| Proposal ID | 002734 |
| Title | X-Ray Isophote Shapes and the Dark Matter Halo of NGC 3923 |
| Download Data Associated to the proposal | https://nxsa.esac.esa.int/nxsa-sl/servlet/data-action-aio?obsno=0027340101 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-uvk3670 |
| Principal Investigator, PI | Prof David Buote |
| Abstract | The X-ray isophote shapes of elliptical galaxies probe both the shape and radialdistribution of the gravitating mass essentially independently of th temperatureprofile of the hot gas. We propose to observe the elliptical NGC 3923 with XMMto obtain accurate measurements of the ellipticity of the X-ray emissionextending out to the faintest isophotes detected with the ROSAT PSPC (10 arcmin,~90 kpc) whereas ROSAT only obtained useful ellipticity constraints within 1.5arcmin. Consequently, our XMM observation will definitively answer the questionsof whether the mass is more elongated than the stars and whether the radialmass density profile is shallower than the CDM NFW profile. These results willthus provide important tests of cosmological theories of structure formation. |
| Publications |
|
| Instrument | EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, RGS1, RGS2 |
| Temporal Coverage | 2002-01-03T19:56:50Z/2002-01-04T08:35:43Z |
| Version | 17.56_20190403_1200 |
| Mission Description | The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis. |
| Creator Contact | https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/xmm-newton-helpdesk |
| Date Published | 2003-05-02T00:00:00Z |
| Keywords | "useful ellipticity constraints", "hot gas", "dark matter halo", "xray isophote shapes", "cdm nfw profile", "ROSAT", "ngc 3923", "elliptical galaxy probe", "XMM", "elliptical ngc 3923", "NGC 3923", "faintest isophotes", "definitively answer", "xray emission", "rosat pspc", "th temperature profile", "cosmological theories", "radial distribution", "gravitating mass", "structure formation" |
| Publisher And Registrant | European Space Agency |
| Credit Guidelines | European Space Agency, Prof David Buote, 2003, 'X-Ray Isophote Shapes and the Dark Matter Halo of NGC 3923', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-uvk3670 |