X-ray astronomers discovered the diffuse gas in clusters of
galaxies about 20 years ago. It was later realized that the central
gas density in some clusters, and in elliptical galaxies, is so
high that radiative cooling is a significant energy loss. The
cooling time of the gas decreases rapidly towards the centre of the
cluster or galaxy and is less than a Hubble time within the
innermost few hundred kiloparsecs. This results in a cooling flow
in which the gas density rises in order to maintain pressure to
support the weight of the overlying gas. The rate at which mass is
deposited by the flow is inferred to be several hundreds of solar
masses per year in some clusters. The fraction of clusters in which
cooling flows are found may exceed 50 per cent. Small flows
probably occur in most normal elliptical galaxies that are not in
rich clusters. The implications of this simple phenomenon are
profound, for we appear to be witnessing the ongoing formation of
the central galaxy. In particular, since most of the gas is
undetected once it cools below about 3 million K, it appears to
form dark matter. There is no reason why it should be detectable
with current techniques if each cooling proton only recombines once
and the matter condenses into objects of low mass.
General
Imprint: |
Springer
|
Country of origin: |
Netherlands |
Series: |
NATO Science Series C, 229 |
Release date: |
October 2011 |
First published: |
1988 |
Editors: |
A.C. Fabian
|
Dimensions: |
235 x 155 x 21mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
406 |
Edition: |
Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1988 |
ISBN-13: |
978-9401078283 |
Categories: |
Books >
Science & Mathematics >
Astronomy, space & time >
General
|
LSN: |
9401078289 |
Barcode: |
9789401078283 |
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