Speaker
Description
Magnetic fields play an important role in the Intra Cluster Medium (ICM) of galaxy clusters. Indeed, they mediate particle acceleration mechanisms, thermal conduction, and contribute to the ICM pressure and energy budget. Yet, magnetic fields are so far constrained only for a small sample of clusters, observed in different ways, which might introduce biases in the analysis.
In this talk, I will present the first results of the MeerKAT XLP "CHEX-MATE-KAT: tracing magnetic field amplification in galaxy clusters during the process of structure formation", which aims at constraining the magnetic field in a well defined sample of galaxy clusters. The sample of clusters has a uniform coverage in the X-rays up to R_500 (i.e. half of the virial radius), which is optimal for a systematic and unbiased analysis of the Faraday rotation Measure.
We have observed and analysed through the Rotation Measure Synthesis technique the first set of observations: 6 low mass galaxy clusters (M500 2-4 1e14 Msun), and 3 high-mass clusters (M> 7e14 Msun M500 ) at low redshift (z < 0.2). I will show how these observations can be used to set constraints on the magnetic field evolution as a function of the cluster mass. I will also show how, once completed, this XLP will permit to study the evolution of magnetic fields in clusters through mass and redshift.
| Topics | Galaxy Clusters & LSS (relativistic particles and magnetic fields) |
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