A wide Chandra view of the core of the Perseus cluster

TL;DR

This paper presents detailed Chandra X-ray observations of the Perseus cluster core, revealing long-lived bubbles, a cold front, and insights into the cluster's dynamics and the influence of active galactic nucleus activity.

Contribution

It provides new high-resolution X-ray images showing long-lived bubbles and a cold front, offering insights into the cluster's gas dynamics and AGN feedback.

Findings

Discovery of old rising bubbles indicating long-lived structures.

Identification of a cold front separating disturbed and outer regions.

Constraints on large-scale flows and cluster dynamics.

Abstract

We present new Chandra images of the X-ray emission from the core of the Perseus cluster of galaxies. The total observation time is now 1.4 Ms. New depressions in X-ray surface brightness are discovered to the north of NGC1275, which we interpret as old rising bubbles. They imply that bubbles are long-lived and do not readily breakup when rising in the hot cluster atmosphere. The existence of a 300 kpc long NNW-SSW bubble axis means there cannot be significant transverse large scale flows exceeding 100 km/s. Interesting spatial correlations are seen along that axis in early deep radio maps. A semi-circular cold front about 100 kpc west of the nucleus is seen. It separates an inner disturbed region dominated by the activity of the active nucleus of NGC1275 from the outer region where a subcluster merger dominates.