SearcharxivSearch

arXiv · astro-ph/0411527

An XMM-Newton view of the cluster of galaxies Abell 85

Abstract

We have observed the cluster of galaxies Abell 85 with XMM-Newton. These data have allowed us to confirm in a previous paper the existence of the extended 4 Mpc filament detected by the ROSAT PSPC in the neighbourhood of this cluster, and to determine an X-ray temperature of about about 2 keV. We now present a thorough analysis of the properties of the X-ray gas in the cluster itself, including temperature and metallicity maps for the entire cluster. These results show that Abell 85 had intense merging activity in the past and is not fully relaxed, even in the central region. We have also determined the individual abundances for some iron-group metals and alpha-elements in various regions; the ratios of these metallicities to the iron abundance show that both supernova types Ia and II must be involved in the intra-cluster gas enrichment. Spectral analysis of the central region suggests a different redshift of the X-ray emitting gas compared to the mean cluster velocity derived from galaxy member redshifts. We discuss the implications of the difference between the cD galaxy redshift, the mean galaxy redshift and the hot gas redshift, as well as the possibility of several groups being accreted on to Abell 85. Finally, we obtain the dynamical mass profile and baryon fraction taking into account the new determined temperature profile. The dynamical mass in Abell 85 has a steep density profile, similar to the ones found in N-body simulations.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

F. Durret, G. B. Lima Neto, W. Forman. 2004-11-18. An XMM-Newton view of the cluster of galaxies Abell 85. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361%3A20041666

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Dark Energy is the Cosmological Quantum Vacuum Energy of Light Particles-The Axion and the Lightest Neutrino

We uncover the general mechanism producing the dark energy(DE). This is only based on well known quantum physics and cosmology. We show that the observed DE originates from the cosmological quantum vacuum of light particles which provides a continuous energy distribution able to reproduce the data. Bosons give positive contributions to the DE while fermions yield negative contributions. As usual in field theory, ultraviolet divergences are subtracted from the physical quantities. The subtractions respect the symmetries of the theory and we normalize the physical quantities to be zero for the Minkowski vacuum. The resulting finite contributions to the energy density and the pressure from the quantum vacuum grow as log a(t) where a(t) is the scale factor, while the particle contributions dilute as 1/a^3(t), as it must be for massive particles. The DE equation of state P = w(z)H turns to be w(z)<-1 with w(z) asymptotically reaching the value -1 from below.A scalar particle can produce the observed DE through its quantum cosmological vacuum provided:(i)its mass is of the order of 10^{-3} eV = 1 meV,(ii) it is very weakly coupled and (iii) it is stable on the time scale of the age of the universe. The axion vacuum thus appears as a natural candidate. The neutrino vacuum (especially the lightest mass eigenstate) can give negative contributions to the DE. We find that w(z=0) is slightly below -1 by an amount ranging from [-1.5 10^{-3}] to [-8 10^{-3}] and we predict the axion mass to be in the range between 4 and 5 meV. We find that the universe will expand in the future faster than the de Sitter universe, as an exponential in the square of the cosmic time. DE arises from the quantum vacua of light particles in FRW cosmological space time in an analogous way to the Casimir effect in Minkowski spacetime with non trivial boundaries.

astro-ph

Scaling of Black Hole Accretion Discs from Gamma-Ray Bursts and Black Hole X-Ray Binaries to Active Galactic Nuclei

I consider how physical processes scale over eight orders of magnitude in black hole mass, from stellar masses in gamma-ray bursts (GRB) and black-hole X-ray binaries (BHXRB) to supermassive active galactic nuclei (AGN). Accretion rates onto stellar mass black holes range over more than sixteen orders of magnitude, from the lower luminosity BHXRB to GRB. These enormous parameter ranges correspond to qualitative as well as quantitative differences in behavior. The fundamental questions involve the balance between nonequilibrium and thermalized plasmas. When energy fluxes exceed a critical value $\sim 10^{29}$ erg/cm$^2$s, as in GRB, a black-body equilibrium pair plasma forms. At the lower fluxes found in AGN, BHXRB and microquasars, accretion power electrodynamically accelerates a small number of very energetic particles, explaining their non-thermal spectra and the high energy gamma-ray emission of blazars. Ultra-high energy cosmic rays may be accelerated by massive black holes, otherwise undetectable, with very low thermal luminosities. New-born fast high-field pulsars may be in the black-body equilibrium regime, resembling SGR in permanent outburst. I also consider the question, significant for the acceleration of nonthermal particles in GRB outflows, of whether collisionless plasmas interpenetrate rather than forming hydrodynamic shocks, and propose this as an alternative to internal shock models of GRB. A new appendix attempts to explain why AGN are, proportionally, more efficient accelerators of energetic particles than stellar mass black holes.

astro-ph