Related papers: A study of diffusive shock acceleration as a proce…
The merging galaxy cluster 1E 0657-56, known as the "bullet cluster," is one of the hottest clusters known. The X-ray emitting plasma exhibits bow-shock-like temperature and density jumps. The segregation of this plasma from the peaks of…
Shock waves driven in the intergalactic medium during the merging of galaxy clusters have been observed in X-ray imaging and spectroscopy. Fluid motions inferred from the shock strength and morphology can be compared to the cold dark matter…
Deep Chandra exposures of the hot galaxy cluster 1E0657-56 have revealed that the cluster is observed shortly after the first core-passage of a massive infalling subcluster, which is preceded by a prominent bow shock with Mach number M~3.…
The Chandra image of the merging, hot galaxy cluster 1E0657-56 reveals a bow shock propagating in front of a bullet-like gas cloud just exiting the disrupted cluster core. This is the first clear example of a shock front in a cluster. From…
Chandra has recently observed 1E0657-56, a hot merging system at z=0.3 (the ``bullet'' cluster), for 500 ks. I present some of the findings from this dataset. The cluster exhibits a prominent bow shock with M=3.0+-0.4 (one of only two known…
The nonthermal radiation observed from a handfull of clusters of Galaxies is the proof that particle acceleration occurs in the intracluster medium. It is often believed that shock surfaces associated with either mergers of clusters of…
Particle acceleration is expected to take place at shocks that form during the process of large scale structure formation. Electrons accelerated at such shocks can upscatter a small fraction of the photons in the cosmic microwave background…
Evidence for non-thermal activity in clusters of galaxies is well established from radio observations of synchrotron emission by relativistic electrons. New windows in the Extreme Ultraviolet and Hard X-ray ranges have provided for more…
We present the results of a new spectroscopic and photometric survey of the hot X-ray cluster 1E0657-56, at z=0.296. We determine the presence of a low velocity dispersion subcluster, which is offset from the main cluster position by 0.7…
The nonthermal radiation observed from a handfull of clusters of galaxies (CG) is the proof that particle acceleration occurs in the intracluster medium (ICM). It is often believed that shock surfaces associated with either mergers of CG,…
Galaxy clusters are the largest gravitationally-bound structures in the Universe. As such, during merger events with similar systems, they release an enormous amount of energy that is dissipated through the formation of shock waves and…
We report the first localization of diffuse, non-thermal, X-ray emission from a nearby galaxy cluster. Using Chandra data, we have isolated a diffuse non-thermal X-ray component with a photon index, Gamma_ X = 2.21 +0.14 -0.15 and a flux of…
Cluster mergers drive shocks into the intracluster medium which heat and compress the thermal gas. X-ray observations of shocks can be used to determine the geometry and kinematics of the merger. Merger shocks should also accelerate…
We present an analysis of a 50ks XMM observation of the merging galaxy cluster ClJ0152.7-1357 at z=0.83. In addition to the two main subclusters and an infalling group detected in an earlier Chandra observation of the system, XMM detects…
A number of merging galaxy clusters shows the presence of shocks and cold fronts, i.e. sharp discontinuities in surface brightness and temperature. The observation of these features requires an X-ray telescope with high spatial resolution…
When galaxy clusters collide, they generate shock fronts in the hot intracluster medium. Observations of these shocks can provide valuable information on the merger dynamics and physical conditions in the cluster plasma, and even help…
We present results from a deep Chandra X-ray observation of a merging galaxy cluster A520. A high-resolution gas temperature map, after the subtraction of the cluster-scale emission, reveals a long trail of dense, cool clumps --- apparently…
We identify the extended Einstein IPC X-ray source, 1E0657-56, with a previously unknown cluster of galaxies at a redshift of $z=0.296$. Optical CCD images show the presence of a gravitational arc in this cluster and galaxy spectra yield a…
We discuss two themes from Chandra observations of galaxies, groups, and clusters. First, we review the merging process as seen through the high angular resolution of Chandra. We present examples of sharp, edge-like surface brightness…
The number of diffuse radio halos in clusters of galaxies has grown in recent years, making it possible to derive statistical properties of these sources and of the hosting clusters. We show that diffuse sources are associated with X-ray…