Application of a XMM-Newton EPIC Monte Carlo to Analysis And Interpretation of Data for Abell 1689, RXJ0658-55 And the Centaurus Clusters of Galaxies

Journal Article · Tue Apr 17 00:00:00 EDT 2007 · Submitted to Astrophys.J.

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/521915· OSTI ID:902497

Andersson, Karl E; Peterson, J R; Madejski, G M

We propose a new Monte Carlo method to study extended X-ray sources with the European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) aboard XMM Newton. The Smoothed Particle Inference (SPI) technique, described in a companion paper, is applied here to the EPIC data for the clusters of galaxies Abell 1689, Centaurus and RXJ 0658-55 (the ''bullet cluster''). We aim to show the advantages of this method of simultaneous spectral-spatial modeling over traditional X-ray spectral analysis. In Abell 1689 we confirm our earlier findings about structure in temperature distribution and produce a high resolution temperature map. We also confirm our findings about velocity structure within the gas. In the bullet cluster, RXJ 0658-55, we produce the highest resolution temperature map ever to be published of this cluster allowing us to trace what looks like the motion of the bullet in the cluster. We even detect a south to north temperature gradient within the bullet itself. In the Centaurus cluster we detect, by dividing up the luminosity of the cluster in bands of gas temperatures, a striking feature to the north-east of the cluster core. We hypothesize that this feature is caused by a subcluster left over from a substantial merger that slightly displaced the core. We conclude that our method is very powerful in determining the spatial distributions of plasma temperatures and very useful for systematic studies in cluster structure.

• Research Organization: SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76SF00515
• OSTI ID: 902497
• Report Number(s): SLAC-PUB-12460; astro-ph/0612038; TRN: US0702856
• Journal Information: Submitted to Astrophys.J., Journal Name: Submitted to Astrophys.J.
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
CAMERAS
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
GALAXIES
ION TEMPERATURE
LUMINOSITY
MONTE CARLO METHOD
PHOTONS
RESOLUTION
SIMULATION
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION
TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS
VELOCITY
X-RAY SOURCES
Astrophysics
ASTRO