X-ray total mass estimate for the nearby relaxed cluster A3571

We constrain the total mass distribution in the cluster A3571, combining spatially resolved ASCA temperature data with ROSAT imaging data with the assumption that the cluster is in hydrostatic equilibrium. The total mass within r_500 (1.7/h_50 Mpc) is M_500 = 7.8[+1.4,-2.2] 10^14/ h_50 Msun at 90% confidence, 1.1 times smaller than the isothermal estimate. The Navarro, Frenk & White ``universal profile'' is a good description of the dark matter density distribution in A3571. The gas density profile is shallower than the dark matter profile, scaling as r^{-2.1} at large radii, leading to a monotonically increasing gas mass fraction with radius. Within r_500 the gas mass fraction reaches a value of f_gas = 0.19[+0.06,-0.03] h_50^{-3/2} (90% confidence errors). Assuming that this value of f_gas is a lower limit for the the universal value of the baryon fraction, we estimate the 90% confidence upper limit of the cosmological matter density to be Omega_m < 0.4.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Ap

ROSAT and BeppoSAX evidence of soft X-ray excess emission in the Shapley supercluster: A3571, A3558, A3560 and A3562

Excess soft X-ray emission in clusters of galaxies has so far been detected for sources that lie along lines-of-sight to very low Galactic HI column density (such as Coma, A1795, A2199 and Virgo, N_H 0.9-2.0 10^{20} cm-2). We show that the cluster soft excess emission can be investigated even at higher N_H, which provides an opportunity for investigating soft X-ray emission characteristics among a large number of clusters. The ROSAT PSPC analysis of some members of the Shapley concentration (A3571, A3558, A3560 and A3562, at N_H 4-4.5 10^{20} cm-2) bears evidence for excess emission in the 1/4 keV band. We were able to confirm the finding for the case of A3571 by a pointed SAX observation. Within the current sample the soft X-ray flux is again found to be consistently above the level expected from a hot virialized plasma. The data quality is however insufficient to enable a discrimination between alternative models of the excess low energy flux.Comment: ApJL in press, 5 figure

Vulnerability to pine sawfly damage decreases with site fertility but the opposite is true with Scleroderris canker damage; results from Finnish ICP Forests and NFI data

201

Non-thermal hard X-ray emission in galaxy clusters observed with the BeppoSAX PDS

We study the X-ray emission in a sample of galaxy clusters using the BeppoSAX PDS instrument in the 20 -- 80 keV energy band. The non-thermal hard X-ray cluster emission (HXR) is detected at a 2 sigma level in 50% of the non-significantly AGN-contaminated clusters: A2142, A2199, A2256, A3376, Coma, Ophiuchus and Virgo. The data are consistent with a scenario whereby relaxed clusters have no hard X-ray component of non-thermal origin, whereas merger clusters do, with a 20-80 keV luminosity of 10^(43-44) erg/s. The co-added spectrum of the above clusters indicates a power-law spectrum for the HXR with a photon index of 2.8+0.3-0.4 in the 12-115 keV band, and we find indication that it has extended distribution. These indications argue against significant contamination from obscured AGN, which have harder spectra and centrally concentrated distribution. These results are supportive of the assumption of the merger shock acceleration of electrons in clusters. Assuming that the Cosmic Microwave Background photons experience Inverse Compton scattering from the merger-accelerated relativistic electrons, and thus produce the observed HXR, the measured hard X-ray slope corresponds to a differential momentum spectra of the relativistic electrons with a slope of mu = 3.8-5.0. The observed slope of HXR is also consistent with that predicted by the non-thermal bremsstrahlung, which thus cannot be ruled by the fit to the current data, even though this model requires an extreme, untenable cluster energetics. Assuming centrally concentrated distribution of HXR, the data requires a harder slope for the HXR spectrum, which is consistent with secondary electron models, but this model yields a worse fit to the PDS data and thus seems to be disfavored over the primary electron Inverse Compton model.Comment: ApJ in press, 19 pages, 5 figure

Technical Note: Multispectral lidar time series of pine canopy chlorophyll content

201

GMRT observations of the Ophiuchus galaxy cluster

VLA observations at 1477 MHz revealed the presence of a radio mini-halo surrounding the faint central point-like radio source in the Ophiuchus cluster of galaxies. In this work we present a study of the radio emission from this cluster of galaxies at lower radio frequencies. We observed the Ophiuchus cluster at 153, 240, and 614 MHz with the GMRT. The mini-halo is clearly detected at 153 and 240 MHz while it is not detected at 610 MHz. The most prominent feature at low frequencies is a patch of diffuse steep spectrum emission located at about 5' south-east from the cluster center. By combining these images with that at 1477 MHz, we derived the spectral index of the mini-halo. Globally, the mini-halo has a low-frequency spectral index of alpha_240^153 ~1.4 +/- 0.3 and an high-frequency spectral index of alpha_1477^240 ~ 1.60 +/- 0.05. Moreover, we measure a systematic increase of the high-frequency spectral index with radius: the azimuthal radial average of alpha_1477^240 increases from about 1.3, at the cluster center, up to about 2.0 in the mini-halo outskirts. The observed radio spectral index is in agreement with that obtained by modeling the non-thermal hard X-ray emission in this cluster of galaxies. We assume that the X-ray component arises from inverse Compton scattering between the photons of the cosmic microwave background and a population of non-thermal electrons which are isotropically distributed and whose energy spectrum is a power law with index p. We derive that the electrons energy spectrum should extend from a minimum Lorentz factor of gamma_min < 700 up to a maximum Lorentz factor of gamma_max =3.8 x 10^4 with an index p=3.8 +/- 0.4. The volume-averaged strength for a completely disordered intra-cluster magnetic field is B_V ~0.3 +/- 0.1 micro-G.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. For a version with high-quality figures see http://erg.ca.astro.it/preprints/ophi_2010

Effects of gnawing material, group size and cage level in rack on Wistar rats

Han: Wist rats were housed after weaning in groups of one, two, three or four in stainless steel cages with aspen chip bedding, with or without wooden gnawing blocks. The use of the blocks was assessed by Video recording and by measuringweight loss of the blocks. Behaviour of the males&nbsp; was tested in a five minute open field test. At the age of 14 weeks the males were transferred into cages with wire mesh bottom without contact bedding. After four weeks, the males were&nbsp; euthanized and weights of the adrenal glands, thymus and spleen were measured. The physiological and behavioural effects of blocks, group size and cage level in rack were tested. In solid bottom cages with direct bedding, the use of the blocks was minimal. It was not affected by the sex or age of the animals. Neither was it affected by the group size or the cage level in a rack. The gnawing of the blocks increased afier the rats were transferred on to grid floor without bedding. The food intake or weight gain were not affected by any of the factors studied. The presence of blocks decreased the adrenal weights in rats transferred into wire mesh cages. In open field, the animals living alone were less active and they moved slower from the peripheral to central area than the animals living in groups. The animals living on the highest shelf of the rack differed from the others in their latency times of rearing and grooming. None of the environmental variables tested affected the behavioural factor scores derived from factor analysis. In conclusion. the wooden blocks may reduce the stress of rats adapted to bedding, if they have to be removed to grid floor. The group size or cage level in rack influenced some behaviours of rats in the open field

The cluster M-T relation from temperature profiles observed with ASCA and ROSAT

We calibrate the galaxy cluster mass - temperature relation using the temperature profiles of intracluster gas observed with ASCA (for hot clusters) and ROSAT (for cool groups). Our sample consists of apparently relaxed clusters for which the total masses are derived assuming hydrostatic equilibrium. The sample provides data on cluster X-ray emission-weighted cooling flow-corrected temperatures and total masses up to r_1000. The resulting M-T scaling in the 1-10 keV temperature range is M_1000 = (1.23 +- 0.20)/h_50 10^15 Msun (T/10 keV)^{1.79 +- 0.14} with 90% confidence errors, or significantly (99.99% confidence) steeper than the self-similar relation M propto T^{3/2}. For any given temperature, our measured mass values are significantly smaller compared to the simulation results of Evrard et al. (1996) that are frequently used for mass-temperature scaling. The higher-temperature subsample (kT > 4 keV) is consistent with M propto T^{3/2}, allowing the possibility that the self-similar scaling breaks down at low temperatures, perhaps due to heating by supernovae that is more important for low-temperature groups and galaxies as suggested by earlier works.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, accepted by Ap

New limits on ΩΛ\Omega_{\Lambda} and ΩM\Omega_M from old galaxies at high redshift

The ages of two old galaxies (53W091, 53W069) at high redshifts are used to constrain the value of the cosmological constant in a flat universe ($\Lambda$CDM) and the density parameter $\Omega_M$ in Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) models with no $\Lambda$-term. In the case of $\Lambda$CDM models, the quoted galaxies yield two lower limits for the vacuum energy density parameter, $\Omega_\Lambda \geq 0.42$ and $\Omega_\Lambda \geq 0.5$, respectively. Although compatible with the limits from statistics of gravitational lensing (SGL) and cosmic microwave background (CMB), these lower bounds are more stringent than the ones recently determined using SNe Ia as standard candles. For matter dominated universes ($\Omega_\Lambda=0$), the existence of these galaxies imply that the universe is open with the matter density parameter constrained by $\Omega_M \leq 0.45$ and $\Omega_M \leq 0.37$, respectively. In particular, these results disagree completely with the analysis of field galaxies which gives a lower limit $\Omega_M \geq 0.40$.Comment: submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letters, 16 ApJ preprint pages including 4 figure