X-ray Surface Brightness Research Articles

Deep low-frequency radio observations of Abell 2256

We present the first detailed analysis of the radio halo in the merging galaxy cluster Abell 2256 using the LOw Frequency ARray, the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. Radio observations (120 MHz–2 GHz) combined with archival Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray data allowed us to study the central radio halo emission with unprecedented detail. The integrated radio emission from the entire halo is characterized by an ultra-steep spectrum, which can be described by a power law with α144 MHz1.5 GHz = −1.63 ± 0.03 and radial steepening in the outer regions. The halo is significantly underluminous according to the current scaling relations between radio power and mass at 1.4 GHz, not at 150 MHz; ultra-steep spectrum halos are predicted to be statistically underluminous. Despite the complex structure of this system, the halo morphology is remarkably similar to that of the X-ray emission. The radio surface brightness distribution across the halo is strongly correlated with the X-ray brightness of the intracluster medium. The derived correlations show sublinear slopes and distinct structures: the core is IR ∝ IX1.51, the outermost region IR ∝ IX0.41, and we find radio morphological connections with X-ray discontinuities. We also find a strong anticorrelation between the radio spectral index and the X-ray surface brightness, implying radial steepening. We suggest that the halo core is either related to old plasma from previous active galactic nuclei activity, being advected, compressed, and reaccelerated by mechanisms activated by the cold front or less turbulent with strong magnetic field in the core. The change in the radio versus X-ray correlation slopes in the outer regions of the halo could be due to a radial decline of the magnetic field, the increase in the number density of seed particles, or increasing turbulence. Our findings suggest that the emitting volume is not homogenous according to turbulent reacceleration models.

Redshift evolution of galaxy group X-ray properties in the Simba simulations

ABSTRACT We examine the evolution of intragroup gas rest-frame X-ray scaling relations for group-sized haloes (M500 = 1012.3–1015 M⊙) in the Simba galaxy formation simulation. X-ray luminosity LX versus M500 shows increasing deviation from self-similarity from z = 3 → 0, with M500 < 1013.5 M⊙ haloes exhibiting a large reduction in LX and slight increase in X-ray luminosity-weighted temperature TX. These shifts are driven by a strong drop in fgas with time for these haloes, and coincides with the onset of Simba’s black hole (BH) jet feedback, occurring when MBH > 107.5 M⊙ and Eddington ratio <0.2, in group haloes at z ∼ 1.5. The connection with BH feedback is corroborated by fBH ≡ MBH/M500 in M500 < 1013.5 M⊙ haloes being strongly anticorrelated with LX and fgas at $z\lesssim 1.5$. This is further reflected in the scatter of LX − TX: haloes with small fBH lie near self-similarity, while those with the highest fBH lie furthest below. Turning off jet feedback results in mostly self-similar behaviour down to z = 0. For the X-ray weighted metallicity ZX, stellar feedback impacts the enrichment of halo gas. Finally, halo profiles show that jet feedback flattens the electron density and entropy profiles, and introduces a core in X-ray surface brightness, particularly at M500 < 1013.5 M⊙. This argues that in Simba, intragroup X-ray evolution is largely driven by jet feedback removing hot gas from the cores of massive groups, and expelling gas altogether in less massive groups.

XMM-Newton view of the shock heating in an early merging cluster, CIZA J1358.9−4750

AbstractCIZA J1358.9−4750 is a nearby galaxy cluster in the early phase of a major merger. The two-dimensional temperature map using XMM-Newton EPIC-PN observation confirms the existence of a high-temperature region, which we call the “hot region,” in the “bridge region” connecting the two clusters. The ∼500 kpc wide region between the south-east and north-west boundaries also has higher pseudo-pressure compared to the unshocked regions, suggesting the existence of two shocks. The southern shock front is clearly visible in the X-ray surface brightness image and has already been reported by Kato et al. (2015, PASJ, 67, 71). The northern one, on the other hand, is newly discovered. To evaluate their Mach number, we constructed a three-dimensional toy merger model with overlapping shocked and unshocked components in the line of sight. The unshocked and pre-shock intracluster medium (ICM) conditions are estimated based on those outside the interacting bridge region, assuming point symmetry. The hot-region spectra are modeled with two-temperature thermal components, assuming that the shocked condition follows the Rankin–Hugoniot relation with the pre-shock condition. As a result, the shocked region is estimated to have a line-of-sight depth of ∼1 Mpc with a Mach number of ∼1.3 in the south-east shock and ∼1.7 in the north-west shock. The age of the shock waves is estimated to be ∼260 Myr. This three-dimensional merger model is consistent with the Sunyaev–Zel’dovich signal obtained using the Planck observation within the cosmic microwave background fluctuations. The total flow of the kinetic energy of the ICM through the south-east shock was estimated to be ∼2.2 × 1042 erg s−1. Assuming that $10\%$ of this energy is converted into ICM turbulence, the line–of–sight velocity dispersion is calculated to be ∼200 km s−1, which is basically resolvable via upcoming high spectral resolution observations.

MeerKAT’s view of the bullet cluster 1E 0657-55.8

ABSTRACT The Bullet cluster (1E 0657-55.8) is a massive merging system at redshift z = 0.296, known to host a powerful radio halo and a relic. Here we present high fidelity MeerKAT L-band (0.9–1.7 GHz) observations of the Bullet cluster, where we trace a larger extent of both the halo and relic in comparison to previous studies. The size of the recovered halo is 1.6 Mpc × 1.3 Mpc and the largest linear size of the relic is ∼988 kpc. We detect a new decrement feature on the southern outskirts of the halo emission, where a region appears to have a lower surface brightness in comparison to its surroundings. The larger extension on the outskirts of the halo is faint, which suggests lower relativistic electron density or a weaker magnetic field. An in-band spectral index map of the halo reveals radial steepening towards the edges, likely due to synchrotron electron ageing. The integrated spectral index of the radio halo is 1.1 ± 0.2. We perform a radio−X-ray surface brightness point-to-point analysis, which reveals a linear correlation for the radio halo. This indicates that the halo emission is produced by primary re-acceleration mechanisms. Finally, we derive a radio Mach number of $\mathcal {M}_R$ = 4.6 ± 0.9 for the relic shock region, which is higher than the Mach number inferred by earlier analyses based on X-ray data. Discrepancies between radio and X-ray Mach numbers have been observed for multiple systems, studies suggest that this is due to various factors, including relic orientation.

A PeVatron Candidate: Modeling the Boomerang Nebula in X-ray Band

Pulsar wind nebula (PWN) Boomerang and the associated supernova remnant (SNR) G106.3+2.7 are among candidates for the ultra-high-energy (UHE) gamma-ray counterparts published by LHAASO. Although the centroid of the extended source, LHAASO J2226+6057, deviates from the pulsar’s position by about 0.3∘, the source partially covers the PWN. Therefore, we cannot totally exclude the possibility that part of the UHE emission comes from the PWN. Previous studies mainly focus on whether the SNR is a PeVatron, while neglecting the energetic PWN. Here, we explore the possibility of the Boomerang Nebula being a PeVatron candidate by studying its X-ray radiation. By modeling the diffusion of relativistic electrons injected in the PWN, we fit the radial profiles of X-ray surface brightness and photon index. The solution with a magnetic field B=140μG can well reproduce the observed profiles and implies a severe suppression of IC scattering of electrons. Hence, if future observations reveal part of the UHE emission originating from the PWN, we propose to introduce a proton component to account for the UHE emission in light of the recent LHAASO measurement on Crab Nebula. In this sense, Boomerang Nebula would be a hadronic PeVatron.

Simulation view of galaxy clusters with low X-ray surface brightness

Context. X-ray selected samples are known to miss galaxy clusters that are gas poor and have a low surface brightness. This is different for the optically selected samples such as the X-ray Unbiased Selected Sample (XUCS). Aims. We characterise the origin of galaxy clusters that are gas poor and have a low surface-brightness by studying covariances between various cluster properties at fixed mass using hydrodynamic cosmological simulations. Methods. We extracted ≈1800 galaxy clusters from a high-resolution Magneticum hydrodynamic cosmological simulation and computed covariances at fixed mass of the following properties: core-excised X-ray luminosity, gas fraction, hot gas temperature, formation redshift, matter density profile concentration, galaxy richness, fossilness parameter, and stellar mass of the bright central galaxy. We also compared the correlation between concentration and gas fractions in non-radiative simulations, and we followed the trajectories of particles inside galaxy clusters to assess the role of AGN depletion on the gas fraction. Results. In simulations and in observational data, differences in surface brightness are related to differences in gas fraction. Simulations show that the gas fraction strongly correlates with assembly time, in the sense that older clusters are gas poor. Clusters that formed earlier have lower gas fractions because the feedback of the active galactic nucleus ejected a significant amount of gas from the halo. When the X-ray luminosity is corrected for the gas fraction, it shows little or no covariance with other quantities. Conclusions. Older galaxy clusters tend to be gas poor and possess a low X-ray surface brightness because the feedback mechanism removes a significant fraction of gas from these objects. Moreover, we found that most of the LX covariance with the other quantities is explained by differences in the gas fraction.

Unveiling the Origin of Peculiar Diffuse Radio Emission in A1351

Abell 1351 (A1351) is a massive merging cluster that hosts a giant radio halo and a bright radio edge blended in the halo. In this paper, we present the first ever spectral analysis of this cluster using GMRT 610 MHz and VLA 1.4 GHz archival data and discuss the radio edge property. Using Chandra data, we report the first tentative detection of shock front at the location of the edge in A1351 with discontinuities in both X-ray surface brightness and temperature. Our analysis strengthens the previous claim of the detected “edge” being a high luminosity radio relic. The radio relic has an integrated spectral index α = − 1.63 ± 0.33 and radio power P 1.4 GHz = 4.46 ±0.61 × 1024 W Hz−1 with a largest linear size of 570 kpc. The radio spectral index map shows steepening in the shock downstream region. Our analysis favors the scenario where the diffusive shock acceleration of particles is responsible for the origin of the radio relic in the presence of a strong magnetic field. We have also estimated the magnetic field at the relic location assuming equipartition condition.

Intracluster Magnetic Filaments and an Encounter with a Radio Jet

Thin synchrotron-emitting filaments are increasingly seen in the intracluster medium (ICM). We present the first example of a direct interaction between a magnetic filament, a radio jet, and a dense ICM clump in the poor cluster A194. This enables the first exploration of the dynamics and possible histories of magnetic fields and cosmic rays in such filaments. Our observations are from the MeerKAT Galaxy Cluster Legacy Survey and the LOFAR Two-Meter Sky Survey. Prominent 220 kpc long filaments extend east of radio galaxy 3C40B, with very faint extensions to 300 kpc, and show signs of interaction with its northern jet. They curve around a bend in the jet and intersect the jet in Faraday depth space. The X-ray surface brightness drops across the filaments; this suggests that the relativistic particles and fields contribute significantly to the pressure balance and evacuate the thermal plasma in a ∼35 kpc cylinder. We explore whether the relativistic electrons could have streamed along the filaments from 3C40B, and present a plausible alternative whereby magnetized filaments are (a) generated by shear motions in the large-scale, post-merger ICM flow, (b) stretched by interactions with the jet and flows in the ICM, amplifying the embedded magnetic fields, and (c) perfused by re-energized relativistic electrons through betatron-type acceleration or diffusion of turbulently accelerated ICM cosmic-ray electrons. We use the Faraday depth measurements to reconstruct some of the 3D structures of the filameGnts and of 3C40A and B.

On the origin of diffuse radio emission in Abell 85 – insights from new GMRT observations

ABSTRACT Extended, steep, and ultra-steep spectrum radio emission in a galaxy cluster is usually associated with recent mergers. Simulations show that radio phoenixes are aged radio galaxy lobes whose emission reactivates when a low Mach shock compresses it. A85 hosts a textbook example of a radio phoenix at about 320 kpc southwest of the cluster centre. We present a new high-resolution 325 MHz GMRT radio map illustrating this radio phoenix’s complex and filamentary structure. The full extent of the radio structure is revealed for the first time from these radio images of A85. Using archival Chandra X-ray observations, we applied an automated 2D shock finder to the X-ray surface brightness and Adaptive Circular Binning temperature maps that confirmed a bow shock at the location of the radio phoenix. We also compared the Mach number from the X-ray data with the radio-derived Mach number in the same region using multifrequency radio observations and find that they are consistent within the 1σ error level.

The Gamma-Ray Emission from the Supernova Remnant RX J1713.7-3946 Interacting with Two-phase Medium

We study the origin of gamma-rays from the supernova remnant (SNR) RX J1713.7-3946. Using an analytical model, we calculate the distribution of cosmic rays (CRs) around the SNRs. Motivated by the results of previous studies, we assume that the SNR is interacting with two-phase interstellar medium (ISM), where dense clumps are surrounded by tenuous interclump medium. We also assume that only higher-energy protons (≳TeV) can penetrate the dense clumps. We find that π 0-decay gamma-rays produced by protons reproduce the observed gamma-ray spectrum peaked at ∼TeV. On the other hand, it has recently been indicated that the observed ISM column density (N p ), the X-ray surface brightness (I X ), and the gamma-ray surface brightness (I g ) at grid points across the SNR form a plane in the three-dimensional (3D) space of (N p , I X , I g ). We find that the planar configuration is naturally reproduced if the ISM or the CR electron-to-proton ratio is not spherically uniform. We show that the shift of the observed data in the 3D space could be used to identify which of the quantities, the ISM density, the CR electron-to-proton ratio, or the magnetic field, varies in the azimuthal direction of the SNR.

Is There an Enormous Cold Front at the Virial Radius of the Perseus Cluster?

Abstract We present new XMM-Newton observations extending the mosaic of the Perseus cluster out to the virial radius to the west. Previous studies with ROSAT have reported a large excess in surface brightness to the west, possibly the result of large-scale gas sloshing. In our new XMM-Newton observations we have found two X-ray surface brightness edges at 1.2 and 1.7 Mpc to the west. The temperature measurements obtained with Suzaku data indicate that the temperature increases sharply at each edge, consistent with what would be expected from cold fronts. However the the XMM-Newton data are affected by stray light, which at present is a poorly understood source of systematic error that can also lead to curved features in X-ray images. To test our results, we compared our X-ray surface brightness profile with that obtained from ROSAT PSPC data. While the edge at 1.2 Mpc is confirmed by ROSAT PSPC, the ROSAT data quality is insufficient to confirm the outer edge at 1.7 Mpc. Further observations with future X-ray telescopes will be needed to confirm the existence of the outer edge at 1.7 Mpc. By comparing with numerical simulations, we find that these large cold fronts require a large impact parameter, and low-mass ratio mergers that can produce fast gas motions without destroying the cluster core.

Detection of a radio-filled X-ray cavity within the interstellar medium of NGC 5141

We present the first Chandra detection of a single X-ray cavity within the interstellar medium of the small Fanaroff-Riley type I radio galaxy NGC 5141. The X-ray surface brightness depression, located ≈4 kpc away from the galaxy center, is projected on the northern radio lobe, which is completely contained within the galaxy. The thermal gas surrounding the cavity, which extends to ≃20 kpc, has a bolometric X-ray luminosity (0.1–100 keV) of LX ≈ 2 × 1040 erg s−1 and a temperature of kT ≈ 0.8 keV. We calculated the total energy (Ecav = 4PV ≈ 1055 erg) required to inflate the cavity and its age (tcav ≈ 9 Myrs), assuming that it is filled with relativistic particles and rises buoyantly. The inferred total cavity power is as low as Pcav = Ecav/tcav ≈ 6 × 1040 erg s−1, which is the lowest one among the radio-filled systems. Comparing Pcav to the bolometric X-ray luminosity (i.e., the cooling luminosity), we conclude that NGC 5141’s central active galactic nucleus can heat the interstellar medium and balance its cooling luminosity, confirming that the Pcav − Lcool relation, mainly tested on groups and clusters, also works for such a low-power system.

A MeerKAT-meets-LOFAR study of MS 1455.0 + 2232: a 590 kiloparsec ‘mini’-halo in a sloshing cool-core cluster

ABSTRACT Radio mini-haloes are poorly understood, moderately extended diffuse radio sources that trace the presence of magnetic fields and relativistic electrons on scales of hundreds of kiloparsecs, predominantly in relaxed clusters. With relatively few confirmed detections to-date, many questions remain unanswered. This paper presents new radio observations of the galaxy cluster MS 1455.0+2232 performed with MeerKAT (covering the frequency range 872−1712 MHz) and LOFAR (covering 120−168 MHz), the first results from a homogeneously selected mini-halo census. We find that this mini-halo extends for ∼590 kpc at 1283 MHz, significantly larger than previously believed, and has a flatter spectral index (α = −0.97 ± 0.05) than typically expected. Our X-ray analysis clearly reveals a large-scale (254 kpc) sloshing spiral in the intracluster medium. We perform a point-to-point analysis, finding a tight single correlation between radio and X-ray surface brightness with a super-linear slope of $b_{\rm 1283\, MHz} = 1.16^{+0.06}_{-0.07}$ and $b_{\rm 145\, MHz} = 1.15^{+0.09}_{-0.08}$; this indicates a strong link between the thermal and non-thermal components of the intracluster medium. Conversely, in the spectral index/X-ray surface brightness plane, we find that regions inside and outside the sloshing spiral follow different correlations. We find compelling evidence for multiple sub-components in this mini-halo for the first time. While both the turbulent (re-)acceleration and hadronic scenarios are able to explain some observed properties of the mini-halo in MS 1455.0+2232, neither scenario is able to account for all the evidence presented by our analysis.

Do blue galaxy-clusters have hot intracluster gas?

Abstract We present herein a systematic X-ray analysis of blue galaxy clusters at z = 0.84 discovered by the Subaru telescope. The sample consisted of 43 clusters identified by combining red-sequence and blue-cloud surveys, covering a wide range of emitter fractions (i.e., 0.3–0.8). The spatial extent of the over-density region of emitter galaxies was approximately 1 Mpc in radius. The average cluster mass was estimated as 0.6(<1.5) × 1014 M⊙ from the stacked weak-lensing measurement. We analyzed the XMM-Newton archival data, and measured the X-ray luminosity of the hot intracluster medium. As a result, diffuse X-ray emission was marginally detected in 14 clusters, yielding an average luminosity of 5 × 1042 erg s−1. To the contrary, it was not significant in 29 clusters. The blue clusters were significantly fainter than the red-dominated clusters, and the X-ray luminosity did not show any meaningful correlation either with emitter fraction or richness. The X-ray surface brightness was low, but the amount of gas mass was estimated to be comparable to that observed in the 1013–1014 M⊙ cluster. Based on the results, we suggest that the blue clusters are at the early formation stage, and the gas is yet to be compressed and heated up to produce appreciable X-rays. Follow-up spectroscopic measurements are essential to clarify the dynamical status and co-evolution of galaxies and hot gas in the blue clusters.

Dissecting the Extended X-Ray Emission in the Merging Pair NGC 6240: Photoionization and Winds

Abstract We present a detailed spectral and imaging analysis of the central 15″ radius (∼7.5 kpc) region of the merger galaxy NGC 6240 that makes use of all the available Chandra-ACIS data (0.3–3 keV effective exposure of ∼190 ks). This region shows extended X-ray structures with lower-energy counterparts imaged in CO, [O iii], and Hα line emission. We find both photoionized phases of possible nuclear excitation and thermal shock-excited emission in the different large-scale components: the northwest “loop” detected in Hα, the region surrounding the two nuclei, the large outflow region to the northeast detected in [O iii], and the southern X-ray extensions. The latter could be the ionization cone of the northern nucleus, with the N counterpart being obscured by the galaxy disk. The radial distribution of the X-ray surface brightness suggests a confined hot interstellar medium at r < 2.5 kpc, with a free-flowing wind at larger radii; if the confinement is magnetic, we estimate B-field values of ∼100 μG, similar to those measured in the halo of M82. The thermal gas of the extended halo at kT ∼ 1 keV absorbs soft X-rays from the active galactic nucleus, but not the extreme ultraviolet radiation leading to a rapid increase in F [O III]/F X beyond ∼3 kpc. The α-element to Fe abundance ratios of the thermal components in the different regions of the extended X-ray emission are generally compatible with Type II supernova yields, confirming the importance of active star formation in NGC 6240.

Mitigating the effects of particle background on the Athena Wide Field Imager

The Wide Field Imager (WFI) flying on Athena will usher in the next era of studying the hot and energetic Universe. Among Athena’s ambitious science programs are observations of faint, diffuse sources limited by statistical and systematic uncertainty in the background produced by high-energy cosmic ray particles. These particles produce easily identified “cosmic-ray tracks” along with less easily identified signals produced by secondary photons or x-rays generated by particle interactions with the instrument. Such secondaries produce identical signals to the x-rays focused by the optics and cannot be filtered without also eliminating these precious photons. As part of a larger effort to estimate the level of unrejected background and mitigate its effects, we here present results from a study of background-reduction techniques that exploit the spatial correlation between cosmic-ray particle tracks and secondary events. We use Geant4 simulations to generate a realistic particle background signal, sort this into simulated WFI frames, and process those frames in a similar way to the expected flight and ground software to produce a realistic WFI observation containing only particle background. The technique under study, self-anti-coincidence (SAC), then selectively filters regions of the detector around particle tracks, turning the WFI into its own anti-coincidence detector. We show that SAC is effective at improving the systematic uncertainty for observations of faint, diffuse sources, but at the cost of statistical uncertainty due to a reduction in signal. If sufficient pixel pulse-height information is telemetered to the ground for each frame, then this technique can be applied selectively based on the science goals, providing flexibility without affecting the data quality for other science. The results presented here are relevant for any future silicon-based pixelated x-ray imaging detector and could allow the WFI and similar instruments to probe to truly faint x-ray surface brightness.

Low X-ray surface brightness clusters: implications on the scatter of the M–T and L–T relations

ABSTRACT We aim at studying scaling relations of a small but well-defined sample of galaxy clusters that includes the recently discovered class of objects that are X-ray faint for their mass. These clusters have an average low X-ray surface brightness, a low gas fraction, and are underrepresented (by a factor of 10) in X-ray surveys or entirely absent in Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) surveys. With the inclusion of these objects, we find that the temperature–mass relation has an unprecedentedly large scatter, 0.20 ± 0.03 dex at fixed mass, as wide as allowed by the temperature range, and the location of a cluster in this plane depends on its surface brightness. Clusters obey a relatively tight luminosity–temperature relation independently of their brightness. We interpret the wide difference in scatter around the two relations as due to the fact that X-ray luminosity and temperature are dominated by photons coming from small radii (in particular for T we used a 300 kpc aperture radius) and strongly affected by gas thermodynamics (e.g. shocks and cool cores), whereas mass is dominated by dark matter at large radii. We measure a slope of 2.0 ± 0.2 for the L500–T relation. Given the characteristics of our sample, this value is free from collinearity (degeneracy) between evolution and slope and from hypothesis on the undetected population, which both affect the analysis of X-ray-selected samples, and can therefore be profitably used both as reference and to break the aforementioned degeneracy of X-ray-selected samples.

Exploring the relation between turbulent velocity and density fluctuations in the stratified intracluster medium

Context. The dynamics of the intracluster medium (ICM) is affected by turbulence driven by several processes, such as mergers, accretion and feedback from active galactic nuclei. Aims. X-ray surface brightness fluctuations have been used to constrain turbulence in galaxy clusters. Here, we use simulations to further investigate the relation between gas density and turbulent velocity fluctuations, with a focus on the effect of the stratification of the ICM. Methods. In this work, we studied the turbulence driven by hierarchical accretion by analysing a sample of galaxy clusters simulated with the cosmological code ENZO. We used a fixed scale filtering approach to disentangle laminar from turbulent flows. Results. In dynamically perturbed galaxy clusters, we found a relation between the root mean square of density and velocity fluctuations, albeit with a different slope than previously reported. The Richardson number is a parameter that represents the ratio between turbulence and buoyancy, and we found that this variable has a strong dependence on the filtering scale. However, we could not detect any strong relation between the Richardson number and the logarithmic density fluctuations, in contrast to results by recent and more idealised simulations. In particular, we find a strong effect from radial accretion, which appears to be the main driver for the gas fluctuations. The ubiquitous radial bias in the dynamics of the ICM suggests that homogeneity and isotropy are not always valid assumptions, even if the turbulent spectra follow Kolmogorov’s scaling. Finally, we find that the slope of the velocity and density spectra are independent of cluster-centric radii.

Do gas-poor galaxy clusters have different galaxy populations? The positive covariance of hot and cold baryons

ABSTRACT Galaxy clusters show a variety of intracluster medium properties at a fixed mass in gas fractions, X-ray luminosity and X-ray surface brightness. In this work, we investigate whether the yet-undetermined cause that produces clusters of X-ray low surface brightness also affects galaxy properties, such as richness, richness concentration, width and location of the red sequence, colour, luminosity, and dominance of the brightest cluster galaxy. We use Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12 photometry, and our analysis factors out the mass dependency to derive trends at fixed cluster mass. Clusters of low surface brightness for their mass have cluster richness in spite of their group-like luminosity. Gas-poor, low X-ray surface brightness, X-ray faint clusters for their mass display 25 per cent lower richness for their mass at the 4.4σ level. Therefore, richness and quantities depending on gas, such as gas fraction, Mgas and X-ray surface brightness, are covariant at fixed halo mass. In particular, we do not confirm the suggestion of anticorrelation of hot and cold baryons at fixed mass put forth in the literature. All the remaining optical properties show no covariance at fixed mass, within the sensitivities allowed by our data and sample size. We conclude that X-ray and optical properties are disjointed; the optical properties do not show signatures of those processes involving gas content, apart from the richness–mass scaling relation. The covariance between X-ray surface brightness and richness is useful for an effective X-ray follow-up of low-surface-brightness clusters because it allows us to pre-select clusters using optical data of survey quality and avoids expensive X-ray observations.

Deep Chandra observations of merging galaxy cluster ZwCl 2341+0000

Context. Knowledge of X-ray shock and radio relic connection in merging galaxy clusters has been greatly extended in terms of both observation and theory over the last decade. ZwCl 2341+0000 is a double-relic merging galaxy cluster; previous studies have shown that half of the southern relic is associated with an X-ray surface brightness discontinuity, while the other half not. The discontinuity was believed to be a shock front. Therefore, it is a mysterious case of an only partial shock-relic connection. Aims. By using the 206.5 ks deep Chandra observations, we aim to investigate the nature of the southern surface brightness discontinuity. Meanwhile, we aim to explore new morphological and thermodynamical features. Methods. We perform both imaging and spectroscopic analyses to investigate the morphological and thermodynamical properties of the cluster. In addition to the X-ray data, we utilize the GMRT 325 MHz image and JVLA 1.5 GHz and 3.0 GHz images to compute radio spectral index maps. Results. Surface brightness profile fitting and the temperature profile suggest that the previously reported southern surface brightness discontinuity is better described as a sharp change in slope or as a kink. This kink is likely contributed by the disrupted core of the southern subcluster. The radio spectral index maps show spectral flattening at the south-eastern edge of the southern relic, suggesting that the location of the shock front is 640 kpc away from the kink, where the X-ray emission is too faint to detect a surface brightness discontinuity. We update the radio shock Mach number to be ℳradio, S = 2.2 ± 0.1 and ℳradio, N = 2.4 ± 0.4 for the southern and northern radio relics based on the injection spectral indices. We also put a 3σ lower limit on the X-ray Mach number of the southern shock to be ℳX-ray, S > 1.6. Meanwhile, the deep observations reveal that the northern subcluster is in a perfect cone shape, with a ∼400 kpc linear cold front on each side. This type of conic subcluster has been predicted by simulations but is observed here for the first time. It represents a transition stage between a blunt-body cold front and a slingshot cold front. Strikingly, we found a 400 kpc long gas trail attached to the apex of the cone, which could be due to the gas stripping. In addition, an over-pressured hot region is found in the south-western flank of the cluster.