Bibcode
Gonçalves, D. R.; Friaça, A. C. S.
Referencia bibliográfica
Monthly Notices, Volume 309, Issue 3, pp. 651-658.
Fecha de publicación:
11
1999
Número de citas
10
Número de citas referidas
10
Descripción
A possible discrepancy found between the determination of mass of the
intracluster medium (ICM) from gravitational lensing data and that from
X-ray observations has been much discussed in recent years. For
instance, Miralda-Escudé & Babul found that the mass estimate
derived from gravitational lensing can be as much as a factor of 2-2.5
larger than the mass estimate derived from analysis of the X-ray
observations. Another important discrepancy related to these data is
that X-ray imaging, with some spectral resolution, suggests that the
mass distribution of the gravitating matter, mostly dark matter, has a
central cusp, or at least that the dark matter is more centrally
condensed than the X-ray-emitting gas, and also with respect to the
galaxy distribution (Eyles et al.), at variance with what is expected
from the most accepted models of formation of large-scale structure.
Could these discrepancies be a consequence of the standard description
of the ICM, in which hydrostatic equilibrium maintained by thermal
pressure is assumed? In analogy to the interstellar medium of the
Galaxy, a non-thermal term of pressure is expected, which contains
contributions of magnetic fields, turbulence and cosmic rays. We follow
the evolution of the ICM, considering a term of magnetic pressure,
aiming at answering the question of whether or not these discrepancies
can be explained via non-thermal terms of pressure. Our results suggest
that the magnetic pressure could only affect the dynamics of the ICM on
scales as small as <~1kpc. Our models are constrained by the
observations of large- and small-scale fields, and we are successful at
reproducing available data, for both Faraday rotation limits and inverse
Compton limits for the magnetic fields. In our calculations, the radius
(from the cluster centre) in which magnetic pressure reaches
equipartition is smaller than radii derived in previous works. The
crucial difference in our models is our more realistic treatment of the
magnetic field geometry, and the consideration of a sink term in the
cooling flow which reduces the amplification of the field strength
during the inflow. In addition, the magnetic field calculations are
changed after the cooling flow has been formed.