Publication details
Substructures associated with the sloshing cold front in the Perseus cluster
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2019 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty3257 |
| Keywords | galaxies: clusters: individual: the Perseus cluster; galaxies: clusters: intracluster medium; X-rays: galaxies: clusters |
| Description | X-ray substructures in clusters of galaxies provide indirect clues about the microphysical properties of the intracluster medium (ICM), which are still not very well known. In order to investigate X-ray substructures in detail, we studied archival similar to 1 Msec Chandra data of the core of the Perseus cluster, focusing on the substructures associated with the sloshing cold front. In the east half of the cold front, we found a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) layer candidate. The measured width-to-azimuthal extension ratio and the thermodynamic properties are all consistent with it being a KHI layer currently developing along the sloshing cold front. We found a thermal pressure deficit of the order of 10(-2) keV cm(-3) at the KHI layer. Assuming that turbulent pressure fully supports the pressure deficit, we estimated the turbulent strength at several hundred km s(-1), which translates into the turbulent heating rate of Q(turb) similar to 10(-26) erg cm(-3) s(-1). This value agrees within an order of magnitude with the previous estimation derived from the surface brightness fluctuations, and can balance the radiative cooling at this radius. In the west half of the cold front, we found feather-like structures which are similar to the structures observed in recent numerical simulations of the gas sloshing of magnetized plasma. Their thermodynamic properties are consistent with one of the feathers being a projected gas depletion layer induced by the amplified magnetic field whose strength is B similar to 30 mu G. |