We propose to observe luminous, old elliptical galaxies containing large, regular dust lanes for which the settling time scale is several Gyr. The aim is to find out if such galaxies contain massive haloes of hot (T<virgul1 keV) gas. If found,the theory of grain sputtering in hot gas would need revision, as it predicts a grain life time of only <virgul10 Myr, a tiny fraction of the age of the large dust lanes. On the other hand, if no hot gas is found, these very luminousellipticals are not able to retain the gas produced by stellar evolution. Theimplication would be that in order for an elliptical to retain its stellarmass loss, it has to be located in a potential well that is deeper than thatof the galaxy itself (e.g., in centers of (sub-)clusters or rich groups).
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2001-01-31T10:34:00Z/2003-01-05T02:23:15Z
Version
PPS_NOT_AVAILABLE
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.
European Space Agency, Dr Paul Goudfrooij, 2004, 'Are there Hot Gas Haloes in Elliptical Galaxies with Large-scale Dust Lanes', PPS_NOT_AVAILABLE, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-8h97axy
