Radial profiles of Fe abundance in the intracluster medium of nearby clusters observed with XMM-Newton

TL;DR

This study measures Fe abundance profiles in the intracluster medium of 28 nearby galaxy clusters using XMM-Newton, revealing universal patterns and early enrichment of Fe, with variations due to cluster dynamics.

Contribution

It provides detailed Fe radial profiles for a large sample of clusters, highlighting universal enrichment patterns and the impact of mergers on Fe distribution.

Findings

Relaxed clusters show similar Fe profiles with central peaks.

Fe abundance is enhanced within 0.1r180 and flatter beyond.

Mergers can disrupt central Fe peaks.

Abstract

Aims.The abundances of Fe in the intracluster medium of nearby (z<0.08) clusters were measured up to 0.3$\sim$ 0.5r$_{180}$. Methods.We analyzed 28 clusters of galaxies observed with XMM-Newton. We derived Fe abundances from the flux ratios of Fe lines to the continuum within an energy range of 3.5--6 keV to minimize and evaluate systematic uncertainties. Results.The radial profiles of the Fe abundances of relaxed clusters with a cD galaxy at their X-ray peak have similar slopes. These clusters show similar enhancements in the Fe abundance within 0.1$r_{180}$, and at 0.1--0.3$r_{180}$, they have flatter Fe abundance profiles at 0.4$\sim$0.5 solar, with a small scatter. Most other clusters, including merging clusters, also have similar Fe abundance profiles beyond 0.1$r_{180}$. These clusters may have universal metal enrichment histories,and a significant amount of Fe was synthesized at a very early stage in cluster formation. Mergers of clusters can destroy the central Fe peak.