2001/04/11 by Andrea Ferrara, Rosalba Perna · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2001.04573.x
published as Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 325 (2001) 1643 · 9 pages, 3 figures, accepted to MNRAS
arxiv created 2001/04/11 · openalex publication_date 2001/08/21 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Most of the baryons in the low-redshift Universe reside in a warm/hot component which is difficult to detect with standard absorption/emission-line techniques. We propose to use quasar refractive scintillation as a useful, complementary probe for such ionized, intergalactic gas. In particular, an application to the case of the intracluster medium is presented. We show that clusters located at z < 0:02 should produce a source rms intensity fluctuation at 50-100 GHz of several tens of per cent and on time-scales ranging from days to months, depending on the projected location of the source on the foreground cluster. However, in order to produce such a signal, the source needs to be very compact. This effect, if observed, can be used as an independent test of the baryonic mass fraction in clusters.