High Resolution X-ray Spectroscopy of 14 Cooling-flow Clusters of Galaxies Using the Reflection Grating Spectrometers on Xmm-newton
نویسندگان
چکیده
We present high resolution X-ray spectra of 14 coolingflow X-ray clusters and groups obtained with the Reflection Grating Spectrometers (RGS) on XMM-Newton. The spectra exhibit line emission from a number of Fe L charge states as well as O VIII, Mg XII, Ne X, Si XIV & XIII, N VII, and C VI. All spectra show a deficit of soft X-ray lines predicted from the isobaric multi-phase spectral model as compared with morphological mass deposition rates from spatially-resolved spectroscopy with the European Photon Imaging Cameras (EPIC). We present some weak detections of plasma several times cooler than the ambient cluster temperatures. The results further suggest that either morphological mass deposition rates systematically overestimate the actual cooling rate or the emission measure of cooling-flows has a much steeper distribution than that predicted by a simple isobaric multi-phase model. We briefly discuss some modifications to the cooling-flow process.
منابع مشابه
High resolution soft X - ray spectroscopy of the elliptical galaxy NGC 5044
The results from an X-ray spectroscopic study of the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 5044 in the center of a galaxy group are presented. The line dominated soft X-ray spectra (mainly Fe-L and O VIII Lyα) from the diffuse gas are resolved for the first time in this system with the Reflection Grating Spectrometers on-board XMM-Newton and provide a strong constraint on the temperature structure. The s...
متن کاملOn the soft X-ray spectrum of cooling flows
Strong evidence for cooling flows has been found in low-resolution X-ray imaging and spectra of many clusters of galaxies. However, high-resolution X-ray spectra of several clusters from the Reflection Grating Spectrometer on XMM-Newton now show a soft X-ray spectrum inconsistent with a simple cooling flow. The main problem is a lack of the emission lines expected from gas cooling below 1–2 keV...
متن کاملSpectroscopic Constraints on Cooling Flow Models of Clusters of Galaxies and Gaseous Haloes Around Elliptical Galaxies
In many clusters of galaxies, the cooling time at the core of the intracluster medium is much less than the age of the system, suggesting that the the gas should continually lose energy by radiation. Simple thermodynamic arguments then require that the expected " cooling flow " should exhibit a specific spectroscopic signature, characterized by a differential emission measure distribution that ...
متن کاملHigh Resolution Observations of the Elliptical Galaxy NGC 4636 with the Reflection Grating Spectrometer On-Board XMM-Newton
We present the first high spectral resolution X-ray observation of the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 4636, obtained with the Reflection Grating Spectrometer on-board the XMM-Newton Observatory. The resulting spectrum contains a wealth of emission lines from various charge states of oxygen, neon, magnesium, and iron. Examination of the cross-dispersion profiles of several of these lines provides c...
متن کاملStudying the Evolving Universe with XMM - Newton and
Two X–ray observatories, the NASA observatory Chandra and the ESA mission XMM-Newton, provide powerful new diagnostics of the " hot universe ". In this article I review recent X–ray observations of the evolving universe. First indications of the warm/hot intergalactic medium, tracing out the large scale structure of the universe, have been obtained lately in sensitive Chandra and XMM-Newton hig...
متن کامل