Temperature Variation in the Cluster of Galaxies Abell 115 Studied with<i>ASCA</i>

Abstract

Abell 115 exhibits two distinct peaks in the surface brightness distribution. ASCA observation shows a significant temperature variation in this cluster, confirmed by a hardness ratio analysis and spectral fits. A linking region between main and sub clusters shows a high temperature compared with other regions. Two possibilities are examined as the cause of the temperature variation: cooling flows in the main cluster and a shock heating due to the collision of the subcluster into the main system. Spectral fits with cooling flow models to the main-cluster data show a mass-deposition rate less than 419 solar-mass/yr. Temperatures in the main cluster, the linking region, and the subcluster are estimated by correcting for the effects of X-ray telescope response as 4.9 (+0.7/-0.6), 11 (+12/-4), and 5.2 (+1.4/-1.0) keV, respectively. The high temperature in the linking region implies that Abell 115 is indeed a merger system, with possible contribution from cooling flows on the temperature structure.