A. Simionescu

Baryons at the Edge of the X-ray–Brightest Galaxy Cluster

The Suzaku satellite provides a census of the gas, metals, and dark matter out to the outskirts of the Perseus Cluster. Studies of the diffuse x-ray–emitting gas in galaxy clusters have provided powerful constraints on cosmological parameters and insights into plasma astrophysics. However, measurements of the faint cluster outskirts have become possible only recently. Using data from the Suzaku x-ray telescope, we determined an accurate, spatially resolved census of the gas, metals, and dark matter out to the edge of the Perseus Cluster. Contrary to previous results, our measurements of the cluster baryon fraction are consistent with the expected universal value at half of the virial radius. The apparent baryon fraction exceeds the cosmic mean at larger radii, suggesting a clumpy distribution of the gas, which is important for understanding the ongoing growth of clusters from the surrounding cosmic web.

Shocks and Cavities from Multiple Outbursts in the Galaxy Group NGC 5813: A Window to Active Galactic Nucleus Feedback

We present results from new Chandra, GMRT, and SOAR observations of NGC 5813, the dominant central galaxy in a nearby galaxy group. The system shows three pairs of collinear cavities at 1 kpc, 8 kpc, and 20 kpc from the central source, from three distinct outbursts of the central active galactic nucleus (AGN), which occurred 3 × 106, 2 × 107, and 9 × 107 yr ago. The Hα and X-ray observations reveal filaments of cool gas that has been uplifted by the X-ray cavities. The inner two cavity pairs are filled with radio-emitting plasma, and each pair is associated with an elliptical surface brightness edge, which we unambiguously identify as shocks (with measured temperature jumps) with Mach numbers of M ≈ 1.7 and M ≈ 1.5 for the inner and outer shocks, respectively. Such clear signatures from three distinct AGN outbursts in an otherwise dynamically relaxed system provide a unique opportunity to study AGN feedback and outburst history. The mean power of the two most recent outbursts differs by a factor of six, from (1.5-10)×1042 erg s–1, indicating that the mean jet power changes significantly over long (~107 yr) timescales. The total energy output of the most recent outburst is also more than an order of magnitude less than the total energy of the previous outburst (1.5 × 1056 erg versus 4 × 1057 erg), which may be a result of the lower mean power, or may indicate that the most recent outburst is ongoing. The outburst interval implied by both the shock and cavity ages (~107 yr) indicates that, in this system, shock heating alone is sufficient to balance radiative cooling close to the central AGN, which is the relevant region for regulating feedback between the intracluster medium and the central supermassive black hole.

X‐ray spectroscopy of the Virgo Cluster out to the virial radius

We present results from the analysis of a mosaic of 13 XMM–Newton pointings covering the Virgo Cluster from its centre northwards out to a radius r ∼ 1.2 Mpc (∼4. ◦ 5), reaching the virial radius and beyond. This is the first time that the properties of a modestly sized (Mvir ∼ 1.4 × 10 14 M� , kT ∼ 2.3 keV), dynamically young cluster have been studied out to the virial radius. The density profile of the cluster can be described by a surprisingly shallow power-law ne ∝ r −β with index β = 1.21 ± 0.12. In the radial range of 0.3rvir < r < rvir, the best-fitting temperature drops by roughly 60 per cent. Within a radius r < 450 kpc, the entropy profile has an approximate power law form K ∝ r 1.1 , as expected for gravitationally collapsed gas in hydrostatic equilibrium. Beyond r ∼ 450 kpc, however, the temperature and metallicity drop abruptly, and the entropy profile becomes flatter, staying consistently below the expected value by a factor of 2–2.5. The most likely explanation for the unusually shallow density profile and the flattening of entropy at large radius is clumping in the ICM. Our data provide direct observational evidence that the ICM is enriched by metals all the way to r200 to at least Z = 0.1 Z � .

Detection of hot gas in the filament connecting the clusters of galaxies Abell 222 and Abell 223

Context. About half of the baryons in the local Universe are invisible and – according to simulations – their dominant fraction resides in filaments connecting clusters of galaxies in the form of low density gas with temperatures in the range of 10 5 < T < 10 7 K. This warm-hot intergalactic medium has never been detected indisputably using X-ray observations. Aims. We aim to probe the low gas densities expected in the large-scale structure filaments by observing a filament connecting the massive clusters of galaxies A 222 and A 223 (z = 0.21), which has a favorable orientation approximately along our line-of-sight. This filament has been previously detected using weak lensing data and as an over-density of colour-selected galaxies. Methods. We analyse X-ray images and spectra obtained from a deep observation (144 ks) of A 222/223 with XMM-Newton. Results. We present observational evidence of X-ray emission from the filament connecting the two clusters. We detect the filament in the wavelet-decomposed soft-band (0.5–2.0 keV) X-ray image with a 5σ significance. Following the emission down to the 3σ significance level, the observed filament is ≈1.2 Mpc wide. The temperature of the gas associated with the filament, determined from the spectra, is kT= 0.91±0.25 keV, and its emission measure corresponds to a baryon density of (3.4±1.3)×10 −5 (l/15 Mpc) −1/2 cm −3 , where l is the length of the filament along the line-of-sight. This density corresponds to a baryon over-density of ρ/ � ρC �≈ 150. The properties of the gas in the filament are consistent with results of simulations of the densest and hottest parts of the warm-hot intergalactic medium.

Chemical enrichment in the cluster of galaxies Hydra A

We analyzed global properties, radial profiles, and 2D maps of the metal abundances and temperature in the cool core cluster of galaxies Hydra A using a deep ∼120 ks XMM-Newton exposure. The best fit among the available spectral models is provided by a Gaussian distribution of the emission measure (gdem). We can accurately determine abundances for 7 elements in the cluster core with EPIC (O, Si, S, Ar, Ca, Fe, Ni) and 3 elements (O, Ne, Fe) with RGS. The gdem model gives lower Fe abundances than a singletemperature model. Based on this, we explain why simulations show that the best-fit Fe abundance in clusters with intermediate temperatures is overestimated. The abundance profiles for Fe, Si, S, but also O are centrally peaked. Combining the Hydra A results with 5 other clusters for which detailed chemical abundance studies are available, we find a significant decrease in O with radius, while the increase in the O/Fe ratio with radius is small within 0.1 r200, where the O abundances can be accurately determined, with d(O/Fe)/d(log10r/r200) = 0.25 ± 0.09. We compare the observed abundance ratios with the mixing of various supernova type Ia and core-collapse yield models in different relative amounts. Producing the estimated O, Si, and S peaks in Hydra A requires either the amount of metals ejected by stellar winds to be 3–8 times higher than predicted by available models or the initial enrichment by core-collapse supernovae in the protocluster phase not to be as well mixed on large scales as previously thought. The temperature map shows cooler gas extending in arm-like structures towards the north and south. These structures, and especially the northern one, appear to be richer in metals than the ambient medium and spatially correlated with the large-scale radio lobes. With different sets of assumptions, we estimate the mass of cool gas, which was probably uplifted by buoyant bubbles of relativistic plasma produced by the AGN, to 1.6−6.1 × 10 9 M� , and the energy associated with this uplift to 3.3−12.5 × 10 58 erg. The best estimate of the mass of Fe uplifted together with the cool gas is 1.7 × 10 7 M� , 15% of the total mass of Fe in the central 0.5 � region.

Gas sloshing, cold front formation and metal redistribution: the Virgo cluster as a quantitative test case

We perform hydrodynamical simulations of minor-merger-induced gas sloshing and the subsequent formation of cold fronts in the Virgo cluster. Comparing to observations, we show for the first time that the sloshing scenario can reproduce the radii and the contrasts in X-ray brightness, projected temperature and metallicity across the cold fronts quantitatively. The comparison suggests a third cold front 20 kpc north-west of the Virgo core. We identify several new features typical for sloshing cold fronts: an alternating distribution of cool, metal-enriched X-ray brightness excess regions and warm brightness deficit regions of reduced metallicity; a constant or radially decreasing temperature accompanied by a plateau in metallicity inside the cold fronts; a warm rim outside the cold fronts and a large-scale brightness asymmetry. We can trace these new features not only in Virgo, but also in other clusters exhibiting sloshing cold fronts. By comparing synthetic and real observations, we estimate that the original minor-merger event took place about 1.5 Gyr ago when a subcluster of 1-4 x 10 13 M ⊙ passed the Virgo core at 100-400 kpc distance, where a smaller mass corresponds to a smaller pericentre distance, and vice versa. From our inferred merger geometry, we derive the current location of the disturbing subcluster to be about 1-2 Mpc east of the Virgo core. A possible candidate is M60. Additionally, we quantify the metal redistribution by sloshing and discuss its importance. We verify that the subcluster required to produce the observed cold fronts could be completely ram-pressure-stripped before reaching the Virgo centre, and discuss the conditions required for this to be achieved. Finally, we demonstrate that the bow shock of a fast galaxy passing the Virgo cluster at ~400 kpc distance also causes sloshing and leads to very similar cold front structures. The responsible galaxy would be located about 2 Mpc north of the Virgo centre. A possible candidate is M85.

Constraints on turbulent pressure in the X-ray haloes of giant elliptical galaxies from resonant scattering

The dense cores of X-ray emitting gaseous halos of large elliptical galaxies with temperatures kT . 0.8 keV show two prominent Fexvii emission features, which provide a sensitive diagnostic tool to measure the effects of resonant scattering. We present here high-resoluti on spectra of five bright nearby elliptical galaxies, obtained with the Reflection Grating Spectrometers (RGS) on the XMM-Newtonsatellite. The spectra for the cores of four of the galaxies s how the Fexvii line at 15.01 A being suppressed by resonant scattering. The data for NGC 4636 in particular allow the effects of resonant scattering to be studied in detail and to pro ve that the 15.01 A line is suppressed only in the dense core and not in the surrounding regions. Using deprojected density and temperature profiles for this ga laxy obtained with the Chandra satellite, we model the radial intensity profiles of the stro ngest resonance lines, accounting for the effects of resonant scattering, for different values of the characteristic turbulent velocity. Comparing the model to the data, we find that the isotropic tur bulent velocities on spatial scales smaller than≈1 kpc are less than 100 km s −1 and the turbulent pressure support in the galaxy core is smaller than 5% of the thermal pressure at the 9 0% confidence level, and less than 20% at 95% confidence. Neglecting the effects of resonant scattering in spectral fitting of the inner 2 kpc core of NGC 4636 will lead to underestimates of the chemical abundances of Fe and O by∼10‐20%.

A filament of dark matter between two clusters of galaxies

It is a firm prediction of the concordance cold-dark-matter cosmological model that galaxy clusters occur at the intersection of large-scale structure filaments. The thread-like structure of this ‘cosmic web’ has been traced by galaxy redshift surveys for decades. More recently, the warm–hot intergalactic medium (a sparse plasma with temperatures of 105 kelvin to 107 kelvin) residing in low-redshift filaments has been observed in emission and absorption. However, a reliable direct detection of the underlying dark-matter skeleton, which should contain more than half of all matter, has remained elusive, because earlier candidates for such detections were either falsified or suffered from low signal-to-noise ratios and unphysical misalignments of dark and luminous matter. Here we report the detection of a dark-matter filament connecting the two main components of the Abell 222/223 supercluster system from its weak gravitational lensing signal, both in a non-parametric mass reconstruction and in parametric model fits. This filament is coincident with an overdensity of galaxies and diffuse, soft-X-ray emission, and contributes a mass comparable to that of an additional galaxy cluster to the total mass of the supercluster. By combining this result with X-ray observations, we can place an upper limit of 0.09 on the hot gas fraction (the mass of X-ray-emitting gas divided by the total mass) in the filament.

Metal-rich multi-phase gas in M 87 - AGN-driven metal transport, magnetic-field supported multi-temperature gas, and constraints on non-thermal emission observed with XMM-Newton

We use deep (∼120 ks) XMM-Newton data of the M 87 halo to analyze its spatially resolved temperature structure and chemical composition. We focus particularly on the regions of enhanced X-ray brightness associated with the inner radio lobes, which are known not to be described very well by single-temperature spectral models. Compared to a simple two-temperature fit, we obtain a better and more physical description of the spectra using a model that involves a continuous range of temperatures in each spatial bin. The range of temperatures of the multiphase gas spans ∼0.6–3.2 keV. Such a multiphase structure is only possible if thermal conduction is suppressed by magnetic fields. In the multi-temperature regions, we find a correlation between the amount of cool gas (with a temperature below that of the surrounding X-ray plasma) and the metallicity, and conclude that the cool gas is more metalrich than the ambient halo. In the frame of the assumed thermal model, we estimate the average Fe abundance of the cool gas to ∼2.2 solar. Our results thus point toward the key role of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) in transporting heavy elements into the intracluster medium through the uplift of cool, metal-rich gas from the galaxy. However, the abundance ratios of O/Si/S/Fe in and outside the X-ray arms are similar, indicating that the dominant fraction of metals in the gas halo was uplifted by AGN outbursts relatively recently compared to the age of M 87. Our best estimate for the mass of the cool gas is 5 × 10 8 M� , which probably stems from a mixture of ICM, stellar mass loss, and Type Ia supernova products. ≈30–110 Myr are required to produce the observed metals in the cool gas. Finally, we put upper limits on possible non-thermal X-ray emission from M 87 and, combining it with the 90 cm radio maps, we put lower limits of around ∼0.5–1.0 µG on the magnetic field strength.

Azimuthally Resolved X-Ray Spectroscopy to the Edge of the Perseus Cluster

We present the results from extensive, new observations of the Perseus Cluster of galaxies, obtained as a Suzaku Key Project. The 85 pointings analyzed span eight azimuthal directions out to 2 degrees = 2.6 Mpc, to and beyond the virial radius r_200 ~ 1.8 Mpc, offering the most detailed X-ray observation of the intracluster medium (ICM) at large radii in any cluster to date. The azimuthally averaged density profile for r>0.4r_200 is relatively flat, with a best-fit power-law index of 1.69+/-0.13 significantly smaller than expected from numerical simulations. The entropy profile in the outskirts lies systematically below the power-law behavior expected from large-scale structure formation models which include only the heating associated with gravitational collapse. The pressure profile beyond ~0.6r_200 shows an excess with respect to the best-fit model describing the SZ measurements for a sample of clusters observed with Planck. The inconsistency between the expected and measured density, entropy, and pressure profiles can be explained primarily by an overestimation of the density due to inhomogeneous gas distribution in the outskirts; there is no evidence for a bias in the temperature measurements within the virial radius. We find significant differences in thermodynamic properties of the ICM at large radii along the different arms. Along the cluster minor axis, we find a flattening of the entropy profiles outside ~0.6r_200, while along the major axis, the entropy rises all the way to the outskirts. Correspondingly, the inferred gas clumping factor is typically larger along the minor than along the major axis.