On the origin and excitation of the extended nebula surrounding NGC 1275

We use line-of-sight velocity information on the filamentary emission-line nebula of NGC 1275 to infer a dynamical model of the nebula's flow through the surrounding intracluster gas. We detect outflowing gas and flow patterns that match simulations of buoyantly rising bubbles from which we deduce that some of the nebula filaments have been drawn out of NGC 1275. We find a radial gradient of the ratio [N  ii ]λ6584/Hα which may be due to a variation in metallicity, interactions with the surrounding intracluster medium or a hardening of the excitation mechanism. We find no preferred spatial correlation of stellar clusters within the filaments and there is a notable lack of [O  iii ]λ5007 emission, therefore it is unlikely that the filaments are ionized by stellar ultraviolet.     

Molecular gas in the Perseus cooling flow galaxy, NGC 1275

The central arcminute of the Perseus cooling flow galaxy, NGC 1275, has been mapped with the JCMT in ¹²CO(2–1) at 21-arcsec resolution, with detections out to at least 36 arcsec (12 kpc). Within the limits of the resolution and coverage, the distribution of gas appears to be roughly east–west, consistent with previous observations of CO, X-ray, Hα and dust emission. The total detected molecular hydrogen mass is ∼ 1.6 × 10¹⁰ M_⊙, using a Galactic conversion factor. The inner central rotating disc is apparent in the data, but the overall distribution is not one of rotation. Rather, the line profiles are bluewards-asymmetric, consistent with previous observations in H  i and [O  iii ]. We suggest that the blueshift may be due to an acquired mean velocity of ∼ 150 km s⁻¹ imparted by the radio jet in the advancing direction. Within the uncertainties of the analysis, the available radio energy appears to be sufficient, and the interpretation is consistent with that of Bo¨hringer et al. for displaced X-ray emission. We have also made the first observations of ¹³CO(2–1) and ¹²CO(3–2) emission from the central 21-arcsec region of NGC 1275 and combined these data with IRAM data supplied by Reuter et al. to form line ratios over equivalent, well-sampled regions. An LVG radiative transfer analysis indicates that the line ratios are not well reproduced by single values of kinetic temperature, molecular hydrogen density and abundance per unit velocity gradient. At least two temperatures are suggested by a simple two-component LVG model, possibly reflecting a temperature gradient in this region.     

The ultraluminous X-ray sources in the high-velocity system of NGC 1275

We report the results of a study of X-ray point sources coincident with the high-velocity system (HVS) projected in front of NGC 1275. A very deep X-ray image of the core of the Perseus cluster, made with the Chandra X-ray Observatory , has been used. We find a population of ultraluminous X-ray sources [ULXs; seven sources with   L _X(0.5 − 7.0  keV) > 7 × 10³⁹ erg s^-1  ]. As with the ULX populations in the Antennae and Cartwheel galaxies, those in the HVS are associated with a region of very active star formation. Several sources have possible optical counterparts found on the Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) images, although the X-ray brightest one does not. Absorbed power-law models fit the X-ray spectra, with most having a photon index between 2 and 3.     

The weak shock in the core of the Perseus cluster

The dissipation of energy from sound waves and weak shocks is one of the most promising mechanisms for coupling active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity to the surrounding intracluster medium, and so offsetting cooling in cluster cores. We present a detailed analysis of the weak shock found in deep Chandra observations of the Perseus cluster core. A comparison of the spectra either side of the shock front shows that they are very similar. By performing a deprojection analysis of a sector containing the shock, we produce temperature and density profiles across the shock front. These show no evidence for a temperature jump coincident with the density jump. To understand this result, we model the shock formation using 1D hydrodynamic simulations including models with thermal conduction and  γ < 5/3  gas. These models do not agree well with the data, suggesting that further physics is needed to explain the shock structure. We suggest that an interaction between the shock and the Hα filaments could have a significant effect on cooling the post-shock gas.
We also calculate the thermal energy liberated by the weak shock. The total energy in the shocked region is about 3.5 times the work needed to inflate the bubbles adiabatically, and the power of the shock is around  6 × 10⁴⁴ erg s⁻¹  per bubble, just over  10⁴⁵ erg s⁻¹  in total.     

Width of X-ray lines as a diagnostic of gas motions in cooling flows

The dissipation of turbulent gas motions is one of the likely mechanisms that has been proposed to heat the intracluster medium (ICM) in the cores of clusters and groups of galaxies. We consider the impact of gas motions on the width of the most prominent X-ray emission lines. For heavy elements (like iron), the expected linewidth is much larger than the width due to pure thermal broadening, and the contribution due to turbulent gas motions should be easily detected with the new generation of X-ray microcalorimeters, such as the Spektr-RG calorimeter (SXC). For instance, in the Perseus cluster the turbulent velocity required to balance radiative cooling (as derived by Rebusco et al.) would imply a width of the 6.7 keV Fe line of 10–20 eV, while the pure thermal broadening is ∼4 eV. The radial dependence of the linewidth is sensitive to (i) the radial dependence of the velocity amplitude and (ii) the 'directionality' of the stochastic motions (e.g. isotropic turbulence or predominantly radial gas motions). If the width of several lines, characteristic for different gas temperatures, can be measured, then it should be possible to probe both the 'directionality' and the amplitude of the gas motions. Moreover, a measurement of the width would put a lower limit on the amount of the kinetic energy available for dissipation, giving a constraint on the ICM models.     

The nature of a dusty ring in Virgo

We detected a ring-like distribution of far-infrared (FIR) emission in the direction of the centre of the Virgo cluster (VC). We studied this feature in the FIR, radio and optical domains, and deduced that the dust within the feature reddens the galaxies in the direction of the VC but does not affect stars within the Milky Way. This is likely to be a dusty feature in the foreground of the VC, presumably in the Galactic halo. The H  i distribution follows the morphology of the FIR emission and shows peculiar kinematic behaviour. We propose that a highly supersonic past collision between an H  i cloud and the Galactic H  i formed a shock that heated the interface gas to soft X-ray temperatures. H  i remnants from the projectile and from the shocked Galactic H  i rain down on to the disc as intermediate-velocity gas.
Our finding emphasizes that extragalactic astronomy must consider the possibility of extinction by dust at high galactic latitude and far from the Galactic plane, which may show structure on 1° and smaller scales. This is particularly important for studies of the VC, e.g. in the determination of the Hubble constant from Cepheids in cluster galaxies.     

Searching for tidal tails – investigating galaxy harassment

Galaxy harassment has been proposed as a physical process that morphologically transforms low surface density disc galaxies into dwarf elliptical galaxies in clusters. It has been used to link the observed very different morphology of distant cluster galaxies (relatively more blue galaxies with 'disturbed' morphologies) with the relatively large numbers of dwarf elliptical galaxies found in nearby clusters. One prediction of the harassment model is that the remnant galaxies should lie on low surface brightness tidal streams or arcs. We demonstrate in this paper that we have an analysis method that is sensitive to the detection of arcs down to a surface brightness of 29 B μ and we then use this method to search for arcs around 46 Virgo cluster dwarf elliptical galaxies. We find no evidence for tidal streams or arcs and consequently no evidence for galaxy harassment as a viable explanation for the relatively large numbers of dwarf galaxies found in the Virgo cluster.     

Diffuse X-ray emission from late-type galaxy haloes

Current theories of galaxy formation predict that spiral galaxies are embedded in a reservoir of hot gas. This gas is able to cool on to the galaxy, replenishing cold gas that is consumed by star formation. Estimates of the X-ray luminosity emitted in the cooling region suggest a bolometric luminosity of the order of 10×10⁴¹ erg s⁻¹ in massive systems. We have used ROSAT PSPC data to search for extended X-ray emission from the haloes of three nearby, massive, late-type galaxies: NGC 2841, 4594 and 5529. We infer 95 per cent upper limits on the bolometric X-ray luminosities of the haloes of NGC 2841, 4594 and 5529 of 0.4, 1.2 and 3.8×10⁴¹ erg s⁻¹ respectively. Thus, the true luminosity lies well below the straightforward theoretical prediction. We discuss this discrepancy and suggest a number of ways in which the theoretical model might be brought into agreement with the observational results. A possible solution is that the gravitational potentials of the dark matter haloes of these galaxies are weaker than assumed in the current model. Alternatively, the present-day accretion may be substantially less than is required on average to build the disc over the Hubble time. Our results are, however, based on only three galaxies, none of which is ideal for this kind of study. A larger data set is required to explore this important problem further.