Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of the Formation of Cold Fronts in Clusters of Galaxies Including Heat Conduction

Abstract

Recent Chandra observations of clusters of galaxies revealed the existence of a sharp ridge in the X-ray surface brightness where the temperature drops across the front. This front is called the cold front. We present the results of two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the time evolution of a dense subcluster plasma moving in a cluster of galaxies. Anisotropic heat conduction along the magnetic field lines is included. In the models without magnetic fields, the numerical results indicate that the heat conduction from the hot ambient plasma heats the cold dense plasma of the subcluster and diffuses out the cold front. When magnetic fields exist in a cluster of galaxies, however, cold fronts can be maintained because the heat conduction across the magnetic field lines is suppressed. We found that, even when the magnetic fields in a cluster of galaxies are disordered, heat conduction across the front is restricted because the magnetic field lines are stretched along the front. Numerical results reproduced the X-ray intensity distribution observed in the A3667 cluster of galaxies.