Title: X-ray Spectroscopy of the Core of the Perseus Cluster with Suzaku: Elemental Abundances in the Intracluster Medium Authors: T. Tamura, Y. Maeda, K. Mitsuda, A. C. Fabian, J. S. Sanders, A. Furuzawa, J. P. Hughes, R. Iizuka, K. Matsu****a and T. Tamagawa
The results from Suzaku observations of the central region of the Perseus cluster are presented. Deep exposures with the X-ray Imaging Spectrometer provide high-quality X-ray spectra from the intracluster medium. X-ray lines from helium-like Cr and Mn have been detected significantly for the first time in clusters. In addition, elemental abundances of Ne, Mg, Si, S, Ar, Ca, Fe, and Ni are accurately measured within 10' (or 220 kpc) from the cluster center. The relative abundance ratios are found to be within a range of 0.8-1.5 times the solar value. These abundance ratios are compared with previous measurements, those in extremely metal-poor stars in the Galaxy, and theoretical models.
Every cook knows the ingredients for making bread: flour, water, yeast, and time. But what chemical elements are in the recipe of our universe? Most of the ingredients are hydrogen and helium. These cosmic lightweights fill the first two spots on the famous periodic table of the elements. Less abundant but more familiar to us are the heavier elements, meaning everything listed on the periodic table after hydrogen and helium. These building blocks, such as iron and other metals, can be found in many of the objects in our daily lives, from teddy bears to teapots. Recently astronomers used the Suzaku orbiting X-ray observatory, operated jointly by NASA and the Japanese space agency, to discover the largest known reservoir of rare metals in the universe. Suzaku detected the elements chromium and manganese while observing the central region of the Perseus galaxy cluster. The metallic atoms are part of the hot gas, or "intergalactic medium," that lies between galaxies.