Related papers: Physics of the intra-cluster medium at high redshi…
It is widely believed that structure in the Universe evolves hierarchically, as primordial density fluctuations, amplified by gravity, collapse and merge to form progressively larger systems. The structure and evolution of X-ray clusters,…
Clusters of galaxies are self-gravitating systems of mass ~10^14-10^15 Msun. They consist of dark matter (~80 %), hot diffuse intracluster plasma (< 20 %) and a small fraction of stars, dust, and cold gas, mostly locked in galaxies. In most…
We describe the results of observations of galaxy clusters conducted with ISOCAM on-board the Infrared Space Observatory. Our research is aimed at understanding the processes driving galaxy evolution in dense environments, free from the…
Cluster media are dynamical, not static; observational evidence suggests they are turbulent. High-resolution simulations of the intracluster media (ICMs) and of idealized, similar media help us understand the complex physics and…
Evidence is presented for a recent evolution of the relaxation processes in clusters of galaxies, using large optical and X-ray cluster samples. The criteria of the cluster relaxation used are the cluster ellipticity, the ICM temperature…
We have performed N-body simulations of poor clusters with enough particles to resolve the individual galaxies. The main cases of initial conditions are: (i) 50 equal mass galaxies; (ii) 60 galaxies with masses drawn from a Schechter…
Current high resolution observations of galaxy clusters reveal a dynamical intracluster medium (ICM). The wealth of structures includes signatures of interactions between active galactic nuclei (AGN) and the ICM, such as cavities and…
Clusters of galaxies are the most massive virialized structures in the Universe. The microphysical properties of the intracluster plasma can affect dynamical processes over an enormous range: from the feedback of active galactic nuclei to…
Observations of galaxy clusters show that the intracluster medium (ICM) is likely to be turbulent and is certainly magnetized. The properties of this magnetized turbulence are determined both by fundamental nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic…
This Chapter provides a brief tutorial on some aspects of plasma physics that are fundamental to understanding the dynamics and energetics of the intracluster medium (ICM). The tutorial is split into two parts: one that focuses on the…
An important area of study of cosmic magnetic fields is on the largest scales, those of clusters of galaxies. In the last decade it has become clear that the intra-cluster medium (ICM) in clusters of galaxies is magnetized and that magnetic…
Galaxies in clusters are gas-deficient and a number of possible explanations for this observation have been advanced, including galaxy-cluster tidal interactions, galaxy harassment, and ISM-ICM gas stripping. In this paper, we use a…
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. Some of the basic physical properties of mergers will be…
The enrichment of the intracluster medium (ICM) of galaxy clusters, within the framework of the supernovae-driven wind model for elliptical galaxies, has been considered under two extreme assumptions regarding the binding energy-mass-radius…
X-ray observations of the hot intra-cluster medium (ICM) in galaxy groups and clusters provide quantities such as their gas mass, X-ray luminosity, and temperature. The analysis of the scaling relations between these observable properties…
Stars in globular clusters lose mass through slow stellar winds that are retained by the stellar cluster and contribute to build up a non negligible intracluster medium over time. However, all the observations so far found only a negligible…
X-ray observations of clusters at different redshifts are presented and compared. For the nearest cluster -- the Virgo cluster -- we show a comparison of the galaxy distribution and the distribution of the intra-cluster gas. Although the…
We first present the results of numerical simulations on formation processes and physical properties of old globular clusters (GCs) located within clusters of galaxies (``intracluster GCs'') and in between clusters of galaxies…
Clusters of galaxies can be seen as giant astrophysical laboratories enclosing matter in a large enough volume, so that the matter composition can be taken as representing the composition of our Universe. X-ray observations allow a very…
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…