10 research outputs found
CAIRNS: The Cluster And Infall Region Nearby Survey I. Redshifts and Mass Profiles
The CAIRNS (Cluster And Infall Region Nearby Survey) project is a
spectroscopic survey of the infall regions surrounding eight nearby, rich,
X-ray luminous clusters of galaxies. We collect 15665 redshifts (3471 new or
remeasured) within \sim 5-10 Mpc of the centers of the clusters, making it the
largest study of the infall regions of clusters. We determine cluster
membership and the mass profiles of the clusters based on the phase space
distribution of the galaxies. All of the clusters display decreasing velocity
dispersion profiles. The mass profiles are fit well by functional forms based
on numerical simulations but exclude an isothermal sphere. Specifically, NFW
and Hernquist models provide good descriptions of cluster mass profiles to
their turnaround radii. Our sample shows that the predicted infall pattern is
ubiquitous in rich, X-ray luminous clusters over a large mass range. The
caustic mass estimates are in excellent agreement with independent X-ray
estimates at small radii and with virial estimates at intermediate radii. The
mean ratio of the caustic mass to the X-ray mass is 1.03\pm0.11 and the mean
ratio of the caustic mass to the virial mass (when corrected for the surface
pressure term) is 0.93\pm0.07. We further demonstrate that the caustic
technique provides reasonable mass estimates even in merging clusters.Comment: 54 pages, 18 figures, to appear in The Astronomical Journa
Temperature and Heavy Element Abundance Profiles of Cool Clusters of Galaxies from ASCA
We perform a spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopic study of a set of 18
relaxed clusters of galaxies with gas temperatures below 4 keV. Spectral
analysis was done using ASCA/SIS data coupled with the spatial information
contained in ROSAT/PSPC and Einstein/IPC observations. We derive the
temperature profiles using single-temperature fits and also correct for the
presence of cold gas at the cluster centers. For all of the clusters in the
sample, we derive Si and Fe abundance profiles. For a few of the clusters, we
also derive Ne and S abundance profiles. We present a comparison of the
elemental abundances derived at similar overdensities as well as element
mass-to-light ratios. We conclude that the preferential accretion of low
entropy, low abundance gas into the potentials of groups and cold clusters can
explain most of the observed trends in metallicity. In addition, we discuss the
importance of energy input from SNe II on cluster scaling relations and on the
relation between the observed scatter in the retainment of SN Ia products with
differences between the epoch of cluster formation.Comment: 14 pages, several changes are introduced, ApJ 2001, v 555 (July 1, in
press
Minkowski's Object: A Starburst Triggered by a Radio Jet, Revisited
We present neutral hydrogen, ultraviolet, optical and near-infrared imaging,
and optical spectroscopy, of Minkowski's Object (MO), a star forming peculiar
galaxy near NGC 541. The observations strengthen evidence that star formation
in MO was triggered by the radio jet from NGC 541. Key new results are the
discovery of a 4.9E8 solar mass double HI cloud straddling the radio jet
downstream from MO, where the jet changes direction and decollimates; strong
detections of MO, also showing double structure, in UV and H-alpha; and
numerous HII regions and associated clusters in MO. In UV, MO resembles the
radio-aligned, rest-frame UV morphologies in many high redshift radio galaxies
(HzRGs), also thought to be caused by jet-induced star formation. MO's stellar
population is dominated by a 7.5 Myr-old, 1.9E7 solar mass instantaneous burst,
with current star formation rate 0.52 solar masses per year (concentrated
upstream from where the HI column density is high). This is unlike the
jet-induced star formation in Centaurus A, where the jet interacts with
pre-existing cold gas; in MO the HI may have cooled out of a warmer, clumpy
intergalactic or interstellar medium as a result of jet interaction, followed
by collapse of the cooling clouds and subsequent star formation (consistent
with numerical simulations). Since the radio source that triggered star
formation in MO is much less luminous, and therefore more common, than powerful
HzRGs, and because the environment around MO is not particularly special in
terms of abundant dense, cold gas, jet-induced star formation in the early
universe might be even more prevalent than previously thought.Comment: 52 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Cl 1205+44, a fossil group at z = 0.59
This is a report of Chandra, XMM-Newton, HST and ARC observations of an
extended X-ray source at z = 0.59. The apparent member galaxies range from
spiral to elliptical and are all relatively red (i'-Ks about 3). We interpret
this object to be a fossil group based on the difference between the brightness
of the first and second brightest cluster members in the i'-band, and because
the rest-frame bolometric X-ray luminosity is about 9.2x10^43 h70^-2 erg s^-1.
This makes Cl 1205+44 the highest redshift fossil group yet reported. The
system also contains a central double-lobed radio galaxy which appears to be
growing via the accretion of smaller galaxies. We discuss the formation and
evolution of fossil groups in light of the high redshift of Cl 1205+44.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures, minor corrections to match published ApJ
versio
3C 40 in Abell 194: can tail radio galaxies exist in quiescent cluster
The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com. Copyright Blackwell Publishing DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.12465.xThe nearby cluster Abell 194 hosts two luminous, distorted radio galaxies. Both reside within the clusterâs core region, being separated in projection by only 100 kpc. It is often suggested that tailed radio galaxies such as these reside in clusters that are under formation and are accreting new material from their outskirts. In this paper we study the intriguing appearance of Abell 194, and test whether the cluster and radio source dynamics are consistent with the cluster formation/merger model. We analyse data from the XMM-Newton satellite and previously unpublished observations with the Very Large Array (VLA), as well as presenting new data from the Giant Metre-Wave Radio Telescope (GMRT). The shape of the jets, and the lack of significant stripping of the galaxiesâ interstellar media, indicate that the radio galaxies are not moving at the large velocities they would have had if they were falling into the cluster from its outskirts; galaxy velocities of 6 300 km sâ1 are adequate instead. A plausible scenario that could explain the observations is that the dynamics of the cluster centre are relatively quiescent, with the dominant system of massive galaxies being bound and orbiting the cluster centre of mass. For plausible jet/plume speeds and densities and the galaxy dynamics implied by this picture of the cluster, we show that the observed jet structures can be explained without invoking a major cluster merger event.Peer reviewe
Sardinia Radio Telescope observations of Abell 194: The intra-cluster magnetic field power spectrum
© ESO, 2017. Aims. We study the intra-cluster magnetic field in the poor galaxy cluster Abell 194 by complementing radio data, at different frequencies, with data in the optical and X-ray bands. Methods. We analyzed new total intensity and polarization observations of Abell 194 obtained with the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT). We used the SRT data in combination with archival Very Large Array observations to derive both the spectral aging and rotation measure (RM) images of the radio galaxies 3C 40A and 3C 40B embedded in Abell 194. To obtain new additional insights into the cluster structure, we investigated the redshifts of 1893 galaxies, resulting in a sample of 143 fiducial cluster members. We analyzed the available ROSAT and Chandra observations to measure the electron density profile of the galaxy cluster. Results. The optical analysis indicates that Abell 194 does not show a major and recent cluster merger, but rather agrees with a scenario of accretion of small groups, mainly along the NE-SW direction. Under the minimum energy assumption, the lifetimes of synchrotron electrons in 3C 40 B measured from the spectral break are found to be 157 ± 11 Myr. The break frequency image and the electron density profile inferred from the X-ray emission are used in combination with the RM data to constrain the intra-cluster magnetic field power spectrum. By assuming a Kolmogorov power-law power spectrum with a minimum scale of fluctuations of ?min= 1 kpc, we find that the RM data in Abell 194 are well described by a magnetic field with a maximum scale of fluctuations of ?max= (64 ± 24) kpc. We find a central magnetic field strength of < B0> = (1.5 ± 0.2) ”G, which is the lowest ever measured so far in galaxy clusters based on Faraday rotation analysis. Further out, the field decreases with the radius following the gas density to the power of ? = 1.1 ± 0.2. Comparing Abell 194 with a small sample of galaxy clusters, there is a hint of a trend between central electron densities and magnetic field strengths