arXiv · astro-ph/0504068
Metal Enrichment Processes in the Intra-Cluster Medium
Abstract
We present numerical simulations of galaxy clusters which include interaction processes between the galaxies and the intra-cluster gas. The considered interaction processes are galactic winds and ram-pressure stripping, which both transfer metal-enriched interstellar medium into the intra-cluster gas and hence increase its metallicity. We investigate the efficiency and time evolution of the interaction processes by simulated metallicity maps, which are directly comparable to those obtained from X-ray observations. We find that ram-pressure stripping is more efficient than quiet (i.e. non-starburst driven) galactic winds in the redshift interval between 1 and 0. The expelled metals are not mixed immediately with the intra-cluster gas, but inhomogeneities are visible in the metallicity maps. Even stripes of higher metallicity that a single galaxy has left behind can be seen. The spatial distribution of the metals transported by ram-pressure stripping and by galactic winds are very different for massive clusters: the former process yields a centrally concentrated metal distribution while the latter results in an extended metal distribution.
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S. Schindler, W. Kapferer, W. Domainko, M. Mair, E. van Kampen, T. Kronberger, S. Kimeswenger, M. Ruffert, O. Mangete, D. Breitschwerdt. 2005-04-04. Metal Enrichment Processes in the Intra-Cluster Medium. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361%3A200500107
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