Related papers: Strong Magnetization Measured in the Cool Cores of…
Cool core galaxy clusters are considered to be dynamically relaxed clusters with regular morphology and highly X-ray luminous central region. However, cool core clusters can also be sites for merging events that exhibit cold fronts in X-ray…
Table of contents (abridged): COLD FRONTS Origin and evolution of merger cold fronts Cold fronts in cluster cool cores . . . Simulations of gas sloshing. Origin of density discontinuity. . . . Effect of sloshing on cluster mass estimates…
We present a detailed analysis of sloshing cold fronts in a sample of three nearby galaxy clusters (Abell 496, Abell 2029, and Abell 1644) observed with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Cold fronts manifest as sharp edges in the X-ray surface…
Clusters of galaxies are embedded in halos of optically thin, gravitationally stratified, weakly magnetized plasma at the system's virial temperature. Due to radiative cooling and anisotropic heat conduction, such intracluster medium (ICM)…
Cold fronts have been observed in a large number of galaxy clusters. Understanding their nature and origin is of primary importance for the investigation of the internal dynamics of clusters. To gain insight on the nature of these features,…
The aim of this work is to investigate the average properties of the intra-cluster medium (ICM) magnetic fields, and to search for possible correlations with the ICM thermal properties and cluster radio emission. We have selected a sample…
Recent results on cluster cooling flows are reviewed. Observations of excess soft X-ray provides the only direct evidence for a major repository for the cooled gas. Unfortunately, the frequency of occurrence of large excess columns is…
It has been proposed that the cool cores of galaxy clusters are stably heated by cosmic rays (CRs). If this is the case, radio mini-halos, which are often found in the central regions of cool core clusters, may be attributed to the…
(abridged) Uninhibited radiative cooling in clusters of galaxies would lead to excessive mass accretion rates contrary to observations. One of the key proposals to offset radiative energy losses is thermal conduction from outer, hotter…
Minor mergers are common in galaxy clusters. They have the potential to create sloshing cold fronts (SCFs) in the intracluster medium (ICM) of the cluster. However, the resilience of SCFs to subsequent minor mergers is unknown. Here we…
Using a set of ROSAT HRI deep pointings, we investigate the presence of small-scale structures in the central regions of clusters of galaxies. Our sample comprises 23 objects up to z=0.32, 13 of them known to host a cooling flow. Structures…
Magnetic fields are essential ingredients of many physical processes in the interiors and envelopes of cool stars. Yet their direct detection and characterisation is notoriously difficult, requiring high-quality observations and advanced…
Chandra images of galaxy clusters have revealed a wealth of structure unseen by previous generations of low resolution X-ray observatories. In the cores of clusters, bright, irregular X-ray emission is now routinely seen within central…
Radio observations of a few cool-core galaxy clusters have revealed the presence of diffuse emission on cluster scales, similar to what was found in merging clusters in the form of radio halos. These sources might suggest that a minor…
We use numerical simulations with hydrodynamics to demonstrate that a class of cold fronts in galaxy clusters can be attributed to oscillations of the dark matter distribution. The oscillations are initiated by the off-axis passage of a…
Large masses of absorbing material are inferred to exist in cooling flows in clusters of galaxies from the excess X-ray absorption in the spectra of some X-ray clusters. The absorbing material is probably in the form of cold clouds…
The most massive baryonic component of galaxy clusters is the "intracluster medium" (ICM), a diffuse, hot, weakly magnetized plasma that is most easily observed in the X-ray band. Despite being observed for decades, the macroscopic…
Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of many clusters reveal sharp discontinuities in the surface brightness, which, unlike shocks, have lower gas temperature on the X-ray brighter side of the discontinuity. For that reason these features…
Cold fronts are sharp surface brightness discontinuities characterized by a jump in gas temperature accompanied by a decline in X-ray surface brightness such that the gas pressure remains continuous across the front and, thus, these…
Galaxy clusters are filled with hot, diffuse X-ray emitting plasma, with a stochastically tangled magnetic field whose energy is close to equipartition with the energy of the turbulent motions \cite{zweibel1997, Vacca}. In the cluster…