arXiv subjects

Meng Zhai

Publications and source records attributed to Meng Zhai.

20 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

On the origin of central abundance drops in the intracluster medium of galaxy groups and clusters

A central drop of ICM Fe abundance has been observed in several cool-core clusters. It has been proposed that this abundance drop may be due, at least partially, to the depletion of Fe into dust grains in the central, high-density regions. According to this scenario, noble gas elements such as Ar and Ne are not expected to be depleted into dust, and therefore should not show any drop, but follow the general increase of metal abundance toward the center. In this work, we test this scenario by measuring with {\sl Chandra} data the radial profiles of Ar and Ne in a sample of 12 groups and clusters where a central drop in Fe abundance has been detected. We confirm the presence of the Fe drop in 10 out of 12 clusters at more than 2$σ$ c.l., and 4 Ar drops with similar significance. We also find 4 Ne drops, with the caveat that Ne abundance measurement from CCD spectra suffers from systematics not completely under control. Our results are consistent with an abundance drop common to the three elements. When comparing the profiles, we find that, on average, the abundance profiles of Ar and Ne are significantly higher than Fe and steeper toward the center, while they all gradually become consistent with solar composition at $r\geq 0.05r_{500}$. We also check that Si and S profiles are mostly consistent with Fe. This result confirms a scenario in which some fraction of Fe is depleted into dust grains in the inner regions, although the global central abundance drop is mostly due to mechanical processes, like the displacement of metal-rich ICM from the very center to larger radii by AGN-driven feedback. Finally, we report the detection of an Fe drop in the cluster MACSJ1423.8+2404 at $z=0.543$, showing that this feature appears early on in cool-core clusters.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2012

Type IIn Supernova SN 2010jl: Optical Observations for Over 500 Days After Explosion

We present extensive optical observations of a Type IIn supernova (SN) 2010jl for the first 1.5 years after the discovery. The UBVRI light curves demonstrated an interesting two-stage evolution during the nebular phase, which almost flatten out after about 90 days from the optical maximum. SN 2010jl has one of the highest intrinsic H_alpha luminosity ever recorded for a SN IIn, especially at late phase, suggesting a strong interaction of SN ejecta with the dense circumstellar material (CSM) ejected by the progenitor. This is also indicated by the remarkably strong Balmer lines persisting in the optical spectra. One interesting spectral evolution about SN 2010jl is the appearance of asymmetry of the Balmer lines. These lines can be well decomposed into a narrow component and an intermediate-width component. The intermediate-width component showed a steady increase in both strength and blueshift with time until t ~ 400 days after maximum, but it became less blueshifted at t ~ 500 days when the line profile appeared relatively symmetric again. Owing to that a pure reddening effect will lead to a sudden decline of the light curves and a progressive blueshift of the spectral lines, we therefore propose that the asymmetric profiles of H lines seen in SN 2010jl is unlikely due to the extinction by newly formed dust inside the ejecta, contrary to the explanation by some early studies. Based on a simple CSM-interaction model, we speculate that the progenitor of SN 2010jl may suffer a gigantic mass loss (~ 30-50 M_sun) in a few decades before explosion. Considering a slow moving stellar wind (e.g., ~ 28 km/s) inferred for the preexisting, dense CSM shell and the extremely high mass-loss rate (1-2 M_sun per yr), we suggest that the progenitor of SN 2010jl might have experienced a red supergiant stage and explode finally as a post-red supergiant star with an initial mass above 30-40 M_sun.

astro-ph.SR↗