X-ray emission from M87 - A pressure confined cooling atmosphere surrounding a low mass galaxy
Abstract
A conventional model for the mass of the galaxy M87 (500-billion solar masses) is used to show that a radiative cooling flow agrees well with spectroscopically derived mass flow rates (10 solar masses per year) and surface brightness profiles of X-ray emission around the galaxy. A temperature of 100-million K, and a density of a few x 10 to the -4th/cu cm are obtained without the use of a massive halo. The atmosphere contains 1-trillion solar masses of gas, with a temperature profile increasing outward and gas acting as a reservoir for the flow. The present models indicate that thermal conductivity in M87 is less than 0.002 of its classical value, and does not significantly affect properties of the surrounding gas.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- July 1981
- DOI:
- 10.1086/159055
- Bibcode:
- 1981ApJ...247..464B
- Keywords:
-
- Cooling Flows (Astrophysics);
- Cosmic Gases;
- Galactic Radiation;
- Galactic Structure;
- X Ray Sources;
- Brightness;
- Gas Density;
- Gas Flow;
- Gas Temperature;
- Halos;
- Mass;
- Mass Flow Rate;
- Radiant Cooling;
- Thermal Conductivity;
- Astrophysics