Abell 1835

Abell 1835
en:NASA, en:STScI, en:WikiSky · Public domain · source
Name	Abell 1835
Constellation	Virgo
Redshift	0.252
Distance	3.1 billion light-years
Mass	~10^15 M☉

Abell 1835 is a massive galaxy cluster in the constellation Virgo known for its strong X-ray emission, powerful gravitational lensing, and a prominent central cooling flow. Located at moderate cosmological redshift, it has been the subject of studies by instruments such as the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Subaru Telescope.

Overview

The cluster was cataloged in the Abell catalog and appears in surveys conducted by facilities including the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the ROSATESA programs, and the Planck mission. It lies in the same sky region studied by the Two Micron All Sky Survey and has been targeted for follow-up by the Very Large Array, the ALMA, and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. Studies of this cluster connect to large projects such as the CLASH, the Hubble Frontier Fields, and surveys by the South Pole Telescope.

Physical characteristics

The total mass and dark matter distribution have been constrained through comparisons between X-ray profiles from Chandra X-ray Observatory and mass maps from optical lensing techniques used by Hubble Space Telescope teams and ground-based observatories like Subaru Telescope and the Keck Observatory. Measurements involve instruments and collaborations such as XMM-Newton, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, and groups affiliated with the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the European Southern Observatory, and the Max Planck Society. The mass within characteristic radii is similar to that of clusters studied in the Millennium Simulation and compared with theoretical expectations from the Lambda-CDM model and projects like the Dark Energy Survey. Kinematic studies reference velocity dispersions measured with spectrographs on Gemini Observatory and the Very Large Telescope.

Intracluster medium and cooling flow

High-resolution spectroscopy and imaging from Chandra X-ray Observatory and XMM-Newton revealed a luminous intracluster medium with steep central cooling. Analyses often cite cooling-flow models developed by researchers associated with the NASA and the ESA, and compare to feedback scenarios involving active galactic nucleus activity in the central brightest cluster galaxy inferred from radio observations with the Very Large Array and ALMA. The interplay between cooling gas, supermassive black hole feedback seen in systems like those studied at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology informs models used by teams at the Princeton University and University of Cambridge.

Gravitational lensing and background galaxies

Strong and weak lensing analyses using deep imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based surveys by the Subaru Telescope and Keck Observatory have mapped the cluster’s projected mass and revealed multiple highly magnified background galaxies, similar to lensed sources found in surveys like the COSMOS field and the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. Follow-up spectroscopy with Gemini Observatory, Very Large Telescope, and instruments on Keck Observatory have measured redshifts comparable to objects in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and samples targeted by the Spitzer Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope. Lens models produced by teams at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Stanford University, and the Institute for Advanced Study have been compared to simulated lensing catalogs from the Illustris project.

Member galaxies and star formation

The brightest cluster galaxy has been studied in multiwavelength campaigns involving Hubble Space Telescope imaging, Spitzer Space Telescope mid-infrared observations, and submillimeter data from ALMA and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope to quantify star formation and dust content. Spectroscopic surveys using Keck Observatory, Very Large Telescope, and the Magellan Telescopes have cataloged member velocities and spectral types, comparing trends to samples from the Coma Cluster and the Perseus Cluster. Star-formation rates and stellar population analyses reference methods used by groups at Carnegie Observatories, California Institute of Technology, and University of Chicago.

Observations and discoveries

Key observations include deep X-ray imaging by Chandra X-ray Observatory and XMM-Newton, optical lensing maps from Hubble Space Telescope programs such as CLASH, and submillimeter detections with ALMA and ground-based telescopes. Results have been published by teams at institutions like Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Oxford. The cluster has also been included in catalogs produced from data of the Planck (spacecraft) Sunyaev–Zel'dovich detections, the ROSAT All-Sky Survey, and targeted programs by the South Pole Telescope and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope.

Significance in cosmology and cluster studies

Abell 1835 serves as a benchmark for testing models of structure formation in the context of the Lambda-CDM model, comparisons to numerical efforts like the Millennium Simulation and Illustris project, and for calibrating mass-observable relations used by surveys such as the Dark Energy Survey, the Euclid mission, and the Roman Space Telescope. Its combination of strong lensing, cool-core X-ray properties, and active star formation in the central galaxy makes it relevant to research programs at the Kavli Institute for Cosmology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Space Telescope Science Institute.

Category:Galaxy clusters