One remarkable recent development in the study of cold fronts in galaxy clustersis the discovery of large scale cold fronts reaching out to very large radii inthe Perseus cluster. Large scale cold fronts are much older than those commonlyfound in cluster cores, as they have risen outwards and grown with time. Becauseof this, diffusion processes have had much longer to broaden the cold frontedge, while Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities have had much longer to grow.Existing ROSAT and Suzaku observations suggest that there is an enormous coldfront located near the virial radius of the Perseus cluster, at the edge of awestern X-ray excess, but lack the spatial resolution to be definitive. Wepropose brief observations with XMM to determine whether there really is a cold front present.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2019-02-20T10:53:29Z/2019-03-04T17:03:35Z
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 Stephen Walker, 2020, 'Is there an enormous cold front at the virial radius of the Perseus clusterquestionMark', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-iszy2ll
