The ICM power spectrum: probing the gas physics of galaxy clusters
Abstract
Exploring the power spectrum of fluctuations in the intracluster medium can deeply improve our knowledge of galaxy cluster physics, in analogy to what the cosmology field has experienced with CMB studies during the last decade. The normalization of the ICM spectrum (related to density, entropy, or pressure fluctuations) is linearly linked to the level of large-scale motions, which excite gravity and sound waves. The slope of the spectrum reflects instead the competition between the turbulence cascade and diffusive processes, which act to damp fluctuations and smooth the X-ray surface brightness images. Using high-resolution 3D plasma simulations in realistic galaxy clusters, we probe the behavior of the ICM power spectrum under different physics, such as turbulence and thermal conduction. We test our spectral modeling on deep X-ray observations of Coma cluster, retrieving mild subsonic turbulence and strongly suppressed conduction. Being able to probe the (astro)physics of the diffuse medium or, for instance, to easily retrieve the gas motions from the thermodynamic fluctuations, is a powerful tool with profound implications for the evolution of baryons in the universe, which can be exploited by the current (XMM-Newton, Chandra) and future (e.g. Astro-H, Athena+) generation of X-ray telescopes.
- Publication:
-
The X-ray Universe 2014
- Pub Date:
- July 2014
- Bibcode:
- 2014xru..confE..78G