The inner gas mass-temperature profile in the core of nearby galaxy clusters

TL;DR

This study investigates the gas mass-temperature profiles in the cores of nearby galaxy clusters, revealing a close relationship between hot and molecular gas phases and their spatial distribution.

Contribution

It provides detailed measurements of gas phases in cluster cores using X-ray and other data, highlighting the similarity in mass between hot and molecular gas.

Findings

Gas at 0.7 keV has a mass similar to molecular gas.

Hot and molecular gases occupy volumes differing by a factor of 10^5.

Molecular gas aligns with filamentary soft X-ray emitting regions.

Abstract

We present a mass-temperature profile of gas within the central 10 kpc of a small sample of cool core clusters. The mass of the hottest gas phases, at 1.5 and 0.7 keV, is determined from X-ray spectra from the XMM Reflection Grating Spectrometers. The masses of the partially ionised atomic and the molecular phases are obtained from published H$\alpha$ and CO measurements. We find that the mass of gas at 0.7 keV in a cluster is remarkably similar to that of the molecular gas. Assuming pressure equilibrium between the phases, this means that they occupy volumes differing by $10^5$. The molecular gas is located within the HU nebula which is often filamentary and coincides radially and in position angle with the soft X-ray emitting gas.