Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Detailed X-Ray Analysis Of The Cold Front In Relics Cluster A2163, Anne Poy

CMC Senior Theses

Galaxy clusters are the largest gravitationally bound objects in the Universe. Studying them can teach us about how they merge and grow, which in turn provides unparalleled information about the history of the evolution of the Universe. X-ray observations of galaxy clusters have uncovered substructure in the hot, X-ray emitting gas known as the intracluster mediums (ICM). Substructure indicates that the ICM has been churned up, possibly by a significant off-axis merger event. This substructure includes cold fronts, sloshing spirals, and shocks. We present deep Chandra observations of the merging cluster Abell 2163. We investigate the global spectrum and find …