2004/02/09 by William B. Sparks, Megan Donahue, Andres Jordan +2 · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/383189
published as Astrophys.J. 607 (2004) 294-301 · 18 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables
arxiv created 2004/02/09 · openalex publication_date 2004/05/17 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
We compare a very deep X-ray image of M87, at the center of the Virgo Cluster, to high-quality optical images of the low-excitation emission-line gas in the same region. There are striking coincidences of detail between the two. We explore the possibility that this represents a thermal interaction between hot gas at 10 7 K and warm gas at 10 4 K. We find that two temperatures are present in the X-ray gas, with the lower more prevalent in the vicinity of the optical filaments. Electron conduction from the hot phase to the cooler one provides a quantitatively acceptable energy source for the optical filaments, and we show additionally that it can do so for the brightest X-ray cluster, Perseus. If operative, conduction in the presence of gas-rich galaxy mergers may explain the presence of "cool cores" in clusters of galaxies.