How the intracluster medium (ICM) becomes enriched with metals is an important,yet unresolved, question. Conventional models, which hypothesize that clustergalaxies inject metals into the ICM via galactic winds and/or ram-pressurestripping, fall short unless they appeal either to extreme 100% mass loss ornon-standard stellar initial mass functions to explain the ICM.s highenrichment. In contrast, our new measurements of the intracluster stars(Gonzalez et al. 2004), when combined with simple modeling, suggests that theyproduce a large fraction of the ICM.s metals (Zaritsky et al. 2005). Given thesurprising nature of this result, in which at least some of the ICM.s metals areproduced in situ instead of being transported out of galaxies, it is essential to further test our model.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2006-05-11T10:37:04Z/2006-11-29T03:52:05Z
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, Mr Suresh Sivanandam, 2008, 'The Role of Intracluster Stars in the Enrichment of the Intracluster Medium', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-onfld0w
