A uniform metal distribution in the intergalactic medium of the perseus cluster of galaxies

ABSTRACT Most of the metals (elements heavier than helium) produced by stars in the member galaxies of clusters currently reside within the hot, X-ray-emitting intra-cluster gas.

Observations of X-ray line emission from this intergalactic medium have suggested a relatively small cluster-to-cluster scatter outside the cluster centres1,2 and enrichment with iron out to

large radii3,4,5, leading to the idea that the metal enrichment occurred early in the history of the Universe3. Models with early enrichment predict a uniform metal distribution at large

radii in clusters, whereas those with late-time enrichment6,7 are expected to introduce significant spatial variations of the metallicity. To discriminate clearly between these competing

models, it is essential to test for potential inhomogeneities by measuring the abundances out to large radii along multiple directions in clusters, which has not hitherto been done. Here we

report a remarkably uniform iron abundance, as a function of radius and azimuth, that is statistically consistent with a constant value of _Z_Fe = 0.306 ± 0.012 in solar units out to the

edge of the nearby Perseus cluster. This homogeneous distribution requires that most of the metal enrichment of the intergalactic medium occurred before the cluster formed, probably more

than ten billion years ago, during the period of maximal star formation and black hole activity. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription content,

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OPTIONS: * Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS LARGE METALLICITY VARIATIONS IN THE GALACTIC

INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM Article 08 September 2021 A DEPARTURE FROM THE MASS–METALLICITY RELATION IN MERGING GALAXIES DUE TO AN INFALL OF METAL-POOR GAS Article 08 January 2024 LOW GAS-PHASE

METALLICITIES OF ULTRALUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXIES ARE A RESULT OF DUST OBSCURATION Article 26 May 2022 REFERENCES * Matsushita, K. Radial profiles of Fe abundance in the intracluster medium

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Acta_ 53, 197–214 (1989) Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar  Download references ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are grateful for discussions with other members of the Perseus cluster Suzaku Key project

collaboration, as well as with Y. Lu, P. Simeon and R. Blandford. This work was supported by the Suzaku grants NNX09AV64G and NNX10AR48G, the NASA ADAP grant NNX12AE05G, and by the US

Department of Energy under contract number DE-AC02-76SF00515. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, 452

Lomita Mall, Stanford, California 94305-4085, USA , Norbert Werner, Ondrej Urban, Aurora Simionescu & Steven W. Allen * Department of Physics, Stanford University, 382 Via Pueblo Mall,

Stanford, California 94305-4060, USA, Norbert Werner, Ondrej Urban, Aurora Simionescu & Steven W. Allen * SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, 94025,

California, USA Ondrej Urban & Steven W. Allen * Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), JAXA, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210, Japan , Aurora

Simionescu Authors * Norbert Werner View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Ondrej Urban View author publications You can also search for this

author inPubMed Google Scholar * Aurora Simionescu View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Steven W. Allen View author publications You can

also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CONTRIBUTIONS N.W. led the writing of the manuscript. O.U. reduced and analysed the data. A.S. and N.W. contributed to the data analysis.

S.W.A. contributed to the writing of the manuscript and is the principal investigator of the Suzaku Key Project data. All authors discussed all results, developed the interpretation and

commented on the manuscript. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Norbert Werner. ETHICS DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS The authors declare no competing financial interests. POWERPOINT

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THIS ARTICLE Werner, N., Urban, O., Simionescu, A. _et al._ A uniform metal distribution in the intergalactic medium of the Perseus cluster of galaxies. _Nature_ 502, 656–658 (2013).

https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12646 Download citation * Received: 01 June 2013 * Accepted: 09 September 2013 * Published: 30 October 2013 * Issue Date: 31 October 2013 * DOI:

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