Athena X-IFU synthetic observations of galaxy clusters to probe the
  chemical enrichment of the Universe
  Answers to the metal production of the Universe can be found in galaxy
clusters, notably within their Intra-Cluster Medium (ICM). The X-ray Integral
Field Unit (X-IFU) on board the next-generation European X-ray observatory
Athena (2030s) will provide the necessary leap forward in spatially-resolved
spectroscopy required to disentangle the intricate mechanisms responsible for
this chemical enrichment. In this paper, we investigate the future capabilities
of the X-IFU in probing the hot gas within galaxy clusters. From a test sample
of four clusters extracted from cosmological hydrodynamical simulations, we
present comprehensive synthetic observations of these clusters at different
redshifts (up to z = 2) and within the scaled radius R500 performed using the
instrument simulator SIXTE. Through 100 ks exposures, we demonstrate that the
X-IFU will provide spatially-resolved mapping of the ICM physical properties
with little to no biases (<5%) and well within statistical uncertainties. The
detailed study of abundance profiles and abundance ratios within R500 also
highlights the power of the X-IFU in providing constraints on the various
enrichment models. From synthetic observations out to z = 2, we also quantify
its ability to track the chemical elements across cosmic time with excellent
accuracy, and thereby to investigate the evolution of metal production
mechanisms as well as the link to the stellar initial mass-function. Our study
demonstrates the unprecedented capabilities of the X-IFU in unveiling the
properties of the ICM but also stresses the data analysis challenges faced by
future high-resolution X-ray missions such as Athena.
