Structural and scaling properties of galaxy clusters: probing the physics of structure formation

We present XMM-Newton studies of the total mass, gas density, temperature and entropy profiles in nearby hot and cool clusters, together with follow-up observations of distant clusters from the SHARC Survey. The observed structural and scaling properties are compared with the predictions of the self-similar model of cluster formation. These data indicate that clusters do form a self-similar population down to low mass and up to high redshift, and give support to the standard picture of structure formation for the dark matter component. However, deviations from the standard scaling laws confirm that the specific physics of the gas component is still insufficiently understood.