scholarly journals The mergers in Abell 2256: displaced gas and its connection to the radio-emitting plasma

2020 ◽  
Vol 495 (4) ◽  
pp. 5014-5026 ◽  
Author(s):  
J P Breuer ◽  
N Werner ◽  
F Mernier ◽  
T Mroczkowski ◽  
A Simionescu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We present the results of deep Chandra and XMM–Newton X-ray imaging and spatially resolved spectroscopy of Abell 2256, a nearby (z = 0.058) galaxy cluster experiencing multiple mergers and displaying a rich radio morphology dominated by a large relic. The X-ray data reveal three subclusters: (i) the ‘main cluster’; (ii) the remnant of an older merger in the east of the cluster with an ∼600 kpc-long tail; (iii) a bright, bullet-like, low-entropy infalling system, with a large line-of-sight velocity component. The low-entropy system displays a 250 kpc-long cold front with a break and an intriguing surface brightness decrement. Interestingly, the infalling gas is not co-spatial with bright galaxies and the radio-loud brightest cluster galaxy of the infalling group appears dissociated from the low-entropy plasma by ∼50 kpc in projection, to the south of the eastern edge of the cold front. Assuming that the dark matter follows the galaxy distribution, we predict that it is also significantly offset from the low-entropy gas. Part of the low-frequency radio emission near the cold front might be revived by magnetic field amplification due to differential gas motions. Using analytical models and numerical simulations, we investigate the possibility that the supersonic infall of the subcluster generates a large-scale shock along our line of sight, which can be detected in the X-ray temperature map but is not associated with any clear features in the surface brightness distribution.

2018 ◽  
Vol 618 ◽  
pp. A74 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Urdampilleta ◽  
H. Akamatsu ◽  
F. Mernier ◽  
J. S. Kaastra ◽  
J. de Plaa ◽  
...  

We present an X-ray spectral analysis of the nearby double radio relic merging cluster Abell 3376 (z = 0.046), observed with the Suzaku XIS instrument. These deep (∼360 ks) observations cover the entire double relic region in the outskirts of the cluster. These diffuse radio structures are amongst the largest and arc-shaped relics observed in combination with large-scale X-ray shocks in a merging cluster. We confirm the presence of a stronger shock (ℳW = 2.8 ± 0.4) in the western direction at r ∼ 26′, derived from a temperature and surface brightness discontinuity across the radio relic. In the east, we detect a weaker shock (ℳE = 1.5 ± 0.1) at r ∼ 8′, possibly associated with the “notch” of the eastern relic, and a cold front at r ∼ 3′. Based on the shock speed calculated from the Mach numbers, we estimate that the dynamical age of the shock front is ∼0.6 Gyr after core passage, indicating that Abell 3376 is still an evolving merging cluster and that the merger is taking place close to the plane of the sky. These results are consistent with simulations and optical and weak lensing studies from the literature.


1990 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 232-239
Author(s):  
Wallace Tucker

AbstractArguments against the existence of large scale cooling flows in clusters of galaxies are presented. The evidence for cooling flows is all circumstantial, consisting of observations of cool gas or hot gas with a radiative cooling time less than the Hubble time, or a central peak in the x-ray surface brightness profile. There is no evidence for large quantities (several tens to several hundreds of solar masses per year) of matter actually flowing anywhere. On the contrary, several lines of evidence — stellar dynamics, observations of the amount of star formation, x-ray surface brightness observations, theoretical calculations of the growth of thermal instabilities, the amount of cold gas — suggest that cooling flows, if they exist, must be suppressed by one to two orders of magnitude from the values implied by simple estimates based on the radiative cooling time of the x-ray emitting gas. Two heat sources which might accomplish this — thermal conduction and relativistic particles, are considered and an alternative to the standard model for cooling flows is presented: an accretion flow with feedback wherein the accretion of gas into a massive black hole in the central galaxy generates high energy particles that heat the gas and act to limit the accretion.


2004 ◽  
Vol 217 ◽  
pp. 70-76
Author(s):  
Michael D. Gregg ◽  
Michael J. West

Gravitational interactions in rich clusters can strip material from the outer parts of galaxies or even completely disrupt entire systems, giving rise to large scale, low surface brightness ghostly features stretching across intergalactic space. The nearby Coma and Centaurus clusters both have striking examples of galaxy ghosts, in the form of 100 kpc-long plumes of intergalactic debris. By searching HST archival images, we have found numerous other examples of galaxy ghosts in rich clusters at low redshift, evidence that galaxy destruction and recycling are ubiquitous, important in cluster formation and evolution, and continue to mold clusters at the present epoch. Many ghosts appear in X-ray bright clusters, perhaps signaling a connection with energetic subcluster mergers.The fate of such material has important ramifications for cluster evolution. Our new HST WFPC2 V & I images of a portion of the Centaurus plume reveal that it contains an excess of discrete objects with −12 < MV < −6, consistent with being globular clusters or smaller dwarf galaxies. This tidally liberated material is being recycled directly into the intracluster population of stars, dwarf galaxies, globular clusters, and gas, which may have been built largely from a multitude of similar events over the life of the cluster.


2019 ◽  
Vol 486 (1) ◽  
pp. L80-L84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruta Kale ◽  
Krishna M Shende ◽  
Viral Parekh

ABSTRACT Diffuse radio sources associated with the intra-cluster medium are direct probes of the cosmic ray electrons and magnetic fields. We report the discovery of a diffuse radio source in the galaxy cluster RXCJ0232.2–4420 (SPT-CL J0232–4421, z = 0.2836) using 606 MHz observations with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. The diffuse radio source surrounds the Brightest Cluster Galaxy in the cluster-like typical radio mini-haloes. However the total extent of it is 550 × 800 kpc2, which is larger than mini-haloes and similar to that of radio haloes. The BCG itself is also a radio source with a marginally resolved core at 7 arcsec (30 kpc) resolution. We measure the 606 MHz flux density of the RH to be 52 ± 5 mJy. Assuming a spectral index of 1.3, the 1.4 GHz radio power is 4.5 × 1024 W Hz−1. The dynamical state of the cluster has been inferred to be 'relaxed’ and also as 'complex’, depending on the classification methods based on the morphology of the X-ray surface brightness. This system thus seems to be in the transition phase from a mini-halo to a radio halo.


Author(s):  
Haihong Guo ◽  
Michael A. Spall

AbstractThe wind-driven exchange through complex ridges and islands between marginal seas and the open ocean is studied using both numerical and analytical models. The models are forced by a steady, spatially uniform northward wind stress intended to represent the large-scale, low-frequency wind patterns typical of the seasonal monsoons in the western Pacific Ocean. There is an eastward surface Ekman transport out of the marginal sea and westward geostrophic inflows into the marginal sea. The interaction between the Ekman transport and an island chain produces strong baroclinic flows along the island boundaries with a vertical depth that scales with the ratio of the inertial boundary layer thickness to the baroclinic deformation radius. The throughflows in the gaps are characterized by maximum transport in the center gap and decreasing transports towards the southern and northern tips of the island chain. An extended island rule theory demonstrates that throughflows are determined by the collective balance between viscosity on the meridional boundaries and the eastern side boundary of the islands. The outflowing transport is balanced primarily by a shallow current that enters the marginal sea along its equatorward boundary. The islands can block some direct exchange and result in a wind-driven overturning cell within the marginal sea, but this is compensated for by eastward zonal jets around the southern and northern tips of the island chain. Topography in the form of a deep slope, a ridge, or shallow shelves around the islands alters the current pathways but ultimately is unable to limit the total wind-driven exchange between the marginal sea and the open ocean.


1986 ◽  
Vol 310 ◽  
pp. 637 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Trinchieri ◽  
G. Fabbiano ◽  
C. R. Canizares

2020 ◽  
Vol 496 (3) ◽  
pp. 3076-3100
Author(s):  
Stefano de Nicola ◽  
Roberto P Saglia ◽  
Jens Thomas ◽  
Walter Dehnen ◽  
Ralf Bender

ABSTRACT We present a grid-based non-parametric approach to obtain a triaxial 3D luminosity density from its surface brightness distribution. Triaxial deprojection is highly degenerate and our approach illustrates the resulting difficulties. Fortunately, for massive elliptical galaxies, many deprojections for a particular line of sight (LOS) can be discarded, because their projection along other LOSs does not resemble elliptical galaxies. The near-elliptical isophotes of these objects imply near ellipsoidal intrinsic shapes. In fact, deprojection is unique for densities distributed on ellipsoidal shells. The constrained non-parametric deprojection method we present here relaxes this constraint and assumes that the contours of the luminosity density are boxy/discy ellipsoids with radially varying axis ratios. With this approach, we are able to reconstruct the intrinsic triaxial densities of our test models, including one drawn from an N-body simulation. The method also allows to compare the relative likelihood of deprojections at different viewing angles. We show that the viewing orientations of individual galaxies with nearly ellipsoidal isophotal shapes can be constrained from photometric data alone.


Author(s):  
Majidul Rahaman ◽  
Ramij Raja ◽  
Abhirup Datta ◽  
Jack O Burns ◽  
Brian Alden ◽  
...  

Abstract We present results from Chandra X-ray observations and 325 MHz Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) observations of the massive and X-ray luminous cluster of galaxies Abell S1063. We report the detection of large-scale “excess brightness” in the residual Chandra X-ray surface brightness map, which extends at least 2.7 Mpc towards the north-east from the center of the cluster. We also present a high fidelity X-ray flux and temperature map using Chandra archival data of 122 ksec, which shows the disturbed morphology in the cluster. The residual flux map shows the first observational confirmation of the merging axis proposed in earlier simulations. The average temperature within R500 is 11.7 ± 0.56 keV, which makes AS1063 one of the hottest clusters in the nearby Universe. The integrated radio flux density at 325 MHz is found to be 62.0 ± 6.3 mJy. The integrated spectrum of the radio halo follows a power-law with a spectral index α = −1.43 ± 0.13. The radio halo is found to be significantly under-luminous, which favored for both the hadronic as well as the turbulent re-acceleration mechanism for its origin.


2001 ◽  
Vol 556 (2) ◽  
pp. 590-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg L. Bryan ◽  
G. Mark Voit

2018 ◽  
Vol 618 ◽  
pp. A45 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Brienza ◽  
R. Morganti ◽  
M. Murgia ◽  
N. Vilchez ◽  
B. Adebahr ◽  
...  

Context. Radio loud active galactic nuclei (AGN) are episodic in nature, cycling through periods of activity and quiescence. The study of this duty cycle has recently gained new relevance because of the importance of AGN feedback for galaxy evolution. Aims. In this work we investigate the duty cycle of the radio galaxy B2 0258+35, which was previously suggested to be a restarted radio galaxy based on its morphology. The radio source consists of a pair of kpc-scale jets embedded in two large-scale lobes (∼240 kpc) with relaxed shape and very low surface brightness, which resemble remnants of a past AGN activity. Methods. We have combined new LOFAR data at 145 MHz and new Sardinia Radio Telescope data at 6600 MHz with available WSRT data at 1400 MHz to investigate the spectral properties of the outer lobes and derive their age. Results. Interestingly, the spectrum of both the outer northern and southern lobes is not ultra-steep as expected for an old ageing plasma with spectral index values equal to α1451400 = 0.48 ± 0.11 and α14006600 = 0.69 ± 0.20 in the outer northern lobe, and α1451400 = 0.73 ± 0.07 in the outer southern lobe. Moreover, despite the wide frequency coverage available for the outer northern lobe (145–6600 MHz), we do not identify a significant spectral curvature (SPC ≃ 0.2 ± 0.2). Conclusions. While mechanisms such as in-situ particle reacceleration, mixing or compression can temporarily play a role in preventing the spectrum from steepening, in no case seem the outer lobes to be compatible with being very old remnants of past activity as previously suggested (with age ≳ 80 Myr). We conclude that either the large-scale lobes are still fuelled by the nuclear engine or the jets have switched off no more than a few tens of Myr ago, allowing us to observe both the inner and outer structure simultaneously. Our study shows the importance of combining morphological and spectral properties to reliably classify the evolutionary stage of low surface brightness, diffuse emission that low frequency observations are revealing around a growing number of radio sources.


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