XMM-Newton temperature maps for five intermediate redshift clusters of galaxies

We have analyzed XMM-Newton archive data for five clusters of galaxies (redshifts 0.223 to 0.313) covering a wide range of dynamical states, from relaxed objects to clusters undergoing several mergers. We present here temperature maps of the X-ray gas together with a preliminary interpretation of the formation history of these clusters.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figs. Accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the 36th COSPAR Scientific Assembl

A catalogue of velocities in the direction of the cluster of galaxies Abell 496

We present a catalogue of velocities for 466 galaxies in the direction of the cluster Abell 496, in a region covering about 160' x 160' (9.2 x 9.2 Mpc for an average redshift for Abell 496 of 0.0331, assuming H$_0$=50 km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$). This catalogue includes previously published redshifts by Proust et al. (1987), Quintana and Ramirez (1990) and Malumuth et al. (1992), redshifts from the CfA redshift survey, together with our new measurements. A total of 274 galaxies have velocities in the 7800-11800 km/s interval, and will be considered as members of the cluster. Abell 496 therefore becomes one of the few clusters with a high number of measured redshifts; its physical properties are investigated in a companion paper.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, Supplement Serie

A multi-wavelength analysis of the cluster of galaxies ABCG 194

(Abridged) We present a morphological and structural analysis of the Richness zero cluster ABCG 194, known as a ``linear cluster'', based on a catalogue of 97 galaxies with B magnitudes and redshifts, a ROSAT PSPC image and radio data. The overall large scale structure is rather smooth and comparable at optical and X-ray wavelengths. The cluster is elongated along PA $\approx 50$; however it appears as ``linear'' when taking into account only galaxies in the very central part (the axial ratio varies from 0.2 in the central region to 0.8 for a larger region). We have obtained the galaxy and X-ray emitting gas density profiles and estimated the X-ray gas and dynamical masses. At smaller scales, the analysis of both positions and velocities reveals the existence of several groups; a main structure with a nearly gaussian velocity distribution is exhibited. The velocity dispersion is small ($\sigma_{los}$ = 360 \kms). A wavelet analysis of the X-ray image reveals no large scale substructures. Small scale X-ray sources are detected, mainly corresponding to individual galaxies. ABCG 194 is overall a poor and cold relaxed cluster. We compare how its characteristics fit into various correlations found in the literature, but generally for richer/hotter clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

The 3XMM/SDSS Stripe 82 Galaxy Cluster Survey: Cluster catalogue and discovery of two merging cluster candidates

We present a galaxy cluster survey based on XMM-Newton observations that are located in Stripe 82 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The survey covers an area of 11.25 deg$^2$. The X-ray cluster candidates were selected as serendipitously extended detected sources from the third XMM-Newton serendipitous source catalogue (3XMM-DR5). A cross-correlation of the candidate list that comprises 94 objects with recently published X-ray and optically selected cluster catalogues provided optical confirmations and redshift estimates for about half of the candidate sample. We present a catalogue of X-ray cluster candidates previously known in X-ray and/or optical bands from the matched catalogues or NED. The catalogue consists of 54 systems with redshift measurements in the range of 0.05-1.19 with a median of 0.36. Of these, 45 clusters have spectroscopic confirmations as stated in the matched catalogues. We spectroscopically confirmed another 6 clusters from the available spectroscopic redshifts in the SDSS-DR12. The cluster catalogue includes 17 newly X-ray discovered clusters, while the remainder were detected in previous XMM-Newton and/or ROSAT cluster surveys. Based on the available redshifts and fluxes given in the 3XMM-DR5 catalogue, we estimated the X-ray luminosities and masses for the cluster sample. We also present the list of the remaining X-ray cluster candidates (40 objects) that have no redshift information yet in the literature. Of these candidates, 25 sources are considered as distant cluster candidates beyond a redshift of 0.6. We also searched for galaxy cluster mergers in our cluster sample and found two strong candidates for newly discovered cluster mergers at redshifts of 0.11 and 0.26. The X-ray and optical properties of these systems are presented.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in A&A, revised version after language editin

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

Galaxy Evolution in the Cluster Abell 85: New Insights from the Dwarf Population

We present the first results of a new spectroscopic survey of the cluster Abell 85 targeting 1466 candidate cluster members within the central $\sim$1 deg$^2$ of the cluster and having magnitudes $m_r < 20.5$ using VIMOS/VLT and HYDRA/WIYN. A total of 520 galaxies are confirmed as either relaxed cluster members or part of an infalling population. A significant fraction are low mass; the median stellar mass of the sample is $10^{9.6} M_{\odot}$, and 25% have stellar masses below $10^9 M_{\odot}$ (i.e. 133 dwarf galaxies). We also identify seven active galactic nuclei (AGN), four of which reside in dwarf host galaxies. We probe the evolution of star formation rates, based on H$\alpha$ emission and continuum modeling, as a function of both mass and environment. We find that more star forming galaxies are observed at larger clustercentric distances, while infalling galaxies show evidence for recently enhanced star forming activity. Main sequence galaxies, defined by their continuum star formation rates, show different evolutionary behavior based on their mass. At the low mass end, the galaxies have had their star formation recently quenched, while more massive galaxies show no significant change. The timescales probed here favor fast quenching mechanisms, such as ram-pressure stripping. Galaxies within the green valley, defined similarly, do not show evidence of quenching. Instead, the low mass galaxies maintain their levels of star forming activity, while the more massive galaxies have experienced a recent burst.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

The galaxy luminosity function in the cluster of galaxies Abell 496

We have derived the galaxy luminosity function (GLF) in the cluster of galaxies Abell 496 from a wide field image in the I band. A single Schechter function reproduces quite well the GLF in the 17 <= I_{AB} <= 22 (-19.5 <= M_I <= -14.5) magnitude interval, and the power law index of this function is found to be somewhat steeper in the outer regions than in the inner regions. This result agrees with the idea that faint galaxies are more abundant in the outer regions of clusters, while in the denser inner regions they have partly been accreted by larger galaxies or have been dimmed or even disrupted by tidal interactions.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, final versio

The 3XMM/SDSS Stripe 82 Galaxy Cluster Survey II. X-ray and optical properties of the cluster sample

We present X-ray and optical properties of the optically confirmed galaxy cluster sample from the 3XMM/SDSS Stripe 82 cluster survey. The sample includes 54 galaxy clusters in the redshift range of 0.05-1.2, with a median redshift of 0.36. We first present the X-ray temperature and luminosity measurements that are used to investigate the X-ray luminosity-temperature relation. The slope and intercept of the relation are consistent with those published in the literature. Then, we investigate the optical properties of the cluster galaxies including their morphological analysis and the galaxy luminosity functions. The morphological content of cluster galaxies is investigated as a function of cluster mass and distance from the cluster center. No strong variation of the fraction of early and late type galaxies with cluster mass is observed. The fraction of early type galaxies as a function of cluster radius varies as expected. The individual galaxy luminosity functions (GLFs) of red sequence galaxies were studied in the five ugriz bands for 48 clusters. The GLFs were then stacked in three mass bins and two redshift bins. Twenty clusters of the present sample are studied for the first time in X-rays, and all are studied for the first time in the optical range. Altogether, our sample appears to have X-ray and optical properties typical of average cluster properties.Comment: accepted for publications in MNRA