Clusters of galaxies are large assemblies of galaxies, hot gas and dark matter bound together by gravity. Galaxy clusters are now one of the most important cosmological probes to test the standard cosmological models. Constraints on the Dark Energy equation of state from the cluster number density measurements, deviations from the Gaussian perturbation models, the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect as well as the dark matter proles are among the issues to be studied with clusters. The baryonic composition of clusters is dominated by hot gas that is in quasi-hydrostatic equilibrium within the dark matter-dominated gravitational potential well of the cluster. The hot gas is visible through spatially extended thermal X-ray emission, and it has been studied extensively both for assessing its physical properties and as a tracer of the large-scale structure of the Universe. Magnetic fields as well as a number of non-thermal plasma processes play a role in clusters of galaxies as we observe from radioastronomical observations. The goal of this volume is to review these processes and to investigate how they are interlinked. Overall, these papers provide a timely and comprehensive review of the multi-wavelength observations and theoretical understanding of clusters of galaxies in the cosmological context. Thus, the volume will be particularly useful to postgraduate students and researchers active in various areas of astrophysics and space science. Originally published in Space Science Reviews in the Topical Collection "Clusters of Galaxies: Physics and Cosmology"

Clusters of galaxies are large assemblies of galaxies, hot gas and dark matter bound together by gravity. Galaxy clusters are now one of the most important cosmological probes to test the standard cosmological models. Constraints on the Dark Energy equation of state from the cluster number density measurements, deviations from the Gaussian perturbation models, the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect as well as the dark matter proles are among the issues to be studied with clusters. The baryonic composition of clusters is dominated by hot gas that is in quasi-hydrostatic equilibrium within the dark matter-dominated gravitational potential well of the cluster. The hot gas is visible through spatially extended thermal X-ray emission, and it has been studied extensively both for assessing its physical properties and as a tracer of the large-scale structure of the Universe. Magnetic fields as well as a number of non-thermal plasma processes play a role in clusters of galaxies as we observe from radioastronomical observations. The goal of this volume is to review these processes and to investigate how they are interlinked. Overall, these papers provide a timely and comprehensive review of the multi-wavelength observations and theoretical understanding of clusters of galaxies in the cosmological context. Thus, the volume will be particularly useful to postgraduate students and researchers active in various areas of astrophysics and space science. Originally published in Space Science Reviews in the Topical Collection "Clusters of Galaxies: Physics and Cosmology"

This book presents a comprehensive review of the methods applied to derive cosmological parameters for a given model and test different cosmological models using the most massive collapsed structures in our Universe: clusters of galaxies. Clusters typically consist of hundreds of galaxies and high-temperature ionised gas trapped in their gravitational field dominated by dark matter extending out to 2-3 Mpc. The formation, evolution, and structure of these massive rare objects are sensitive probes of the assumed cosmology. This is a multidisciplinary field of astrophysics involving multi-wavelength observations, gravity theory, atomic physics, plasma physics, magneto-hydrodynamics, astrophysical cosmology and numerical simulations. Our understanding of the physics of clusters, which is essential when using them for cosmology, has been improved tremendously due to the recent advent of technology and observational strategy in multi-frequency observations, and enhanced by improved numerical simulations made possible by more advanced high performance computers. As a result of these developments, cosmology with clusters of galaxies has become a mature discipline recently, and provided an important contribution to establish our concordance cosmological constant dominated cold dark matter model. In the near future we expect a rapid expansion of this field due to results from new cluster surveys and multi-wavelength observations. This timely volume on this exciting newly established field discusses galaxy cluster physics and provides a detailed description of using clusters to derive cosmological parameters applying accurate measurements of individual clusters as well as using clusters as a statistical tool. A detailed discussion is given on degeneracies between derived parameters and the systematic effects, which are becoming a limiting factor. An account for using clusters to test different cosmological models is also presented. This volume provides an introduction to galaxy cluster cosmology for physics and astronomy graduate students and serves as a reference source for professionals.

Mergers are the mechanisms by which galaxy clusters are assembled through the hierarchical growth of smaller clusters and groups. Major cluster mergers are the most energetic events in the Universe since the Big Bang. Many of the observed properties of clusters depend on the physics of the merging process. These include substructure, shock, intra cluster plasma temperature and entropy structure, mixing of heavy elements within the intra cluster medium, acceleration of high-energy particles, formation of radio halos and the effects on the galaxy radio emission. This book reviews our current understanding of cluster merging from an observational and theoretical perspective, and is appropriate for both graduate students and researchers in the field.

An advanced text for senior undergraduates, graduate students and physical scientists in fields outside cosmology. This is a self-contained book focusing on the linear theory of the evolution of density perturbations in the universe, and the anisotropiesin the cosmic microwave background.

The existence of soft excess emission originating from clusters of galaxies, de ned as em- sion detected below 1 keV in excess over the usual thermal emission from hot intracluster gas (hereafter the ICM) has been claimed since 1996. Soft excesses are particularly - portant to detect because they may (at least partly) be due to thermal emission from the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium, where as much as half of the baryons of the Universe could be. They are therefore of fundamental cosmological importance. Soft excess emission has been observed (and has also given rise to controversy) in a number of clusters, mainly raising the following questions: (1) Do clusters really show a soft excess? (2) If so, from what spatial region(s) of the cluster does the soft excess or- inate? (3) Is this excess emission thermal, originating from warm-hot intergalactic gas (at 6 temperatures of?10 K), or non-thermal, in which case several emission mechanisms have been proposed. Interestingly, some of the non-thermal mechanisms suggested to account for soft excess emission can also explain the hard X-ray emission detected in some clusters, for example by RXTE and BeppoSAX (also see Petrosian et al. 2008—Chap. 10, this issue; Rephaeli et al. 2008—Chap. 5, this issue).

First published in 1988, this book is a comprehensive survey of the astrophysical characteristics of the hot gas which pervades clusters of galaxies. In our universe, clusters of galaxies are the largest organised structures. Typically they comprise hundreds of galaxies moving through a region of space ten million light years in diameter. The volume between the galaxies is filled with gas having a temperature of 100 million degrees. This material is a strong source of cosmic X-rays. Dr Sarazin describes the theoretical description of the origin, dynamics, and physical state of the cluster gas. Observations by radio and optical telescopes are also summarised. This account is addressed to professional astronomers and to graduate students. It is an exhaustive summary of a rapidly expanding field of research in modern astrophysics.

This book contains the proceedings of the International Astronomical Union Colloquium no. 195, held in Torino, Italy in 2004. The meeting investigated the formation of galaxies within a full cosmological context, focusing on the outer regions of galaxy clusters. The observed correlation of optical and radio properties of galaxies with their environment indicates that the formation and evolution of galaxies is intimately linked to the formation of large scale structure. With chapters written by leading authorities in the field, this timely volume investigates the role of the environment in determining the properties of galaxies. It describes the distribution of matter and galaxies on the largest scales in the Universe, the processes of cluster and galaxy formation, their role and interplay. This is a valuable collection of review articles for professional astronomers.

This topical volume examines one of the leading problems in astronomy - how galaxies cluster in our Universe. This book, first published in 2000, describes gravitational theory, computer simulations and observations related to galaxy distribution functions. It embeds distribution functions in a broader astronomical context, including other exciting contemporary topics such as correlation functions, fractals, bound clusters, topology, percolation and minimal spanning trees. Key results are derived and the necessary gravitational physics provided to ensure the book is self-contained. Throughout the book, theory, computer simulation and observation are carefully interwoven and critically compared. The book also shows how future observations can test the theoretical models for the evolution of galaxy clustering at early times in our Universe. This clear and authoritative volume is written at a level suitable for graduate students, and will be of key interest to astronomers, cosmologists, physicists and applied statisticians.