Tracing the evolution in the iron content of the ICM

dc.creatorBalestra, I.
dc.creatorTozzi, P.
dc.creatorEttori, S.
dc.creatorRosati, P.
dc.creatorBorgani, S.
dc.creatorMainieri, V.
dc.creatorNorman, C.
dc.creatorViola, M.
dc.date2006-09-25
dc.date2007-01-22
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T07:41:50Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T07:41:50Z
dc.descriptionWe present a Chandra analysis of the X-ray spectra of 56 clusters of galaxies at z>0.3, which cover a temperature range 3<kT<15 keV. Our analysis is aimed at measuring the iron abundance in the intra-cluster medium (ICM) out to the highest redshift probed to date. We made use of combined spectral analysis performed over five redshift bins at 0.3<z<1.3 to estimate the average emission weighted iron abundance. We find that the emission weighted iron abundance measured within (0.15-0.3)R_vir in clusters below 5 keV is, on average, a factor of ~2 higher than in hotter clusters, following Z(T) = 0.88 T^{-0.47} Z_o, confirming the trend seen in local samples. We also find a constant average iron abundance Z_{Fe}~0.25Z_o as a function of redshift, but only for clusters at z>0.5. The emission weighted iron abundance is significantly higher (Z_{Fe}~0.4 Z_o) in the redshift range z~0.3-0.5, approaching the value measured locally in the inner 0.15 R_{vir} radii for a mix of cool-core and non cool-core clusters at 0.1<z<0.3. The decrease in metallicity with redshift can be parametrized by a power law of the form ~(1+z)^{-1.25}. The observed evolution implies that the average iron content of the ICM at present epoch is a factor of ~2 larger than at z~1.2. We confirm that the ICM is already significantly enriched (Z_{Fe} ~ 0.25 Z_o) at a look-back time of 9 Gyr. Our data provide significant constraints on the time scales and physical processes which drive the chemical enrichment of the ICM. (abridged)
dc.descriptionAstronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 462, Issue 2, February I 2007, pp. 429-442
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0609664
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0609664
dc.identifierA&A 462, 429-442 (2007)
dc.identifierdoi:10.1051/0004-6361:20065568
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/122262
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleTracing the evolution in the iron content of the ICM
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