X-ray Morphological Estimators for Galaxy Clusters
Abstract
The classification of clusters accordingly to their X-ray appearance is a powerful tool to discriminate between regular (and relaxed) clusters and disturbed (and dynamically active) ones. The compilation of both subsamples is a necessary step for cosmological studies - oriented towards spherical and virialized systems- and for astrophysical investigation on turbulence, thermal conduction, particle re-acceleration, magneto-astrophysics - phenomena present in highly disturbed clusters. In this paper, we review several morphological parameters: asymmetry, fluctuation, hardness ratio, X-ray surface-brightness concentration, centroid shift, and third-order power ratio. We test them against 60 \chandra-like images obtained from hydrodynamical simulations and processed through the X-ray Map Simulator.
- Publication:
-
The Astronomical Review
- Pub Date:
- January 2013
- DOI:
- 10.1080/21672857.2013.11519713
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1211.7040
- Bibcode:
- 2013AstRv...8a..40R
- Keywords:
-
- magneto-astrophysics;
- clusters;
- centroid shift;
- particle re-acceleration;
- Astrophysics - Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 17 Pages, 10 Figures, 5 Tables, Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Review