Related papers: The Cluster-Merger Shock in 1E 0657-56
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…
Using the largest mosaic of Hubble Space Telescope images around a galaxy cluster, we map the distribution of dark matter throughout a $\sim$$6\times6$ Mpc$^2$ area centred on the cluster MS 0451-03 ($z=0.54$, $M_{200}=1.65\times10^{15}…
We employ a high-resolution LCDM N-body simulation to present merger rate predictions for dark matter halos and investigate how common merger-related observables for galaxies--such as close pair counts, starburst counts, and the…
We have identified perhaps the largest major galaxy merger ever seen. While analysing Spitzer IRAC images of CL0958+4702, an X-ray selected cluster at z=0.39, we discovered an unusual plume of stars extending $\gtrsim$110 kpc outward from…
We present ASCA gas temperature maps of the nearby merging galaxy clusters Cygnus A, A3667, and A2065. Cygnus A appears to have a particularly simple merger geometry that allows an estimate of the subcluster collision velocity from the…
We present a dynamical analysis of the merging galaxy cluster system Abell 2146 using spectroscopy obtained with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph on the Gemini North telescope. As revealed by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the system is…
Recent observations of the dwarf elliptical galaxy Scl-dE1 (Sc22) in the Sculptor group of galaxies revealed an extended globular cluster (Scl-dE1 GC1), which exhibits an extremely large core radius of about 21.2 pc. The authors of the…
We performed a set of cosmological simulations of major mergers in galaxy clusters to study the evolution of merger shocks and the subsequent injection of turbulence in the post-shock region and in the intra-cluster medium (ICM). The…
We study the acceleration of cosmic rays by collisionless structure formation shocks with ENZO grid simulations. Data from the FERMI satellite enable the use of galaxy clusters as a testbed for particle acceleration models. Based on…
We model the electrons/positrons produced by dark matter annihilations in the colliding galaxy cluster system 1E0657-56 (the bullet cluster). These charged particles, confined by the Magnetic field, clearly trace the path of the bullet,…
The merger shocks generated by the collision of galaxy clusters elevate the pressure within the intracluster medium, significantly influencing the evolution of embedded cluster galaxies. We detect a merger shock (Mach number $\sim 1.3$) on…
We present Chandra gas temperature maps for two hot, intermediate-redshift clusters A665 and A2163. Both show strong temperature variations in their central r=1 Mpc regions, naturally interpreted as product of the subcluster mergers. The…
Clusters of galaxies generally form by the gravitational merger of smaller clusters and groups. Major cluster mergers are the most energetic events in the Universe since the Big Bang. Mergers drive shocks into the intracluster gas, and…
The XRISM Resolve microcalorimeter array measured the velocities of hot intracluster gas at two positions in the Coma galaxy cluster: 3'x3' squares at the center and at 6' (170 kpc) to the south. We find the line-of-sight velocity…
Many galaxies display warps, lopsided images, asymmetric rotation curves or other features which suggest that their immediate dynamical environment is neither static nor in equilibrium. In Cold Dark Matter (CDM) theories, such…
Abell 754 is a galaxy cluster in which an ongoing merger is evident on the plane of the sky, from the southeast to the northwest. We study the spatial variation of the X-ray spectra observed with Suzaku along the merging direction,…
We report the discovery of eMACSJ0252.4$-$2100 (eMACSJ0252), a massive and highly evolved galaxy cluster at $z=0.703$. Our analysis of Hubble Space Telescope imaging and VLT/MUSE and Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy of the system finds a high…
We report the results of recent numerical simulations of the head-on merger of a cooling flow cluster with an infalling subcluster of galaxies. These simulations examined the effects of different types of cluster mergers (with 16:1 and 4:1…
Recently, high-resolution Chandra observations revealed the existence of very sharp features in the X-ray surface brightness and temperature maps of several clusters (Vikhlinin et. al., 2001). These features, called ``cold fronts'', are…
We present a new Chandra X-ray observation of the off-axis galaxy group merger RXJ0751.3+5012. The hot atmospheres of the two colliding groups appear highly distorted by the merger. The images reveal arc-like cold fronts around each group…