One of the interesting chandra discoveries is the existence of sharp gas densityedges in some galaxy clusters. There are two different types of such features,depending on the sign of their temperature jump: a cold front and a mergerbow-shock. A3667 is the most striking example of cold front and with a possibleevidence of a bow shock. Existing chandra and xmm observation do not allow tofirmly establish the nature of the outer surface brightness jump: we thuspropose a long on-axis observation to exploit the large effective area of EPICin order to measure the sign of the temperature jump across the outerdiscontinuity.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2004-05-03T21:09:12Z/2004-05-04T15:51:03Z
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.
European Space Agency, Dr FABIO GASTALDELLO, 2005, 'THE QUEST OF THE SHOCK IN THE MERGING CLUSTER A3667', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-3i3yn6j
