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Description
Galaxy clusters provide unique laboratories to study astrophysical processes on large scales and are important probes for cosmology. X-ray observations are currently the best means of detecting and characterizing galaxy clusters. Therefore X-ray surveys for galaxy clusters are one of the best ways to obtain a statistical census of the galaxy cluster population. In this paper we describe the construction of the REFLEX II galaxy cluster survey based on the southern part of the ROSAT All-Sky Survey. REFLEX II extends the REFLEX I survey by a factor of about two down to a flux limit of 1.8x10^-12^erg/s/cm^2^ (0.1-2.4keV). We describe the determination of the X-ray parameters, the process of X-ray source identification, and the construction of the survey selection function. The REFLEX II cluster sample comprises currently 915 objects. A standard selection function is derived for a lower source count limit of 20 photons in addition to the flux limit. The median redshift of the sample is z=0.102. Internal consistency checks and the comparison to several other galaxy cluster surveys imply that REFLEX II is better than 90% complete with a contamination less than 10%. With this publication we give a comprehensive statistical description of the REFLEX II survey and provide all the complementary information necessary for a proper modelling of the survey for astrophysical and cosmological applications.
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