A Multiwavelength Approach to Constraining the Merger Properties of ACT-CL J0034.4+0225

ACT-CL J0034.4+0225 is a previously unrecognized merging galaxy cluster at z = 0.38588 +/- 0.00068. Our primary evidence is provided by a 21 ks Chandra image that shows two surface brightness peaks separated by similar to 49 '' (259 kpc) surrounded by an extended cluster gas distribution. Each gas peak contains a brightest cluster galaxy, offset from the gas peak. We collect new South African Large Telescope optical spectra that, when augmented by archival data, yield redshifts for the two BGCs and 58 other cluster members. Archival Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope and MeerKAT data reveal a radio halo that encompasses the X-ray peaks. We provide and compare three X-ray-based mass estimates (5.0 x 1014 M circle dot, 6.4 x 1014 M circle dot, and 8.6 x 1014 M circle dot). The Planck and ACT Sunyaev-Zel'dovich masses are approximate to 5.8 x 1014 M circle dot. We constrain the merger state and properties by comparing them to an existing suite of N-body/hydrodynamical models using the measured gas peak separation (259 kpc, projected) and radial velocity difference (0-1000 km s-1). This constrains the epoch of the merger to be within similar to 100 Myr of first pericenter passage. A strong lensing analysis constrains the mass ratio to be in the range 1:1-1:20, while the cluster morphology prefers values near the equal-mass range.