ChandraObservation of the Merging Cluster A2034

Abstract

We present an analysis of a Chandra observation of A2034. The cluster has multiple signatures of an ongoing merger, including a cold front and probable significant heating of the intracluster medium above its equilibrium temperature. We find no evidence for the large cooling rate previously determined for the cluster and, in fact, find it to be roughly isothermal, although with numerous small-scale inhomogeneities, out to a radius of ~700 kpc. The cold front appears to be in the process of being disrupted by gasdynamic instability and perhaps by shock heating. We find weak evidence for inverse Compton hard X-ray emission from the radio relic suspected to be associated with the cold front. Finally, we study the emission to the south of the cluster, which was previously thought to be a merging subcluster. We find no evidence that this is interacting with the main A2034 cluster. On the other hand, the properties of this region are inconsistent with an equilibrium cluster at the redshift of A2034 or less. We explore the possibility that it is a disrupted merging subcluster but find its luminosity to be significantly lower than expected for such a scenario. We suggest that the emission to the south of the cluster may actually be a moderate to high redshift (0.3 z 1.25) background cluster seen in projection against A2034.