THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA University Libraries O VI In Elliptical Galaxies: Indicators of Cooling Flows Joel N. Bregman – University of Michigan Eric D. Miller – MIT Alex E. Athey – Carnegie Institution of Washington Jimmy A. Irwin – University of Michigan Deposited 09/13/2018 Citation of published version: Bregman, J., Miller, E., Athey, A., Irwin, J. (2005): O VI In Elliptical Galaxies: Indicators of Cooling Flows The Astrophysical Journal, 635(2). DOI: 10.1086/497421 © 2005. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. The Astrophysical Journal, 635:1031–1043, 2005 December 20 # 2005. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. O vi IN ELLIPTICAL GALAXIES: INDICATORS OF COOLING FLOWS Joel N. Bregman Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109;
[email protected] Eric D. Miller Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Science, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139;
[email protected] Alex E. Athey The Observatories, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Pasadena, CA 91101;
[email protected] and Jimmy A. Irwin Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109;
[email protected] Received 2005 April 25; accepted 2005 August 23 ABSTRACT Early-type galaxies often contain a hot X-ray–emitting interstellar medium [(3 8) ; 106 K] with an apparent radiative cooling time much less than a Hubble time. If unopposed by a heating mechanism, the gas will radiatively 4 À1 cool to temperatures P10 K at a rate proportional to LX /TX , typically 0.03–1 M yr . We can test whether gas is cooling through the 3 ; 105 K range by observing the O vi doublet, whose luminosity is proportional to the cooling rate.