Cold Fronts - Probes for studying the characteristics of the ICM

by Mr. Yossi Naor

Bgu

at Astrophysics and Cosmology Seminar

Mon, 09 Sep 2019, 11:10
Sacta-Rashi Building for Physics (54), room 207

Abstract

Clusters and groups of galaxies (GCs) are the largest virialized
objects in the universe. Resembling ``island universes"; by virtue of
their deep gravitational potential, these objects were extensively
studied across the electromagnetic spectrum. Yet, long-standing
questions concerning GCs remain open, including the composition
of the intracluster medium (ICM), its dynamics, its non-thermal, in
particular magnetic, structure, and the mechanism stabilizing a GC
against strong central cooling.
In the past two decades, high resolution X-ray images of the ICM
have unexpectedly revealed an abundance of spiral thermal
structures, and extended discontinuities known as cold fronts (CFs),
often accentuating the spiral structure. The properties of these
interrelated phenomena --- in particular their ubiquity and large
extent, spanning the entire GC from central core to periphery ---
suggest that they play an important role in the GC dynamics and
stability.
We study these spiral structure and their associated CFs, in order
to uncover the nature of these phenomena and shed light on the
aforementioned open questions. Our research combines the
examination of individual structures, combined studies of multiple
structures in different GCs, and global analyses of the underlying
dynamics and the implications of the phenomena.

Created on 02-09-2019 by Zitrin, Adi (zitrin)
Updaded on 02-09-2019 by Zitrin, Adi (zitrin)