Constraining SNe Models Using Galaxy Clusters

Since the X-ray emitting gas is in (near) thermal equilibrium and the plasma is optically thin the observed metal line fluxes can be straightforwardly converted into elemental abundances. This allows us to analyze the processes of metal enrichment in the ICM and their evolution in z. However, this study has been limited by the uncertainties on SN Type metal yields models. While theoretical models have been advancing at a fast pace, uncertainties can reach factors of two or more for the yields of specific elements for different explosion mechanisms. One can invert the problem and use robustly measured metal abundances to provide useful constraints to SN models. Here, we use metal abundance ratios in a cluster analysis clusters and groups, of different temperatures spanning a wide range of values, using ASCA, Chandra and XMM to analyze the SN models that best fit the data.