THE GALAXY CLUSTER A2146 IS UNDERGOING A MAJOR MERGER AND HOSTS TWO HUGE BRIGHT MACH 2 SHOCK FRONTS WHICH PROVIDE A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO MEASURE THE ELECTRON-ION THERMAL EQUILIBRATION TIMESCALE ALONG WITH OTHER KEY TRANSPORT PHENOMENA. WE PROPOSE TO CHARACTERIZE THE HEATING MECHANISM OF THE ELECTRONS BY MEASURING THE TEMPERATURES BEHIND THE TWO SHOCKS IN A2146. SUCH MEASUREMENTS ARE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR OTHER OBSERVATORIES DUE TO THE HIGH TEMPERATURES INVOLVED; WE HAVE PIONEERED A METHOD COMBINING CHANDRA AND NUSTAR DATA TO DO THIS AND THE UPSTREAM SHOCK IN A2146 IS THE BEST REMAINING TARGET FOR THIS TEST. WE WILL ALSO CONSTRAIN THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT THE CLUSTER AND SEARCH FOR DARK MATTER LINES AND NON-THERMAL EMISSION.

University Of Utah, Salt Lake City UT

Investigators