CHANDRA OBSERVATION OF ABELL 1142: A COOL-CORE CLUSTER LACKING A CENTRAL BRIGHTEST CLUSTER GALAXY?

Abell 1142 is a low-mass galaxy cluster at low redshift containing two comparable brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) resembling a scaled-down version of the Coma Cluster. Our Chandra analysis reveals an X-ray emission peak, roughly 100 kpc away from either BCG, which we identify as the cluster center. The emission center manifests itself as a second beta-model surface brightness component distinct from that of the cluster on larger scales. The center is also substantially cooler and more metal-rich than the surrounding intracluster medium (ICM), which makes Abell 1142 appear to be a cool-core cluster. The redshift distribution of its member galaxies indicates that Abell 1142 may contain two subclusters, each of which contain one BCG. The BCGs are merging at a relative velocity of ≈1200 km s⁻¹. This ongoing merger may have shock-heated the ICM from ≈2 keV to above 3 keV, which would explain the anomalous L_X–T_X scaling relation for this system. This merger may have displaced the metal-enriched “cool core” of either of the subclusters from the BCG. The southern BCG consists of three individual galaxies residing within a radius of 5 kpc in projection. These galaxies should rapidly sink into the subcluster center due to the dynamical friction of a cuspy cold dark matter halo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]