Shock fronts provide a unique tool to study the cluster plasma. So far only twounambiguous examples have been discovered, those in 1E0657 and A520. We proposeto confirm and quantify another candidate, an X-ray brightness edge detected ina short Chandra observation of A521 at the location of a prominent radio relic.Owing to its geometry and the excellent multifrequency radio data on the relic,this shock front will enable a novel measurement of the intracluster magneticfield, based on the width of the radio relic and the gas velocities determinedfrom the X-ray data. The proposed observation will unambiguously confirm theexistence of the brightness edge and the fact that this is a shock front, anddetermine its Mach number.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2009-08-18T13:02:57Z/2009-08-19T14:53:59Z
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 Maxim Markevitch, 2010, 'SHOCK FRONT IN A521 AND NEW METHOD OF MEASURING INTRACLUSTER MAGNETIC FIELD', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-ej63axk
