On the Origins of Hα Emission in the Cool Cores of Galaxy Groups and Clusters
Abstract
We present results from a survey of cooling flow clusters and groups covering nearly three orders of magnitude in mass, and 1-2 orders of magnitude in temperature and mass deposition rate, aimed at explaining the presence and morphology of warm, ionized gas in the cool cores of galaxy groups and clusters. Using the Maryland-Magellan tunable filter on the Baade 6.5-m telescope at Magellan we have taken a census of these mysterious Halpha filaments with unprecedented depth and resolution. These data have been supplemented with new and archival X-Ray (Chandra), UV (HST, GALEX, XMM-OM), near-IR (2MASS) and radio (VLA) observations. Armed with the most detailed picture of the warm, ionized gas in cooling flow clusters to date, we investigate the possible mechanisms for producing the observed morphologies (buoyant bubbles, runaway cooling, interaction with satellites, etc) as well as possible ionization mechanisms (young stars, heat conduction from the ICM, collisional heating from cosmic rays, etc). Additionally, we determine the effect of environment on the formation of ionized filaments by considering the correlation of Halpha filaments with the global mass, temperature and gas fraction of the system. Our results offer exciting new constraints, both quantitative and qualitative, for the latest models of cooling flow clusters.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #217
- Pub Date:
- January 2011
- Bibcode:
- 2011AAS...21712703M