It is as yet unclear what processes govern the formation of ellipticals in thelowest density environments. While low luminosity ellipticals may form throughthe merger of isolated pairs of spiral galaxies, the only models advanced forforming bright ellipticals in these environments are monolithic collapse or thecomplete merger of all major galaxies in a group. A small number of such..fossil. groups have been identified. We propose to determine whether fossilgroups make up the majority of the population of luminous isolated ellipticalsby observing an optically selected sample of 3 such galaxies, to ascertainwhether their X-ray properties are those of groups or individual galaxies.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2006-04-08T17:15:41Z/2006-04-09T02:46:46Z
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 Ewan O'Sullivan, 2007, 'The formation mechanism of bright isolated elliptical galaxies', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-n6q46ej
