April 28, 2004
We present results from a set of high (512^3 effective resolution), and ultra-high (1024^3) SPH adiabatic cosmological simulations of cluster formation aimed at studying the internal structure of the intracluster medium (ICM). We derive a self-consistent analytical model of the structure of the intracluster medium (ICM). We discuss the radial structure and scaling relations expected from purely gravitational collapse, and show that the choice of a particular halo model can have important consequences on the interpretation of observational data. The validity of the approximations of hydrostatic equilibrium and a polytropic equation of state are checked against results of our simulations. The properties of the ICM are fully specified when a 'universal' profile is assumed for either the dark or the baryonic component. We also show the first results from an unprecedented large-scale simulation of 500 Mpc/h and 2 times 512^3 gas and dark matter particles. This experiment will make possible a detailed study of the large-scale distribution of clusters as a function of their X-ray properties.
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September 22, 2003
We present some of the results of an ongoing collaboration to sudy the dynamical properties of galaxy clusters by means of high resolution adiabatic SPH cosmological simulations. Results from our numerical clusters have been tested against analytical models often used in X-ray observations: $\beta$ model (isothermal and polytropic) and those based on universal dark matter profiles. We find a universal temperature profile, in agreement with AMR gasdynamical simulations of gala...
October 22, 1999
While the concept of "clustering" primarily refers to galaxies, the fact is that galaxies can be neglected - at least in terms of mass - when considering the continuous competition between accretion and relaxation processes of dark matter and gas, which control the dynamical life of galaxy clusters. Gravity is certainly the driving force in cluster formation and evolution, but is not sufficient to explain in detail the properties of the ICM brought to light by the most recent...
June 17, 2014
Analyses of cosmological hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy clusters suggest that X-ray masses can be underestimated by 10% to 30%. The largest bias originates by both violation of hydrostatic equilibrium and an additional temperature bias caused by inhomogeneities in the X-ray emitting intra-cluster medium (ICM). To elucidate on this large dispersion among theoretical predictions, we evaluate the degree of temperature structures in cluster sets simulated either with smoothed...
May 14, 2003
Clusters of galaxies are studied from a theoretical point of view, comparing with observational results whenever possible. The problem is approached both analytically as well as by means of high-resoultion numerical simulations. The dark matter halo, the hot intracluster gas, and the stellar component are investigated separately. Numerical clusters are consistent with a relatively simple scenario, in which these objects form around local maxima of the primordial density field...
April 14, 2005
Starting with the well-known NFW dark matter halo distribution, we construct a simple polytropic model for the intracluster medium which is in good agreement with high resolution numerical hydrodynamical simulations, apply this model to a very large scale concordance dark matter simulation, and compare the resulting global properties with recent observations of X-ray clusters, including the mass-temperature and luminosity-temperature relations. We make allowances for a non-ne...
November 1, 2006
X-ray observations of galaxy clusters potentially provide powerful cosmological probes if systematics due to our incomplete knowledge of the intracluster medium (ICM) physics are understood and controlled. In this paper, we study the effects of galaxy formation on the properties of the ICM and X-ray observable-mass relations using high-resolution self-consistent cosmological simulations of galaxy clusters and comparing their results with recent Chandra X-ray observations. We ...
January 7, 2008
Modern hydrodynamical simulations offer nowadays a powerful means to trace the evolution of the X-ray properties of the intra-cluster medium (ICM) during the cosmological history of the hierarchical build up of galaxy clusters. In this paper we review the current status of these simulations and how their predictions fare in reproducing the most recent X-ray observations of clusters. After briefly discussing the shortcomings of the self-similar model, based on assuming that gr...
January 20, 1999
We present a systematic analysis of the intracluster medium (ICM) in an X-ray flux limited sample of 45 galaxy clusters. Using archival ROSAT PSPC data and published ICM temperatures, we present best fit double and single beta model profiles and extract ICM central densities and radial distributions. We use numerical cluster simulations to estimate uncertainties for all measurements. We examine the ICM properties within the context of models of structure formation and galax...
March 26, 2007
We present detailed comparisons of the intracluster medium (ICM) in cosmological Eulerian cluster simulations with deep Chandra observations of nearby relaxed clusters. To assess the impact of galaxy formation, we compare two sets of simulations, one performed in the non-radiative regime and another with radiative cooling and several physical processes critical to various aspects of galaxy formation: star formation, metal enrichment and stellar feedback. We show that the obse...
June 12, 2003
Simple self-consistent models of galaxy groups and clusters are tested against the results of high-resolution adiabatic gasdynamical simulations. We investigate two models based on the existence of a 'universal' dark matter density profile and two versions of the beta-model. The mass distribution of relaxed clusters can be fitted by phenomenological formulae proposed in the literature. Haloes that have experienced a recent merging event are systematically less concentrated an...