X-Ray Spectra of Clusters of Galaxies

Abstract

Now that the predominantly thermal nature of the X-ray emission from clusters of galaxies is well established (see e.g. Mushotzky et al. 1978, Smith et al. 1979), it is appropriate to ask what further information can be gleaned from X-ray spectroscopic observations. While the above publications made use of data from the OSO-8 satellite, two newer experiments have been flown by our group on the HEAO-1 and HEAO-2 (Einstein) satellites. The first of these, the A-2 experiment, was comprised of gas proportional counters like our OSO-8 detectors, while the second, the Solid State Spectrometer (SSS), is a cooled Si detector with narrow field of view and heightened energy resolution.