Core-collapse supernova enrichment in the core of the Virgo Cluster

TL;DR

This study uses deep Chandra X-ray observations of M87 in the Virgo Cluster to measure detailed radial metal abundance profiles in the intracluster medium, revealing complex enrichment patterns that challenge standard models.

Contribution

It provides the most precise measurements to date of metal distributions in the cluster core, highlighting unexpected abundance profiles and suggesting new enrichment processes.

Findings

Fe, Si, S, Ar, Ca, Ne, Mg, Ni are centrally peaked.

Si and S are more centrally peaked than Fe.

O abundance appears lower than model predictions.

Abstract

Using a deep (574 ks) Chandra observation of M87, the dominant galaxy of the nearby Virgo Cluster, we present the best measurements to date of the radial distribution of metals in the central intracluster medium (ICM). Our measurements, made in 36 independent annuli with $\sim$250,000 counts each, extend out to a radius r$\sim$40 kpc and show that the abundance profiles of Fe, Si, S, Ar, Ca, Ne, Mg, and Ni are all centrally peaked. Interestingly, the abundance profiles of Si and S - which are measured robustly and to high precision - are even more centrally peaked than Fe, while the Si/S ratio is relatively flat. These measurements challenge the standard picture of chemical enrichment in galaxy clusters, wherein type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) from an evolved stellar population are thought to dominate the central enrichment. The observed abundance patterns are most likely due to one or more of the following processes: continuing enrichment by winds of a stellar population pre-enriched by SNCC products; intermittent formation of massive stars in the central cooling core; early enrichment of the low entropy gas. We also discuss other processes that might have contributed to the observed radial profiles, such as a stellar initial mass function that changes with radius; changes in the pre-enrichment of core-collapse supernova progenitors; and a diversity in the elemental yields of SN Ia. Although systematic uncertainties prevent us from measuring the O abundance robustly, indications are that it is about 2 times lower than predicted by the enrichment models.