolution of
structures, and more specifically of galaxy groups and clusters, will still be
open in the coming decade and beyond: what is the interplay of galaxy,
supermassive black hole, and intergalactic gas evolution in the most massive
objects in the Universe - galaxy groups and clusters? What are the processes
driving the evolution of chemical enrichment of the hot diffuse gas in
large-scale structures? How and when did the first galaxy groups in the
Universe, massive enough to bind more than 10^7 K gas, form? Focussing on the
period when groups and clusters assembled (0.5<z<2.5), we show that, due to the
continuum and line emission of this hot intergalactic gas at X-ray wavelengths,
Athena+, combining high sensitivity with excellent spectral and spatial
resolution, will deliver breakthrough observations in view of the
aforementioned issues. Indeed, the physical and chemical properties of the hot
intra-cluster gas, and their evolution across time, are a key to understand the
co-evolution of galaxy and supermassive black hole within their environments.
