Related papers: X-rays and Cosmology
Chandra observations show the importance of the X-ray band for studying the evolution of galaxies. Binary X-ray sources are an easily detectable tracer of the stellar population. Chandra studies of these populations are giving us insights…
Galaxy clusters are massive dark matter-dominated systems filled with X-ray emitting, optically thin plasma. Their large size and relative simplicity (at least as astrophysical objects go) make them a unique laboratory to measure some of…
A sample of one hundred and six X-ray galaxy clusters has been analysed in detail. Here we give the observed X-ray luminosity - gravitational mass relation. Possible future applications include conversion of empirical cluster luminosity…
Galaxy clusters as gravitational lenses play a unique role in astrophysics and cosmology: they permit mapping the dark matter distribution on a range of scales; they reveal the properties of high and intermediate redshift background…
Clusters of galaxies are the largest gravitationally bound systems and therefore provide an important way of studying the formation and evolution of the large scale structure of the Universe. Cluster evolution can be inferred from…
In this Chapter I review the role that galaxy clusters play as tools to constrain cosmological parameters. I will concentrate mostly on the application of the mass function of galaxy clusters, while other methods, such as that based on the…
Galaxy clusters furnish extremely rich information on the contents and structure of our universe. The potential of galaxy cluster studies to constrain dark energy, for example, motivates a number of ambitious cluster surveys. Among these,…
Present knowledge indicates that gamma-ray bursts are linked with massive stars. They will become invaluable probes of the early universe and galaxy formation. In the future, it will be possible to use gamma-ray bursts for two purposes: 1)…
Sensitive, wide-area X-ray surveys which would be possible with the WFXT will detect huge samples of virialized objects spanning the mass range from sub-groups to the most massive clusters, and extending in redshift to beyond z=2. These…
Weak gravitational lensing and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect provide complementary information on the composition of clusters of galaxies. Preliminary results from cluster SZ observations with the Very Small Array are presented. A Bayesian…
The search for gamma radiation in clusters of galaxies represents a precious tool to investigate the history of these large scale structures. Clusters or sources within them accelerate cosmic rays, as demonstrated by the detection of radio…
In recent years, exciting developments have taken place in the identification of the role of cosmic rays in star-forming environments. Observations from radio to infrared wavelengths and theoretical modelling have shown that low-energy…
We present a new model for the X-ray properties of the intracluster medium that explicitly includes heating of the gas by the energy released during the evolution of cluster galaxies. We calculate the evolution of clusters by combining the…
The total mass of a galaxy cluster is one of its most fundamental properties. Together with the redshift, the mass links observation and theory, allowing us to use the cluster population to test models of structure formation and to…
It is widely believed that the global baryon content and mass-to-light ratio of groups and clusters of galaxies are a fair representative of the matter mix of the universe and therefore, can be used to reliably determine the cosmic mass…
Clusters of galaxies and the large scale filaments that connect neighboring clusters are expected to be sites of acceleration of charged particles and sources of non-thermal radiation from radio frequencies to gamma rays. Gamma rays are…
We study the projection effects on various observables of clusters of galaxies at redshift near zero, including cluster richness, velocity dispersion, X-ray luminosity, three total mass estimates (velocity-based, temperature-based and…
The existence of cosmic rays and weak magnetic fields in the intracluster volume has been well proven by deep radio observations of galaxy clusters. However a detailed physical characterization of the non-thermal component of large…
The spatial distribution of gas matter inside galaxy clusters is not completely smooth, but may host gas clumps associated with substructures. These overdense gas substructures are generally a source of unresolved bias of X-ray observations…
The evolution of the X-ray emitting gas mass fraction ($f_{gas}$) in massive galaxy clusters can be used as an independent cosmological tool to probe the expansion history of the Universe. Its use, however, depends upon a crucial quantity,…