Subcluster Merger and Galaxy Infall in A2151

Abstract

We have obtained a 12.5 ksec image of the Hercules Cluster, A2151, with the {\it ROSAT} PSPC. Comparison of the optical and X-ray data suggest the presence of at least three distinct subclusters in A2151. The brightest X-ray emission coincides with the highest-density peak in the galaxy distribution, and is bimodal. The northern subclump, distinct in position and velocity, has {\it no} detectable X-ray gas. The eastern subclump, apparent in the optical contour map, is indistinguishable from the main clump in velocity space but is clearly visible in the X-ray image. X-ray spectra derived from the central peak of emission yield a best-fit temperature of 1.6 keV. The emission coincident with the eastern clump of galaxies is cooler, 0.8 keV, and is outside the 90\% confidence intervals of the central peak temperature. We suggest that the eastern and central subclusters have recently undergone a merger event. The lack of X-ray emission to the north suggests that those galaxies do not form a physically-distinct structure (i.e. they are not located within a distinct gravitational potential), but rather that they are falling into the cluster core along the filament defined by the Hercules Supercluster.