The dynamical evolution of clusters of galaxies
A. Cavaliere, P. Santangelo, G. Tarquini, Nicola Vittorio · The Astrophysical Journal · 1986
The authors have simulated the dynamical evolution of clusters of galaxies, using a direct N-body integrator, from a large set of statistically equivalent initial conditions. They have also mapped the corresponding X-ray emission from the intracluster plasma at various evolutionary stages in a full three-dimensional description. The simulations are compared with recent observations both in the optical and in the X-ray band, with the purpose of testing the predictive ability for morphologies of the hierarchical clustering scenario. The results describe closely the observed variety of cluster morphologies and predict that only < 30% of the clusters as massive as Coma should be in a relaxed phase, the rest being still in a slowly evolving, clumpy or multicomponent and unrelaxed stage.