12 research outputs found
Giant Ringlike Radio Structures Around Galaxy Cluster Abell 3376
In the current paradigm of cold dark matter cosmology, large-scale structures
are assembling through hierarchical clustering of matter. In this process, an
important role is played by megaparsec (Mpc)-scale cosmic shock waves, arising
in gravity-driven supersonic flows of intergalactic matter onto dark
matter-dominated collapsing structures such as pancakes, filaments, and
clusters of galaxies. Here, we report Very Large Array telescope observations
of giant (~2 Mpc by 1.6 Mpc), ring-shaped nonthermal radio-emitting structures,
found at the outskirts of the rich cluster of galaxies Abell 3376. These
structures may trace the elusive shock waves of cosmological large-scale matter
flows, which are energetic enough to power them. These radio sources may also
be the acceleration sites where magnetic shocks are possibly boosting
cosmic-ray particles with energies of up to 10^18 to 10^19 electron volts.Comment: Published on Science, 3 November 2006. Main paper and Supporting
Online Materia
The entropy of elliptical galaxies in Coma: a clue for a distance indicator
We have fitted the surface brightness of a sample of 79 elliptical galaxies
pertaining to the Coma cluster of galaxies using the Sersic profile. This model
is defined through three primary parameters: scale length (a), intensity
(\Sigma_0), and a shape parameter (\nu); physical and astrophysical quantities
may be computed from these parameters. We show that correlations are stronger
among primary parameters than the classical astrophysical ones. In particular,
the galaxies follow a high correlation in \nu and a parameters. We show that
the \nu and a correlation satisfies a constant specific entropy condition. We
propose to use this entropy relation as distance indicator for clusters.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to MNRAS Letter
The merging cluster of galaxies Abell 3376: an optical view
Abell 3376 is a merging cluster of galaxies at redshift z=0.046, famous
mostly for its giant radio arcs, and shows an elongated and highly
substructured X-ray emission, but has not been analysed in detail at optical
wavelengths. We have obtained wide field images of Abell 3376 in the B band and
derive the GLF applying a statistical subtraction of the background in three
regions: a circle of 0.29 deg radius (1.5 Mpc) encompassing the whole cluster,
and two circles centered on each of the two brightest galaxies (BCG2,
northeast, coinciding with the peak of X-ray emission, and BCG1, southwest) of
radii 0.15 deg (0.775 Mpc). We also compute the GLF in the zone around BCG1,
which is covered by the WINGS survey in the B and V bands, by selecting cluster
members in the red sequence in a (B-V) versus V diagram. Finally, we discuss
the dynamical characteristics of the cluster implied by a Serna & Gerbal
analysis. The GLFs are not well fit by a single Schechter function, but
satisfactory fits are obtained by summing a Gaussian and a Schechter function.
The GLF computed by selecting galaxies in the red sequence in the region
surrounding BCG1 can also be fit by a Gaussian plus a Schechter function. An
excess of galaxies in the brightest bins is detected in the BCG1 and BCG2
regions. The dynamical analysis based on the Serna & Gerbal method shows the
existence of a main structure of 82 galaxies which can be subdivided into two
main substructures of 25 and 6 galaxies. A smaller structure of 6 galaxies is
also detected. The B band GLFs of Abell 3376 are clearly perturbed, as already
found in other merging clusters. The dynamical properties are consistent with
the existence of several substructures, in agreement with a previously
published X-ray analysis.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Non-virialised clusters for detection of Dark Energy-Dark Matter interaction
The observation of galaxy and gas distributions, as well as cosmological
simulations in a CDM Universe, suggests that clusters of galaxies are
still accreting mass and are not expected to be in equilibrium. In this work,
we investigate the possibility to evaluate the departure from virial
equilibrium in order to detect, in that balance, effects from a Dark
Matter--Dark Energy interaction. We continue, from previous works, using a
simple model of interacting dark sector, the Layzer--Irvine equation for
dynamical virial evolution, and employ optical observations in order to obtain
the mass profiles through weak lensing and X-ray observations giving the
intracluster gas temperatures. Through a Monte Carlo method, we generate, for a
set of clusters, measurements of observed virial ratios, interaction strength,
rest virial ratio and departure from equilibrium factors. We found a compounded
interaction strength of , compatible with no
interaction, but also a compounded rest virial ratio of , which
would entail a detection. We confirm quantitatively that clusters of
galaxies are out of equilibrium but further investigation is needed to
constrain a possible interaction in the dark sector.Comment: 12 page
Spitzer observations of Abell 1763 - II: Constraining the nature of activity in the cluster-feeding filament with VLA and XMM-Newton data
The Abell 1763 superstructure at z=0.23 contains the first galaxy filament to
be directly detected using mid-infrared observations. Our previous work has
shown that the frequency of starbursting galaxies, as characterized by 24{\mu}m
emission is much higher within the filament than at either the center of the
rich galaxy cluster, or the field surrounding the system. New VLA and
XMM-Newton data are presented here. We use the radio and X-ray data to examine
the fraction and location of active galaxies, both active galactic nuclei (AGN)
and starbursts. The radio far-infrared correlation, X-ray point source
location, IRAC colors, and quasar positions are all used to gain an
understanding of the presence of dominant AGN. We find very few MIPS-selected
galaxies that are clearly dominated by AGN activity. Most radio selected
members within the filament are starbursts. Within the supercluster, 3 of 8
spectroscopic members detected both in the radio and in the mid-infrared are
radio-bright AGN. They are found at or near the core of Abell 1763. The five
starbursts are located further along the filament. We calculate the physical
properties of the known wide angle tail (WAT) source which is the brightest
cluster galaxy (BCG) of Abell 1763. A second double lobe source is found along
the filament well outside of the virial radius of either cluster. The velocity
offset of the WAT from the X-ray centroid, and the bend of the WAT in the
intracluster medium (ICM) are both consistent with ram pressure stripping,
indicative of streaming motions along the direction of the filament. We
consider this as further evidence of the cluster-feeding nature of the galaxy
filament.Comment: 26 pages, 13 figures AJ, accepte
Galaxy clusters as probes for cosmology and dark matter
In recent years, significant progress has been made in building new galaxy clusters samples, at low and high redshifts, from wide-area surveys, particularly exploiting the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect. A large effort is underway to identify and characterize these new systems with optical/NIR and X-ray facilities, thus opening new avenues to constraint cosmological models using structure growth and geometrical tests. A census of galaxy clusters sets constraints on reionization mechanisms and epochs, which need to be reconciled with recent limits on the reionization optical depth from cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments. Future advances in SZ effect measurements will include the possibility to (unambiguously) measure directly the kinematic SZ effect, to build an even larger catalogue of galaxy clusters able to study the high redshift universe, and to make (spatially-)resolved galaxy cluster maps with even spectral capability to (spectrally-)resolve the relativistic corrections of the SZ effect