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Register a new userX-Ray surface brightness and gas density fluctuations in the Coma cluster
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X-ray surface brightness fluctuations in the core ($650 times 650$ kpc) region of the Coma cluster observed with XMM-Newton and Chandra are analyzed using a 2D power spectrum approach. The resulting 2D spectra are converted to 3D power spectra of gas density fluctuations. Our independent analyses of the XMM-Newton and Chandra observations are in excellent agreement and provide the most sensitive measurements of surface brightness and density fluctuations for a hot cluster. We find that the characteristic amplitude of the volume filling density fluctuations relative to the smooth underlying density distribution varies from 7-10% on scales of $sim$500 kpc down to $sim$5% at scales $sim$ 30 kpc. On smaller spatial scales, projection effects smear the density fluctuations by a large factor, precluding strong limits on the fluctuations in 3D. On the largest scales probed (hundreds of kpc), the dominant contributions to the observed fluctuations most likely arise from perturbations of the gravitational potential by the two most massive galaxies in Coma, NGC4874 and NGC4889, and the low entropy gas brought to the cluster by an infalling group. Other plausible sources of X-ray surface brightness fluctuations are discussed, including turbulence, metal abundance variations, and unresolved sources. Despite a variety of possible origins for density fluctuations, the gas in the Coma cluster core is remarkably homogeneous on scales from $sim$ 500 to $sim$30 kpc.
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We investigate the levels of small scale structure in surface brightness images of the core of the X-ray bright cool-core galaxy cluster AWM 7. After subtraction of a model of the smooth cluster emission, we find a number of approximately radial surface brightness depressions which are not present in simulated images and are seen in both the Chandra and XMM-Newton data. The depressions are most strongly seen in the south of the cluster and have a magnitude of around 4 per cent in surface brightness. We see these features in both an energy band sensitive to the density (0.6 to 5 keV) and a band more sensitive to the pressure (3.5 to 7.5 keV). Histograms of surface brightness in the data, when compared to realisations of a smooth model, reveal stronger surface brightness variations. We use the Delta-variance technique to characterise the magnitude of the fluctuations as a function of length scale. We find that the spectrum in the 0.6 to 5 keV band is flatter than expected for Kolmogorov index fluctuations. If characterised by a power spectrum, on large scales it would have an index around -1.7, rather than -3.7. The implied 3D density fluctuations have a standard deviation of around 4 per cent. The implied 3D pressure variations are at most 4 per cent. Most of the longer-scale power in the density spectrum is contributed by the southern half of the cluster, where the depressions are seen. The density variations implied by the spectrum of the northern sector have a standard deviation of about 2 per cent.
We present an analysis of Planck satellite data on the Coma Cluster observed via the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect. Planck is able, for the first time, to detect SZ emission up to r ~ 3 X R_500. We test previously proposed models for the pressure distribution in clusters against the azimuthally averaged data. We find that the Arnaud et al. universal pressure profile does not fit Coma, and that their pressure profile for merging systems provides a good fit of the data only at r<R_500: by r=2XR_500 it underestimates the observed y profile by a factor of ~2. This may indicate that at these larger radii either i) the cluster SZ emission is contaminated by unresolved SZ sources along the line of sight or ii) the pressure profile of Coma is higher at r>R_500 than the mean pressure profile predicted by the simulations. The Planck image shows significant local steepening of the y profile in two regions about half a degree to the west and to the south-east of the cluster centre. These features are consistent with the presence of shock fronts at these radii, and indeed the western feature was previously noticed in the ROSAT PSPC mosaic as well as in the radio. Using Planck y profiles extracted from corresponding sectors we find pressure jumps of 4.5+0.4-0.2 and 5.0+1.3-0.1 in the west and southeast, respectively. Assuming Rankine-Hugoniot pressure jump conditions, we deduce that the shock waves should propagate with Mach number M_w=2.03+0.09-0.04 and M_se=2.05+0.25-0.02 in the West and Southeast, respectively. Finally, we find that the y and radio-synchrotron signals are quasi-linearly correlated on Mpc scales with small intrinsic scatter. This implies either that the energy density of cosmic-ray electrons is relatively constant throughout the cluster, or that the magnetic fields fall off much more slowly with radius than previously thought.
This project is the continuation of our study of faint Low Surface Brightness Galaxies (fLSBs) in one of the densest nearby galaxy regions known, the Coma cluster. Our goal is to improve our understanding of the nature of these objects by comparing the broad band spectral energy distribution with population synthesis models. The data were obtained with the MEGACAM and CFH12K cameras at the CFHT. We used the resulting photometry in 5 broad band filters (u*, B, V, R, and I), that included new u*-band data, to fit spectral models. With these spectral fits we inferred a cluster membership criterium, as well as the ages, dust extinctions, and photometric types of these fLSBs. We show that about half of the Coma cluster fLSBs have a spectral energy distribution well represented in our template library while the other half present a flux deficit at ultraviolet wavelengths. Among the well represented, ~80% are probably part of the Coma cluster based on their spectral energy distribution. They are relatively young (younger than 2.3 Gyrs for 90% of the sample) non-starburst objects. The later their type, the younger fLSBs are. A significant part of the fLSBs are quite dusty objects. fLSBs are low stellar mass objects (the later their type the less massive they are), with stellar masses comparable to globular clusters for the faintest ones. Their characteristics are correlated with infall directions, confirming the disruptive origin for part of them.
Fluctuations of the surface brightness of cosmic X-ray background (CXB) carry unique information about faint and low luminosity source populations, which is inaccessible for conventional large-scale structure (LSS) studies based on resolved sources. We used Chandra data of the XBOOTES field ($sim9,mathrm{deg^2}$) to conduct the most accurate measurement to date of the power spectrum of fluctuations of the unresolved CXB on the angular scales of $sim3,$arcsec $-$ $sim17,$arcmin. We find that at sub-arcmin angular scales, the power spectrum is consistent with the AGN shot noise, without much need for any significant contribution from their one-halo term. This is consistent with the theoretical expectation that low-luminosity AGN reside alone in their dark matter halos. However, at larger angular scales we detect a significant LSS signal above the AGN shot noise. Its power spectrum, obtained after subtracting the AGN shot noise, follows a power law with the slope of $-0.8pm0.1$ and its amplitude is much larger than what can be plausibly explained by the two-halo term of AGN. We demonstrate that the detected LSS signal is produced by unresolved clusters and groups of galaxies. For the flux limit of the XBOOTES survey, their flux-weighted mean redshift equals $left<zright>sim0.3$, and the mean temperature of their intracluster medium (ICM), $left<Tright>approx 1.4$ keV, corresponds to the mass of $M_{500} sim 10^{13.5},mathrm{M}_odot$. The power spectrum of CXB fluctuations carries information about the redshift distribution of these objects and the spatial structure of their ICM on the linear scales of up to $sim$Mpc, i.e. of the order of the virial radius.
The Planck collaboration has recently published precise and resolved measurements of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect in Abell 1656 (the Coma cluster of galaxies), so directly gauging the electron pressure profile in the intracluster plasma. On the other hand, such a quantity may be also derived from combining the density and temperature provided by X-ray observations of the thermal bremsstrahlung radiation emitted by the plasma. We find a model-independent tension between the SZ and the X-ray pressure, with the SZ one being definitely lower by 15-20%. We propose that such a challenging tension can be resolved in terms of an additional, non-thermal support to the gravitational equilibrium of the intracluster plasma. This can be straightforwardly included in our Supermodel, so as to fit in detail the Planck SZ profile while being consistent with the X-ray observables. Possible origins of the nonthermal component include cosmic-ray protons, ongoing turbulence, and relativistic electrons; given the existing observational constraints on the first two options, here we focus on the third. For this to be effective, we find that the electron population must include not only an energetic tail accelerated to gamma> 10^3 responsible for the Coma radiohalo, but also many more, lower energy electrons. The electron acceleration is to be started by merging events similar to those which provided the very high central entropy of the thermal intracluster plasma in Coma.
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