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Optical emission line nebulae in galaxy cluster cores 1: the morphological, kinematic and spectral properties of the sample

Hamer, S.L.; Edge, A.C.; Swinbank, A.M.; Wilman, R.J.; Combes, F.; Salomé, P.; Fabian, A.C.; Crawford, C.S.; Russell, H.R.; Hlavacek-Larrondo, J.; McNamara, B.R.; Bremer, M.N.

Optical emission line nebulae in galaxy cluster cores 1: the morphological, kinematic and spectral properties of the sample Thumbnail


Authors

S.L. Hamer

F. Combes

P. Salomé

A.C. Fabian

C.S. Crawford

H.R. Russell

J. Hlavacek-Larrondo

B.R. McNamara

M.N. Bremer



Abstract

We present an Integral Field Unit survey of 73 galaxy clusters and groups with the VIsible Multi Object Spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope. We exploit the data to determine the H α gas dynamics on kpc scales to study the feedback processes occurring within the dense cluster cores. We determine the kinematic state of the ionized gas and show that the majority of systems (∼2/3) have relatively ordered velocity fields on kpc scales that are similar to the kinematics of rotating discs and are decoupled from the stellar kinematics of the brightest cluster galaxy. The majority of the H α flux (>50 per cent) is typically associated with these ordered kinematics and most systems show relatively simple morphologies suggesting they have not been disturbed by a recent merger or interaction. Approximately 20 per cent of the sample (13/73) have disturbed morphologies which can typically be attributed to active galactic nuclei activity disrupting the gas. Only one system shows any evidence of an interaction with another cluster member. A spectral analysis of the gas suggests that the ionization of the gas within cluster cores is dominated by non-stellar processes, possibly originating from the intracluster medium itself.

Citation

Hamer, S., Edge, A., Swinbank, A., Wilman, R., Combes, F., Salomé, P., …Bremer, M. (2016). Optical emission line nebulae in galaxy cluster cores 1: the morphological, kinematic and spectral properties of the sample. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 460(2), 1758-1789. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw1054

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 3, 2016
Online Publication Date May 6, 2016
Publication Date Aug 1, 2016
Deposit Date Sep 20, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Print ISSN 0035-8711
Electronic ISSN 1365-2966
Publisher Royal Astronomical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 460
Issue 2
Pages 1758-1789
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw1054

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Copyright Statement
This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2016 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.






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