2004/05/03 by R. C. Berrington, Robert C. Berrington, C. D. Dermer +2
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #FOS: Physical sciences #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/0405036
7 pages, 6 figures, Talk presented at X-Ray and Radio Connections conference in Santa Fe, NM, February 3-6, 2004
arxiv created 2004/05/03 · openalex publication_date 2004/05/03 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We have developed a numerical model for the temporal evolution of particle\nand photon spectra resulting from nonthermal processes at the shock fronts\nformed in merging clusters of galaxies. Fermi acceleration is approximated by\ninjecting power-law distributions of particles during a merger event, subject\nto constraints on maximum particle energies. We consider synchrotron,\nbremsstrahlung, Compton, and Coulomb processes for the electrons, nuclear,\nphotomeson, and Coulomb processes for the protons, and knock-on electron\nproduction during the merging process. The broadband radio through \γ-ray\nemission radiated by nonthermal protons and primary and secondary electrons is\ncalculated both during and after the merger event. To test the ability of the\ncomputer model to accurately calculate the nonthermal emission expected from a\ncluster merger event, we apply the model to the Coma cluster of galaxies, and\nshow that the centrally located radio emission and the Hard X-ray excess\nobserved at 40-80 kev is well fit by our model. If our model is correct, then\nthe Coma cluster will be significantly detected with GLAST and ground-based air\nCherenkov telescopes.\n