Reconciling optical and X-ray mass estimates: the case of the elliptical galaxy NGC 3379

Abstract

NGC 3379 is a well-studied nearby elliptical for which optical investigations have claimed a little dark matter content, or even no dark matter. Recently, its total mass profile M(r) has been derived by exploiting Chandra observations of its extended and X-ray emitting interstellar medium, based on the hypothesis of hydrostatic equilibrium for the hot gas. The resulting total mass within the effective radius R e has been claimed to be a few times larger than that found by optical studies. Here, we show that part of the discrepancy can be due to an underestimate of the optically derived mass, and the remaining discrepancy of a factor of ∼2 can be explained by deviations from hydrostatic equilibrium of the hot gas. By using hydrodynamical simulations tailored to reproduce the observed hot gas properties of NGC 3379, and by assuming as input for the simulations the total mass profile derived optically, we show that (i) the hot gas at the present time has X-ray properties consistent with those observed only if it is outflowing over most of the galactic body, and (ii) an overestimate of M of the same size found in the recent X-ray analysis is recovered when assuming hydrostatic equilibrium. We also show that the hot gas is outflowing even for a dark matter fraction within R e as large as derived with the standard X-ray procedure based on the hydrostatic equilibrium assumption, which shows the unapplicability of the method for this galaxy. Finally, we find that the whole range of dark mass amount and distribution allowed for by optical studies is compatible with a hot gas flow with the observed X-ray properties.