Galaxy cluster

A galaxy cluster is a gravitationally bound collection of galaxies, diffuse gas and dark matter. Much of its ordinary matter can reside in hot intracluster gas, visible through thermal bremsstrahlung and the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect. The two signals weight the electron density differently, making the cluster useful both as a structure-formation probe and, with a geometrical model, as a distance indicator.

A galaxy cluster whose X-ray-emitting core is a well-studied example of interaction between radio bubbles and cooling gas. density fronts and ripples provide diagnostics of the mechanical energy released by the central active galaxy.^[ref]

An inward flow driven by loss of thermal pressure as hot gas undergoes radiative cooling. A classical unheated cluster model predicts substantial central cooling and deposition of cold material. active-galactic-nucleus feedback, transport and other heating can reduce the actual inflow; an X-ray cooling luminosity is not automatically a measured mass-deposition rate.

A merging galaxy cluster exhibiting the bullet Cluster dark-matter separation: peaks of weak gravitational lensing mass lie nearer the galaxies than the displaced X-ray gas. Combining the components supports a dominant less-collisional gravitating component under the usual gravitational model.^[ref]

Gravitational lensing constrains a galaxy cluster's projected mass independently of its light output or dynamical equilibrium. The lensing convergence is projected surface mass density divided by ${\Sigma }_{\mathrm{crit}}=c^2{D}_s/(4\pi G{D}_d{D}_{ds})$, using the appropriate angular diameter distances. Strong gravitational lensing constrains the central mass through multiple-image geometry, and weak gravitational lensing constrains larger-scale projected mass through coherent image distortions. Converting these observations into a three-dimensional mass needs geometrical modelling and the relevant lensing degeneracies.

The virial theorem balances a relaxed galaxy cluster's orbital kinetic energy, of order $M{\sigma }_v^2$, against its Newtonian gravitational potential energy, of order $-G{M}^2/R$. Their ratio gives the displayed mass scale. The numerical coefficient depends on the density profile, radius definition and conversion from line-of-sight velocity dispersion to three-dimensional orbital motion. Membership contamination, anisotropy and nonequilibrium dynamics can bias the inference.

The intracluster medium is diffuse hot plasma between the galaxies of a galaxy cluster. Its X-ray radiation includes thermal bremsstrahlung and atomic line emission. Measured temperature and density profiles supply a cluster hydrostatic mass estimator when approximately thermal hydrostatic equilibrium holds. The medium supplies much of a cluster's baryonic mass, but this need not equal its total gravitating mass.

For spherical thermal hydrostatic equilibrium, $dP/dr=-{\rho }_{g}GM(<r)/r^2$. Inserting the ideal gas law $P={\rho }_g{k}_{B}T/(\mu m_p)$ with constant mean molecular weight gives the displayed estimator. The density ${\rho }_g$ is gas density, while $M$ includes every gravitating component. A varying $\mu$ adds $-d\log \mu /d\log r$ inside the logarithmic bracket. Nonthermal pressure requires differentiating the total supporting pressure rather than thermal pressure alone.