Insights into the location and dynamics of the coolest X-ray emitting gas in clusters of galaxies

Abstract

We extend our previous study of the cool gas responsible for the emission of O VII X-ray lines in the cores of clusters and groups of galaxies. This is the coolest X-ray emitting phase and connects the 10 000 K H alpha emitting gas to the million degree phase, providing a useful tool to understand cooling in these objects. We study the location of the O VII gas and its connection to the intermediate Fe XVII and hotter O VIII phases. We use high-resolution X-ray grating spectra of elliptical galaxies with strong Fe XVII line emission and detect O VII in 11 of 24 objects. Comparing the O VII detection level and resonant scattering, which is sensitive to turbulence and temperature, suggests that O VII is preferably found in cooler objects, where the Fe XVII resonant line is suppressed due to resonant scattering, indicating subsonic turbulence. Although a larger sample of sources and further observations is needed to distinguish between effects from temperature and turbulence, our results are consistent with cooling being suppressed at high turbulence as predicted by models of active galactic nuclei feedback, gas sloshing and galactic mergers. In some objects, the O VII resonant-to-forbidden line ratio is decreased by either resonant scattering or charge exchange boosting the forbidden line, as we show for NGC 4636. Charge exchange indicates interaction between neutral and ionized gas phases. The Perseus cluster also shows a high Fe XVII forbidden-to-resonance line ratio, which can be explained with resonant scattering by low-turbulence cool gas in the line of sight.Peer reviewe