Hard X-ray Observation of Abell 496

Abstract

We report the results of hard X-ray observations of Abell 496 (A496), a nearby relaxed cluster, using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). The 3-20 keV spectrum of this cluster is well-modeled by a thermal component of kT ~ 4.1 keV plus a cooling flow with mass accretion rate of \dot{M} ~ 285 M_{\odot} yr^{-1}. The spectrum is equally well-modeled by a multi-temperature plasma component with a Gaussian temperature distribution of mean temperature 3.8 keV and σ_{kT} ~ 0.9 keV. The metallicity is found to be approximately 1/3 solar; however, the Ni/Fe ratio is about 3.6. No significant nonthermal emission at hard X-rays was detected for this cluster. We discuss the implications of the models presented here and compare them with the temperature profiles derived for this cluster using the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA). Our results are inconsistent with declining temperature profiles.