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Optical coronal emission lines from cooling flows in elliptical galaxies and galaxy clusters

Authors :
Sarazin, Craig L
Graney, Christopher M
Source :
Astrophysical Journal, Part 1. 375
Publication Year :
1991
Publisher :
United States: NASA Center for Aerospace Information (CASI), 1991.

Abstract

Luminosities, surface brightnesses, and line profiles of the coronal lines predicted by standard models for cooling flows in clusters of galaxies and in individual early-type galaxies are presented. The coronal line luminosities of cooling flows depend primarily on the total rate at which gas is cooling. In homogeneous cooling flow models (HMs) in which all of the gas flows into the central regions, the coronal lines are very centrally concentrated, coming mainly from a limb-brightened shell lying just within the sonic radius of the inflow. For HMs, the central surface brightnesses of the stronger coronal lines from nearby clusters with large cooling rates are expected to be about 6 x 10 to the -17th ergs/sq cm/s/sq arcsec. For inhomogeneous models (IMs) in which gas cools out of the flow at large radii, the surface brightness profiles of the coronal lines are more extended, and the central surface brightness is much lower. The integrated line profiles of the HMs are very wide and flat and the central line profiles are double-peaked. The IMs have nearly Gaussian line profiles.

Subjects

Subjects :
Astrophysics

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
0004637X
Volume :
375
Database :
NASA Technical Reports
Journal :
Astrophysical Journal, Part 1
Notes :
NAGW-764
Publication Type :
Report
Accession number :
edsnas.19910059740
Document Type :
Report
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1086/170215