135 research outputs found
The rich cluster of galaxies ABCG~85. IV. Emission line galaxies, luminosity function and dynamical properties
This paper is the fourth of a series dealing with the cluster of galaxies
ABCG 85. Using our two extensive photometric and spectroscopic catalogues (with
4232 and 551 galaxies respectively), we discuss here three topics derived from
optical data. First, we present the properties of emission line versus
non-emission line galaxies, showing that their spatial distributions somewhat
differ; emission line galaxies tend to be more concentrated in the south region
where groups appear to be falling onto the main cluster, in agreement with the
hypothesis (presented in our previous paper) that this infall may create a
shock which can heat the X-ray emitting gas and also enhance star formation in
galaxies. Then, we analyze the luminosity function in the R band, which shows
the presence of a dip similar to that observed in other clusters at comparable
absolute magnitudes; this result is interpreted as due to comparable
distributions of spirals, ellipticals and dwarfs in these various clusters.
Finally, we present the dynamical analysis of the cluster using parametric and
non-parametric methods and compare the dynamical mass profiles obtained from
the X-ray and optical data.Comment: accepted for publication in A&
The rich cluster of galaxies ABCG 85. III. Analyzing the ABCG 85/87/89 complex
We present a combined X-ray and optical analysis of the ABCG 85/87/89 complex
of clusters of galaxies, based on the ROSAT PSPC image, optical photometric
catalogues (Slezak et al. 1998), and an optical redshift catalogue (Durret et
al. 1998). From this combined data set, we find striking alignments at all
scales at PA160\deg. At small scales, the cD galaxy in ABCG 85 and the
brightest galaxies in the cluster are aligned along this PA. At a larger scale,
X-ray emission defines a comparable PA south-southeast of ABCG 85 towards ABCG
87, with a patchy X-ray structure very different from the regular shape of the
optical galaxy distribution in ABCG 87. The galaxy velocities in the ABCG 87
region show the existence of subgroups, which all have an X-ray counterpart,
and seem to be falling onto ABCG 85 along a filament almost perpendicular to
the plane of the sky. To the west of ABCG 85, ABCG 89 appears as a significant
galaxy density enhancement, but is barely detected at X-ray wavelengths. The
galaxy velocities reveal that in fact this is not a cluster but two groups with
very different velocities superimposed along the line of sight. These two
groups appear to be located in intersecting sheets on opposite sides of a large
bubble. These data and their interpretation reinforce the cosmological scenario
in which matter, including galaxies, groups and gas, falls onto the cluster
along a filament.Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Unveiling hidden structures in the Coma cluster
We have assembled a large data-set of 613 galaxy redshifts in the Coma
cluster, the largest presently available for a cluster of galaxies. We have
defined a sample of cluster members complete to b, using a
membership criterion based on the galaxy velocity, when available, or on the
galaxy magnitude and colour, otherwise. Such a data set allows us to define
nearly complete samples within a region of 1~\Mpc\ radius, with a sufficient
number of galaxies per sample to make statistical analyses possible. Using this
sample and the {\em ROSAT} PSPC X--ray image of the cluster, we have
re-analyzed the structure and kinematics of Coma, by applying the wavelet and
adaptive kernel techniques. A striking coincidence of features is found in the
distributions of galaxies and hot intracluster gas. The two central dominant
galaxies, NGC4874 and NGC4889, are surrounded by two galaxy groups, mostly
populated with galaxies brighter than b and well separated in
velocity space. On the contrary, the fainter galaxies tend to form a single
smooth structure with a central peak coinciding in position with a secondary
peak detected in X--rays, and located between the two dominant galaxies; we
suggest to identify this structure with the main body of the Coma cluster. A
continuous velocity gradient is found in the central distribution of these
faint galaxies, a probable signature of tidal interactions rather than
rotation. There is evidence for a bound population of bright galaxies around
other brightest cluster members. Altogether, the Coma cluster structure seems
to be better traced by the faint galaxy population, the bright galaxies being
located in subclusters. We discuss this evidence in terms of an ongoing
accretion of groups onto the cluster.Comment: to appear in A&A, 19 pages, uuencoded gzipped postscript fil
On the galaxy luminosity function in the central regions of the Coma cluster
We have obtained new redshifts for 265 objects in the central
48~~25~arcmin region of the Coma cluster. When supplemented with
literature data, our redshift sample is 95~\% complete up to a magnitude
b=18.0 (the magnitudes are taken from the photometric sample of Godwin
et al. 1983). Using redshift-confirmed membership for 205 galaxies, and the
location in the colour-magnitude diagram for another 91 galaxies, we have built
a sample of cluster members which is complete up to b=20.0. We show
that the Coma cluster luminosity function cannot be adequately fitted by a
single Schechter (1976) function, because of a dip in the magnitude
distribution at b17. The superposition of an Erlang (or a Gauss)
and a Schechter function provides a significantly better fit. We compare the
luminosity function of Coma to those of other clusters, and of the field.
Luminosity functions for rich clusters look similar, with a maximum at , while the Virgo and the field luminosity
functions show a nearly monotonic behaviour. These differences may be produced
by physical processes related to the environment which affect the luminosities
of a certain class of cluster galaxies.Comment: 7 pages, uuencoded postscript file (figures included) Accepted for
publication on A&
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Problems for MOND in Clusters and the Ly-alpha Forest
The observed dynamics of gas and stars on galactic and larger scales cannot
be accounted for by self-gravity, indicating that there are large quantities of
unseen matter, or that gravity is non-Newtonian in these regimes. Milgrom's
MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) postulates that Newton's laws are modified
at very low acceleration, and can account for the rotation curves of galaxies
and some other astrophysical observations, without dark matter. Here we apply
MOND to two independent physical systems: Ly-alpha absorbers and galaxy
clusters. While physically distinct, both are simple hydrodynamical systems
with characteristic accelerations in the MOND regime. We find that Ly-alpha
absorbers are somewhat smaller than in Newtonian gravity with dark matter, but
the result depends crucially on the (unknown) background acceleration field in
which they are embedded. In clusters MOND appears to explain the observed
(baryonic) mass-temperature relation. However, given observed gas density and
enclosed mass profiles and the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium, MOND
predicts radial temperature profiles which disagree badly with observations. We
show this explicitly for the Virgo, Abell 2199 and Coma clusters, but the
results are general, and seem very difficult to avoid. If this discrepancy is
to be resolved by positing additional (presumably baryonic) dark matter, then
this dark matter must have ~1-3 times the cluster gas mass within 1 Mpc. This
result strongly disfavors MOND as an alternative to dark matter (Abridged).Comment: Revised version. Important caveat in Ly-alpha calculation discussed;
conclusions weakened. Coma cluster and calculation of dark matter mass
required by MOND added; cluster conclusions strengthened. 11 EmulateApJ pages
with 3 embedded figures. Accepted by Ap
The rich cluster of galaxies ABCG 85. II. X-ray analysis using the ROSAT HRI
We present a new X-ray analysis mainly based on ROSAT HRI data. The HRI
spatial resolution combined with an improved wavelet analysis method and with
complementary radio and optical data provides new results compared to a
previous paper based on ROSAT PSPC data (Pislar et al. 1997). We use also
redshift data in order to identify galaxies dynamically belonging to the main
body of the cluster and/or to superimposed substructures. Various kinds of
emission are superimposed on a mean thermal X-ray emission due to the
intra-cluster gas: a) an X-ray flux excess in the centre; b) a south blob,
partially generated by individual galaxies. The mean velocity and velocity
dispersion of the galaxies located in this region are the same as those of the
cluster as a whole: it therefore does not seem to be a bound subgroup; c) West
emission due to a foreground group with self-emission from a Seyfert galaxy
located at the north-west; d) emission in the south-west due to inverse Compton
emission associated to a very steep radio source (the remnant of an active
galactic nucleus). We have examined the possibility for the central peak to be
an "unusual" galaxy, as assumed for the central galaxy of J2310-43 (Tananbaum
et al. 1997). We conclude on the existence of a cooling flow region, in which
the presence of at least three small features certainly related to cooler blobs
is revealed by the wavelet analysis. We have performed a pixel-to-pixel
modelling of the double X-ray emission. The large scale emission component is
comparable to those derived from by the PSPC data and the small scale one is
interpreted as a cooling-flow. A multiphase gas model analysis leads to a mass
deposit of 50-150 M_\odot/yr.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, LaTeX Accepted for publication in
Astronomy & Astrophysics main journa
The rich cluster of galaxies ABCG 85.I. X-ray analysis
We present an X-ray analysis of the rich cluster ABCG 85 based on ROSAT PSPC
data. By applying an improved wavelet analysis, we show that our view of this
cluster is notably changed from what was previously believed (a main region and
a south blob). The main emission comes from the central part of the main body
of the cluster on which is superimposed that of a foreground group of galaxies.
The foreground group and the main cluster are separated (if redshifts are
cosmological) by 46 1/h_50 Mpc. The southern blob is clearly not a group: it is
resolved into X-ray emitting galaxies (in particular the second more luminous
galaxy of the main cluster). Several X-ray features are identified with bright
galaxies. We performed a spectral analysis and derived the temperature (T),
metallicity (Z) and hydrogen column density NH. The global quantities are:
T=4keV (in agreement with the velocity dispersion of 760km/s) and
. We cannot derive accurate gradients for these quantities with
our data, but there is strong evidence that the temperature is lower () and the metallicity much higher (Z ) in the very centre
(within about 50 1/h_50 kpc). We present a pixel by pixel method to model the
physical properties of the X-ray gas and derive its density distribution. We
apply classical methods to estimate the dynamical, gas and stellar masses, as
well as the cooling time and cooling flow characteristics. At the limiting
radius of the image (1.4 1/h_50 Mpc), we find _{\odot}M_{gas}/M_{Dyn}\sim 0.18 h_{50}^{-1.5}6.7\ 10^{12}M_{\odot}M/L_{V}\sim 300$.
The cooling time is estimated for different models, leading to a cooling radius
of 30-80 kpc depending on theComment: 14 pages incl 16 postscript figures available, 4 tables, corrected
stellar mass. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
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