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Register a new userA Merger Scenario for the Dynamics of Abell 665
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Percy L. Gomez
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We present new redshift measurements for 55 galaxies in the vicinity of the rich galaxy cluster Abell 665. When combined with results from the literature, we have good velocity measurements for a sample of 77 confirmed cluster members from which we derive the clusters redshift z=0.1829 +/- 0.0005 and line-of-sight velocity dispersion of 1390 +/- 120 km/s. Our analysis of the kinematical and spatial data for the subset of galaxies located within the central 750 kpc reveals only subtle evidence for substructure and non-Gaussianity in the velocity distribution. We find that the brightest cluster member is not moving significantly relative to the other galaxies near the center of the cluster. On the other hand, our deep ROSAT high resolution image of A665 shows strong evidence for isophotal twisting and centroid variation, thereby confirming previous suggestions of significant substructure in the hot X-ray--emitting intracluster gas. In light of this evident substructure, we have compared the optical velocity data with N-body simulations of head-on cluster mergers. We find that a merger of two similar mass subclusters (mass ratios of 1:1 or 1:2) seen close to the time of core-crossing produces velocity distributions that are consistent with that observed.
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Deep (103 ks) chandra observations of Abell 665 have revealed rich structures in this merging galaxy cluster, including a strong shock and two cold fronts. The newly discovered shock has a Mach number of $M$ = 3.0 $pm$ 0.6, propagating in front of a cold disrupted cloud. This makes Abell~665 the second cluster where a strong merger shock of $M approx$ 3 has been detected, after the Bullet cluster. The shock velocity from jump conditions is consistent with (2.7 $pm$ 0.7) $times$ 10$^3$ km sec$^{-1}$. The new data also reveal a prominent southern cold front, with potentially heated gas ahead of it. Abell 665 also hosts a giant radio halo. There is a hint of diffuse radio emission extending to the shock at the north, which needs to be examined with better radio data. This new strong shock provides a great opportunity to study the re-acceleration model with the X-ray and radio data combined.
New radio data at 330 MHz are presented for the rich clusters Abell 665 and Abell 2163, whose radio emission is characterized by the presence of a radio halo. These images allowed us to derive the spectral properties of the two clusters under study. The integrated spectra of these halos between 0.3 GHz and 1.4 GHz are moderately steep: alfa(0.3-1.4) = 1.04 and = 1.18, for A665 and A2163, respectively. The spectral index maps, produced with an angular resolution of the order of 1 arcmin, show features of the spectral index (flattening and patches), which are indication of a complex shape of the radiating electron spectrum, and are therefore in support of electron reacceleration models. Regions of flatter spectrum are found to be related to the recent merger activity in these clusters. This is the first strong confirmation that the cluster merger supplies energy to the radio halo. In the undisturbed cluster regions, the spectrum steepens with the distance from the cluster center. This is interpreted as the result of the combination of the magnetic field profile with the spatial distribution of the reacceleration efficiency, thus allowing us to set constraints on the radial profile of the cluster magnetic field.
Multi-wavelength observations show that Abell 1367 (A1367) is a dynamically young cluster, with at least two subclusters merging along the SE-NW direction. With the wide-field XMM-Newton mosaic of A1367, we discover a previously unknown merger shock at the NW edge of the cluster. We estimate the shock Mach number from the density and temperature jumps as $M_{rho}=1.21pm0.08$ and $M_T=1.60pm0.07$, respectively. This shock region also corresponds to a radio relic discovered with the VLA and GBT, which could be produced by the shock re-acceleration of pre-existing seed relativistic electrons. We suggest that some of the seed relativistic electrons originate from late-type, star-forming galaxies in this region.
We present a $250,$ks Chandra observation of the cluster merger A2034 with the aim of understanding the nature of a sharp edge previously characterized as a cold front. The new data reveal that the edge is coherent over a larger opening angle and is significantly more bow-shock-shaped than previously thought. Within $sim 27,$degrees about the axis of symmetry of the edge the density, temperature and pressure drop abruptly by factors of $1.83^{+0.09}_{-0.08}$, $1.85^{+0.41}_{-0.41}$ and $3.4^{+0.8}_{-0.7}$, respectively. This is inconsistent with the pressure equilibrium expected of a cold front and we conclude that the edge is a shock front. We measure a Mach number $M = 1.59^{+0.06}_{-0.07}$ and corresponding shock velocity $v_{rm shock}simeq 2057,$km/s. Using spectra collected at the MMT with the Hectospec multi-object spectrograph we identify 328 spectroscopically confirmed cluster members. Significantly, we find a local peak in the projected galaxy density associated with a bright cluster galaxy which is located just ahead of the nose of the shock. The data are consistent with a merger viewed within $sim 23,$degrees of the plane of the sky. The merging subclusters are now moving apart along a north-south axis approximately $0.3,$Gyr after a small impact parameter core passage. The gas core of the secondary subcluster, which was driving the shock, appears to have been disrupted by the merger. Without a driving piston we speculate that the shock is dying. Finally, we propose that the diffuse radio emission near the shock is due to the revival of pre-existing radio plasma which has been overrun by the shock.
The galaxy cluster Abell 1644 ($bar{z}=0.047$) is known for its remarkable spiral-like X-ray emission. It was previously identified as a bimodal system, comprising the subclusters, A1644S and A1644N, each one centered on a giant elliptical galaxy. In this work, we present a comprehensive study of this system, including new weak-lensing and dynamical data and analysis plus a tailor-made hydrodynamical simulation. The lensing and galaxy density maps showed a structure in the North that could not be seen on the X-ray images. We, therefore, rename the previously known northern halo as A1644N1 and the new one as A1644N2. Our lensing data suggests that those have fairly similar masses: $M_{200}^{rm N1}=0.90_{-0.85}^{+0.45} times10^{14}$ and $M_{200}^{rm N2}=0.76_{-0.75}^{+0.37} times10^{14}$ M$_odot$, whereas the southern structure is the main one: $M_{200}^{rm S}=1.90_{-1.28}^{+0.89}times 10^{14}$ M$_odot$. Based on the simulations, fed by the observational data, we propose a scenario where the remarkable X-ray characteristics in the system are the result of a collision between A1644S and A1644N2 that happened $sim$1.6 Gyr ago. Currently, those systems should be heading to a new encounter, after reaching their maximum separation.
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