COOLING FLOW MODELS OF THE X--RAY EMISSION AND TEMPERATURE PROFILES FOR A SAMPLE OF ELLIPTICAL GALAXIES

Abstract

A simple spherically-symmetric, steady-state, cooling-flow description with gas loss (following Sarazin \& Ashe 1989), within galaxy models constrained by radially extended stellar dynamical data, is shown to provide generally reasonable fits to the existing data on X-ray emission profiles and temperatures for a set of bright elliptical galaxies in Virgo and Fornax. Three free parameters are needed to specify the model: the external mass flux, the external pressure, and a dimensionless factor, which regulates the mass deposition rate along the flow. Three different assumptions on the supernova rate have been considered. A moderate value for the supernova rate in elliptical galaxies is found to be preferred. Confining pressures of $p_{ext}\sim4\div15\times10^3\kelvin$ cm$^{-3}$ and significant accretion rates of external material, up to $4\msolar/\yr$, are suggested by our models. A possible correlation between $L_X/L_B$ and the iron abundance in the gas inside ellipticals is pointed out.