X-ray and radio emission from clusters of galaxies - The heating of intracluster gas by relativistic electrons

1978 ◽  
Vol 222 ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Lea ◽  
G. D. Holman
1982 ◽  
Vol 97 ◽  
pp. 453-459
Author(s):  
A. C. Fabian ◽  
A. K. Kembhavi

The density of intergalactic gas may be an important parameter in the formation of extended radio sources. It may range from ∼ 0.1 particle cm−3 in the centres of some rich clusters of galaxies down to 10−8cm−3 or less in intercluster space. The possible influence of the intracluster gas surrounding NGC 1275 on its radio emission is discussed, and the possibility that a significant fraction of the X-ray background is due to a hot intergalactic medium is explored in some detail.


1979 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 332-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. B. Slee ◽  
P. J. Quinn

The completion of the Uhuru (Forman et al. 1978) and Ariel V (Cooke et al. 1978) surveys of the sky for X-ray emission has resulted in many proposed identifications with individual galaxies and clusters of galaxies. The X-ray positions are not usually accurate enough to enable a positive identification to be made of the X-ray sources with optical or radio objects, and hence the identification is often based on statistical arguments — viz., the unexpected occurrence of unusual galaxies, radio sources or clusters of galaxies within or near the X-ray error boxes. There is usually no significant information available on the angular size of the X-ray emitter but in two or three cases (e.g. Perseus cluster, Coma cluster and Virgo cluster) the angular resolution is good enough to identify a broad component with dimensions approaching those of the whole cluster. This extended X-ray emission has been ascribed to either inverse Compton scattering of the 3° microwave background by relativistic electrons in the intra-cluster medium or to thermal-bremsstrahlung emission by an optically thin plasma at - 10s K.


2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (S277) ◽  
pp. 329-332
Author(s):  
Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo ◽  
Andy Fabian

AbstractCool core clusters of galaxies require strong feedback from their central AGN to offset cooling. We present a study of strong cool core, highly-luminous (most with Lx ≥ 1045 erg s−1), clusters of galaxies in which the mean central AGN jet power must be very high yet no central point X-ray source is detected. Using the unique spatial resolution of Chandra, a sample of 13 clusters is analysed, including A1835, A2204, and one of the most massive cool core clusters, RXCJ1504.1-0248. All of the central galaxies host a radio source, indicating an active nucleus, and no obvious X-ray point source. For all clusters in the sample, the nucleus has an X-ray bolometric luminosity below 2 per cent of that of the entire cluster. We investigate how these clusters can have such strong X-ray luminosities, short radiative cooling-times of the inner intracluster gas requiring strong energy feedback to counterbalance that cooling, and yet have such radiatively-inefficient cores with, on average, Lkin/Lnuc exceeding 200. Explanations of this puzzle carry significant implications for the origin and operation of jets, as well as on establishing the importance of kinetic feedback for the evolution of galaxies and their surrounding medium.


1990 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 209-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig L. Sarazin

AbstractX-ray line observations of clusters of galaxies have shown that the X-ray emission in clusters is mainly thermal emission from hot diffuse gas, and that much of this gas has come out of stars, probably having been ejected from galaxies in the cluster. Future high resolution observations should allow us to determine the physical state of the gas. X-ray line measurements and abundance determinations can lead to strong constraints on the origin of the intracluster gas, and on the chemical evolution and history of galaxies. Some of the stronger resonant X-ray lines may be observable as absorption lines against a background quasar. Such X-ray absorption line measurement can be used to directly derive distances to clusters, using a technique similar to (and possibly complementary to) that the well-known method using the Zel’dovich-Syunyaev effect.


2019 ◽  
Vol 622 ◽  
pp. A20 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. N. Hoang ◽  
T. W. Shimwell ◽  
R. J. van Weeren ◽  
G. Brunetti ◽  
H. J. A. Röttgering ◽  
...  

Context. Extended synchrotron radio sources are often observed in merging galaxy clusters. Studies of the extended emission help us to understand the mechanisms in which the radio emitting particles gain their relativistic energies. Aims. We examine the possible acceleration mechanisms of the relativistic particles that are responsible for the extended radio emission in the merging galaxy cluster Abell 520. Methods. We performed new 145 MHz observations with the LOw Frequency ARay (LOFAR) and combined these with archival Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) 323 MHz and Very Large Array (VLA) 1.5 GHz data to study the morphological and spectral properties of extended cluster emission. The observational properties are discussed in the framework of particle acceleration models associated with cluster merger turbulence and shocks. Results. In Abell 520, we confirm the presence of extended (760 × 950 kpc2) synchrotron radio emission that has been classified as a radio halo. The comparison between the radio and X-ray brightness suggests that the halo might originate in a cocoon rather than from the central X-ray bright regions of the cluster. The halo spectrum is roughly uniform on the scale of 66 kpc. There is a hint of spectral steepening from the SW edge towards the cluster centre. Assuming diffusive shock acceleration (DSA), the radio data are suggestive of a shock Mach number of ℳSW = 2.6−0.2+0.3 that is consistent with the X-ray derived estimates. This is in agreement with the scenario in which relativistic electrons in the SW radio edge gain their energies at the shock front via acceleration of either thermal or fossil electrons. We do not detect extended radio emission ahead of the SW shock that is predicted if the emission is the result of adiabatic compression. An X-ray surface brightness discontinuity is detected towards the NE region that may be a counter shock of Mach number ℳNEX = 1.52±0.05. This is lower than the value predicted from the radio emission which, assuming DSA, is consistent with ℳNE = 2.1 ± 0.2. Conclusions. Our observations indicate that the radio emission in the SW of Abell 520 is likely effected by the prominent X-ray detected shock in which radio emitting particles are (re-)accelerated through the Fermi-I mechanism. The NE X-ray discontinuity that is approximately collocated with an edge in the radio emission hints at the presence of a counter shock.


2004 ◽  
Vol 218 ◽  
pp. 219-220
Author(s):  
D. A. Leahy

LSI +61°303 outbursts are modeled as a pulsar wind nebula expanding inside the environment provided by the Be companion star's stellar wind and photon flux. A set of equations describing the system is developed and solved numerically for representative sets of parameters. Emission in X-rays through gamma-rays is due to inverse Compton emission from relativistic electrons around the pulsar. The radio emission is due to synchrotron emission of varying optical depth, which yields a varying spectral index. The peak of X-ray emission is near periastron and the peak of the radio emission is near apastron, due to reduced confining pressure on the relativistic electron cloud and its subsequent rapid expansion.


2005 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 291-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig L. Sarazin

AbstractClusters of galaxies generally form by the gravitational merger of smaller clusters and groups. Mergers drive shocks in the intra-cluster gas which heat the intra-cluster gas. Mergers disrupt cluster cooling cores. Mergers produce large, temporary increases in the X-ray luminosities and temperatures of cluster; such merger boost may bias estimates of cosmological parameters from clusters. Chandra observations of the X-ray signatures of mergers, particularly “cold fronts,” will be discussed. X-ray observations of shocks can be used to determine the kinematics of the merger. As a result of particle acceleration in shocks and turbulent acceleration following mergers, clusters of galaxies should contain very large populations of relativistic electrons and ions. Observations and models for the radio, extreme ultraviolet, hard X-ray, and gamma-ray emission from non-thermal particles accelerated in these shocks are described.


1974 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 489-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. N. G. Guthrie

1982 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. B. Slee ◽  
I. R. G. Wilson ◽  
Betty C. Siegman

There has been considerable speculation in recent years about the evolution of radio galaxies in clusters. The discovery of powerful X-ray emission with an apparently thermal spectrum from a considerable number of clusters has been attributed to a hot (108K) intracluster gas with an electron density of ∼ 10-3 cm -3 at the cluster centre (see e.g. McHardy 1978). Such a gas surrounding a radio galaxy may conceivably retard the expansion or diffusion of the relativistic electrons and thus allow the source to retain its identity for longer intervals than is the case for field galaxies.


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