Spatially-resolved X-ray spectroscopy of the core of the Centaurus cluster

We present Chandra data from a 31.7 ks observation of the Centaurus cluster, using the ACIS-S detector. Images of the X-ray emission show a plume-like feature at the centre of the cluster, of extent 60 arcsec (20 kpc in projection). The feature has the same metallicity as gas at a similar radius, but is cooler. Using adaptive binning, we generate temperature, abundance and absorption maps of the cluster core. The radial abundance profile shows that the previously known, steep abundance gradient peaks with a metallicity of 1.3-1.8 Zsolar at a radius of about 45 arcsec (15 kpc), before falling back to 0.4 Zsolar at the centre of the cluster. A radial temperature profile shows that the temperature decreases inwards. We determine the spatial distributions of each of two temperature components, where applicable. The radiative cooling time of the cooler component within the inner 10 arcsec (3 kpc) is less than 2x10^7 yr. X-ray holes in the image coincident with the radio lobes are seen, as well as two outer sharp temperature drops, or cold fronts. The origin of the plume is unclear. The existence of the strong abundance gradient is a strong constraint on extensive convection or gas motion driven by a central radio source.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures (3 colour), accepted by MNRAS, high res. version at http://www-xray.ast.cam.ac.uk/papers/cen1_accptd.pdf . Updated version includes a section considering a non-thermal componen

Possibilities and paradoxes of religious schools : case study of Seventh-Day Adventist schools

This dissertation deals with the gap between education of practice and vision in Seventh-day Adventist education. It describes and analyzes the conflicts between its religious vision and particular cultural and social demands placed upon its education program. The first chapter provides the historical setting for the Seventh-day Adventist church and a look at the elements which gave birth and legitimacy to Adventist education. In particular, the chapter focuses on the necessity for Adventist educators to respond to the existing social cultural context

Projection effects in X-ray cores of cooling flow galaxy clusters

Recent analyses of XMM and Chandra data of the cores of X-ray bright clusters of galaxies show that modeling with a multi-phase gas in which several temperatures and densities are in equilibrium might not be appropriate. Instead, a single-phase model seems able to reproduce properly the spectra collected in annuli from the central region. The measured single-phase temperature profiles indicate a steep positive gradient in the central 100-200 kpc and the gas density shows a flat profile in the central few tens of kpc. Given this observational evidence, we estimate the contribution to the projected-on-the-sky rings from the cluster emissivity as function of the shell volume fraction sampled. We show that the observed projected X-ray emission mimics the multi-phase status of the plasma even though the input distribution is single-phase. This geometrical projection affects (i) analyses of data where insufficient spatial resolution is accessible, (ii) the central bin when its dimension is comparable to the extension of any flatness in the central gas density profile.Comment: 6 pages. MNRAS in pres

The merger history of clusters and its effect on the X-ray properties of the intracluster medium

We investigate the growth over time of 20 massive (> 3 keV) clusters in a hydrodynamical simulation of the LambdaCDM cosmology with radiative cooling. The clusters show a variety of formation histories: some accrete most of their mass in major mergers; others more gradually. During major mergers the long-term (temporally-smoothed) luminosity increases such that the cluster moves approximately along the Lx-Tx relation; between times it slowly decreases, tracking the drift of the Lx-Tx relation. We identify several different kinds of short-term luminosity and temperature fluctuations associated with major mergers including double-peaked mergers in which the global intracluster medium merges first (Lx and Tx increase together) and then the cluster cores merge (Lx increases and Tx decreases). At both luminosity peaks, clusters tend to appear spherical and relaxed, which may lead to biases in high-redshift, flux-limited samples. There is no simple relationship between scatter in the Lx-Tx relation and either recent or overall merger activity or cluster formation time. The scatter in the Lx-M and Tx-M relations is reduced if properties are measured within R_500 rather than R_vir.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, major revision including greater statistical analysis. 17 pages, 17 figure

Nonlinear Dynamics in Ecosystem Response to Climatic Change: Case Studies and Policy Implications

Many biological, hydrological, and geological processes are interactively linked in ecosystems. These ecological phenomena normally vary within bounded ranges, but rapid, nonlinear changes to markedly different conditions can be triggered by even small differences if threshold values are exceeded. Intrinsic and extrinsic ecological thresholds can lead to effects that cascade among systems, precluding accurate modeling and prediction of system response to climate change. Ten case studies from North America illustrate how changes in climate can lead to rapid, threshold-type responses within ecological communities; the case studies also highlight the role of human activities that alter the rate or direction of system response to climate change. Understanding and anticipating nonlinear dynamics are important aspects of adaptation planning since responses of biological resources to changes in the physical climate system are not necessarily proportional and sometimes, as in the case of complex ecological systems, inherently nonlinear

X-ray Spectroscopy of Cooling Clusters

We review the X-ray spectra of the cores of clusters of galaxies. Recent high resolution X-ray spectroscopic observations have demonstrated a severe deficit of emission at the lowest X-ray temperatures as compared to that expected from simple radiative cooling models. The same observations have provided compelling evidence that the gas in the cores is cooling below half the maximum temperature. We review these results, discuss physical models of cooling clusters, and describe the X-ray instrumentation and analysis techniques used to make these observations. We discuss several viable mechanisms designed to cancel or distort the expected process of X-ray cluster cooling.Comment: To appear in Physics Reports, 71 pages, 20 figure

Chandra X-ray observations of the 3C295 cluster core

We examine the properties of the X-ray gas in the central regions of the distant (z=0.46), X-ray luminous cluster of galaxies surrounding the powerful radio source 3C 295, using observations made with the Chandra Observatory. Between radii of 50-500 kpc, the cluster gas is approximately isothermal with an emission-weighted temperature, kT ~5 keV. Within the central 50 kpc radius this value drops to kT ~3.7 keV. The spectral and imaging Chandra data indicate the presence of a cooling flow within the central 50 kpc radius of the cluster, with a mass deposition rate of approximately 280 solar masses per year. We estimate an age for the cooling flow of 1-2 Gyr, which is approximately one thousand times older than the central radio source. We find no evidence in the X-ray spectra or images for significant heating of the X-ray gas by the radio source. We report the detection of an edge-like absorption feature in the spectrum for the central 50 kpc region, which may be due to oxygen-enriched dust grains. The implied mass in metals seen in absorption could have been accumulated by the cooling flow over its lifetime. Combining the results on the X-ray gas density profile with radio measurements of the Faraday rotation measure in 3C295, we estimate the magnetic field strength in the region of the cluster core to be B ~12 \muG.Comment: 27 pages, 16 figs, 5 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA

The Effect of Cooling and Preheating on the X-ray Properties of Clusters of Galaxies

We calculate X-ray properties of present-day galaxy clusters from hydrodynamical cosmological simulations of the LCDM cosmology and compare these with recent X-ray observations. Results from three simulations are presented, each of which uses the same initial conditions: a standard adiabatic, Non-radiative model, a Radiative model that includes radiative cooling of the gas, and a Preheating model that also includes cooling but in addition impulsively heats the gas prior to cluster formation. At the end of the simulations, the global cooled baryon fractions in the latter two runs are 15 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively which bracket the recent result from the K-band luminosity function. We construct cluster catalogues which consist of over 500 clusters and are complete in mass down to 1.18*10^{13} Msun/h. While clusters in the Non-radiative model behave in accord with the self-similar picture, those of the other two models reproduce key aspects of the observed X-ray properties: the core entropy, temperature-mass and luminosity-temperature relations are all in good agreement with recent observations. This agreement stems primarily from an increase in entropy with respect to the Non-radiative clusters. Although the physics affecting the intra-cluster medium is very different in the two models, the resulting cluster entropy profiles are very similar.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Minor changes following referee's comment