XIM-A VIRTUAL X-RAY OBSERVATORY: INVESTIGATING THE X-RAY APPEARANCE AND LINE PROFILE FUNCTION OF VORTEX RINGS IN GALAXY CLUSTERS

We present virtual observations of a simulated vortex ring in a galaxy cluster (such as the Virgo Cluster, where such a ring has been observed), using the virtual X-ray observatory software XIM. We derive the expected surface brightness distributions and color maps for a vortex seen at different line-of-sight angles. We present the line profile function phi(delta v) for the velocity field of a vortex ring as derived from the observations and show that the line core has a frequency dependence of phi proportional to (delta v/delta v(0))(-2) and derive this form of the line profile from the analytic description of the asymptotic behavior of the velocity field of a vortex ring. We discuss further examples of the application of XIM to studies of galaxy clusters and present the capabilities and methodology of the publicly available code XIM.