# The X-ray Fundamental Plane and 𝐿_X-𝑇 Relation of Clusters of Galaxies

## 1 Introduction

Correlations among physical quantities of clusters of galaxies are very useful tools for studying formation of clusters and cosmological parameters. In particular, the luminosity ($`L_\mathrm{X}`$)-temperature ($`T`$) relation in X-ray clusters has been studied by many authors. Observations show that clusters of galaxies exhibit a correlation of approximately $`L_\mathrm{X}T^3`$ (Edge & Stewart 1991; David et al. 1993; Allen & Fabian 1998; Markevitch 1998; Arnaud & Evrard 1998). On the other hand, a simple theoretical model predicts $`L_\mathrm{X}T^2`$ on the assumptions that (1) the internal structures of clusters of different mass are similar; in particular, the ratio of gas mass to virial mass in the clusters ($`f=M_{\mathrm{gas}}/M_{\mathrm{vir}}`$) is constant; (2) all clusters identified at some redshift have the same characteristic density, which scales with the mean density of the universe (e.g. Kaiser 1986; Navarro, Frenk, & White 1995; Eke, Navarro, & Frenk 1998). This discrepancy remains one of the most important problems in clusters of galaxies.

The discrepancy of the $`L_\mathrm{X}T`$ relation is not easily resolved even if we relax one of these basic assumptions. We just show an example, where the assumption (1) is relaxed. The X-ray luminosity of clusters is approximately given by $`L_\mathrm{X}\rho _0^2R^3T^{1/2}`$, where $`\rho _0`$ is the characteristic gas density, and $`R`$ is the core radius. Thus, the observed relation $`L_\mathrm{X}T^3`$ indicates that $`\rho _0^2R^3T^{5/2}`$. If the gravitational matter has the same core radius as gas, the baryon mass fraction is given by $`f\rho _0R^3/RT\rho _0R^2T^1`$. If we assume $`fT^\alpha `$, we obtain $`\rho _0T^{23\alpha }`$, $`RT^{1/2+2\alpha }`$, $`M_{\mathrm{gas}}T^{1/2+3\alpha }`$, $`M_{\mathrm{vir}}T^{1/2+2\alpha }`$, and the characteristic density of gravitational matter $`\rho _{\mathrm{vir}}M_{\mathrm{vir}}/R^3T^{24\alpha }`$. Assuming that $`\rho _{\mathrm{vir}}`$ is constant in the spirit of the above assumption (2) (so-called recent-formation approximation), we should take $`\alpha =1/2`$. Thus, this model predicts a correlation of $`\rho _0RT^{1/2}`$. However, such a correlation has not been found, although many authors have investigated relations among the physical quantities of clusters (e.g. Edge & Stewart 1991; Mohr & Evrard 1997; Arnaud & Evrard 1998, Mohr, Mathiesen, & Evrard 1999). It is to be noted that in the spirit of the above assumption (1), it is favorable to use core radii when comparing clusters with different masses, although some previous studies use isophotal radii instead of core radii in the analysis (e.g. Mohr & Evrard 1997). Some other studies use a ’virial’ radius, defined as the radius of a sphere of which the mean interior density is proportional to the critical density of the universe at the observed redshift of the cluster ($`z0`$). However, these radii are derived from the temperatures of clusters, and are not independent of the temperatures (e.g. Mohr et al. 1999). Moreover, $`L_\mathrm{X}`$ is mainly determined by structure around core region which preserves the information of the background universe when the cluster collapsed (e.g. Navarro, Frenk, & White 1997; Salvador-Solé, Solanes, & Manrique 1998). Thus, we adopt the core radius as the characteristic scale of a cluster. Since most previous works implicitly assumed that clusters form a one-parameter family, the failure of finding the correlations including core radii suggests that clusters form a two-parameter family instead.

In this Letter, we reanalyze the observational data of X-ray clusters and study the relations in detail based on the idea of fundamental plane. Originally, the word, ’fundamental plane’, represents a relation among effective radius, surface brightness, and velocity dispersion of elliptical and S0 galaxies (e.g. Faber et al. 1987; Djorgovski & Davis 1987). In this study, we apply the notion of the fundamental plane to X-ray clusters and discuss relations among $`\rho _0`$, $`R`$, and $`T`$. In §2, results are presented and in §3, their implications are discussed. Throughout the paper we assume $`H_0=50\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1\mathrm{Mpc}^1`$.

## 2 Data

We use the observational data of the central density, $`\rho _0`$, core radius, $`R`$, and temperature, $`T`$, of 45 clusters in the catalogue of Mohr et al. (1999). We have confirmed that the results in this section are almost identical to those based on the catalogue of Jones & Forman (1984). Mohr et al. (1999) gathered the temperature data of previous ASCA, Ginga and Einstein observations. On the other hand, they obtained central densities and core radii using ROSAT data; they fitted surface brightness profiles by the conventional $`\beta `$ model,

$$\rho _{\mathrm{gas},1}(r)=\frac{\rho _1}{[1+(r/R_1)^2]^{3\beta /2}},$$
(1)   
where $`r`$ is the distance from the cluster center, and $`\rho _1`$, $`R_1`$, and $`\beta `$ are fitting parameters. If an excess in emission (so-called cooling flow) is seen in the innermost region, Mohr et al. (1999) fitted this component by an additional $`\beta `$ model,

$$\rho _{\mathrm{gas},2}(r)=\frac{\rho _2}{[1+(r/R_2)^2]^{3\beta /2}}.$$
(2)   
Since we are interested in global structure of clusters, we use $`\rho _1`$ and $`R_1`$ as $`\rho _0`$ and $`R`$, respectively. Since Mohr et al. (1999) presented only $`\rho _2`$ for the clusters with central excess, we calculate $`\rho _1`$ by

$$\rho _1=\left(\frac{I_1R_2}{I_2R_1}\right)^{1/2}\rho _2,$$
(3)   
where $`I_1`$ and $`I_2`$ are the central surface brightness corresponding to the components (1) and (2), respectively. Although $`R`$ and $`\beta `$ are correlated, each of them was determined exactly enough for our analysis (see Fig.4 in Mohr et al. )

The data plotted in the $`(\mathrm{log}\rho _0,\mathrm{log}R,\mathrm{log}T)`$ space are fitted with a plane,

$$A\mathrm{log}\rho _0+B\mathrm{log}R+C\mathrm{log}T+D=0.$$
(4)   
The result of the least square fitting with equal weight for simplicity is $`A:B:C=1:1.39:1.29`$. The scatter about the plane is 0.06 dex. This amounts to a scatter of about 15%, which is a typical observational error. We call the plane ’the fundamental plane’, hereafter. The ratio $`A:B:C`$ is close to $`2:3:2.5`$, which is expected when $`L_\mathrm{X}T^3\rho _0^2R^3T^{1/2}`$. Thus, the observed relation, $`L_\mathrm{X}T^3`$, basically corresponds to a cross section of the fundamental plane.

In order to study more closely, we investigate further the distribution of the observational data on the fundamental plane. We fit the data to another plane,

$$a\mathrm{log}\rho _0+b\mathrm{log}R+c\mathrm{log}T+d=0,$$
(5)   
under the constraint,

$$Aa+Bb+Cc=0.$$
(6)   
This means that the plane (5) is perpendicular to the fundamental plane (4). The result is $`a:b:c=1:1.18:2.04`$. The scatter about the plane is 0.2 dex. We call this plane ’the vertical plane’. For convenience, two unit vectors in the $`(\mathrm{log}\rho _0,\mathrm{log}R,\mathrm{log}T)`$ space are defined by,

$$𝒆_\mathrm{𝟏}=\frac{1}{\sqrt{A^2+B^2+C^2}}(A,B,C)=(0.47,0.65,0.60),$$
(7)   
$$𝒆_\mathrm{𝟐}=\frac{1}{\sqrt{a^2+b^2+c^2}}(a,b,c)=(0.39,0.46,0.80).$$
(8)   
Moreover, one of the unit vectors perpendicular to both $`𝒆_\mathrm{𝟏}`$ and $`𝒆_\mathrm{𝟐}`$ is defined as $`𝒆_\mathrm{𝟑}=(0.79,0.61,0.039)`$. The set of three vectors is one of the bases in the $`(\mathrm{log}\rho _0,\mathrm{log}R,\mathrm{log}T)`$ space. Thus, the equations $`X=\rho _0^{0.47}R^{0.65}T^{0.60}`$, $`Y=\rho _0^{0.39}R^{0.46}T^{0.80}`$, and $`Z=\rho _0^{0.79}R^{0.61}T^{0.039}`$ are three orthogonal quantities. Figure 1 shows the cross section of the fundamental plane viewed from the $`Y`$ axis. Figure 2 shows the data on the $`(Y,Z)`$ plane, i.e., the fundamental plane. As can be seen, a clear correlation exists on the plane, that is, clusters form a band in the $`(\mathrm{log}\rho _0,\mathrm{log}R,\mathrm{log}T)`$ space. The major axis of the band is the cross line of the fundamental and vertical planes, and a vector along the major axis is proportional to $`𝒆_\mathrm{𝟑}`$. We refer to the band as ’fundamental band’, hereafter. Note that the line determined by the least square method directly from the three-dimensional data is almost parallel to the vector $`𝒆_\mathrm{𝟑}`$. The vector $`𝒆_\mathrm{𝟑}`$ means that

$$\rho _0R^{1.3\pm 0.2},$$
(9)   
$$TR^{0.06\pm 0.1}\rho _0^{0.05\pm 0.1},$$
(10)   
Relation (10) indicates that the major axis of the fundamental band is nearly parallel to the $`\mathrm{log}\rho _0\mathrm{log}R`$ plane, i.e., temperature varies very little along the fundamental band. Thus, the observed relation $`L_\mathrm{X}T^3`$ should be the correlation along the minor axis of the band on the fundamental plane as is explicitly shown in the next section.

## 3 Discussion

The results presented in the previous section demonstrate that the clusters of galaxies are seen to populate a planar distribution in the global parameter space $`(\mathrm{log}\rho _0,\mathrm{log}R,\mathrm{log}T)`$. Therefore, clusters turn out to be a two-parameter family. The observed relation $`L_\mathrm{X}T^3`$ is a cross section of this ’fundamental plane’. Moreover, there is a correlation among the data on the fundamental plane although the dispersion is relatively large. This ’fundamental band’ is a newly found correlation between density and radius with a fixed temperature.

In order to further investigate the relation between physical quantities and the data distribution in the $`(\mathrm{log}\rho _0,\mathrm{log}R,\mathrm{log}T)`$ space, we represent $`L_\mathrm{X}`$, $`M_{\mathrm{gas}}`$, $`M_{\mathrm{vir}}`$, $`f`$, and $`\rho _{\mathrm{vir}}`$ by $`X`$, $`Y`$, and $`Z`$, using the obtained relations

$$\rho _0X^{0.47}Y^{0.39}Z^{0.79},$$
(11)   
$$RX^{0.65}Y^{0.46}Z^{0.61},$$
(12)   
$$TX^{0.60}Y^{0.80}Z^{0.039}.$$
(13)   
The results are

$$L_\mathrm{X}\rho _0^2R^3T^{1/2}X^{2.6}Y^{2.6}Z^{0.27},$$
(14)   
$$M_{\mathrm{gas}}\rho _0R^3X^{2.9}Y^{1.8}Z^{1.0},$$
(15)   
$$M_{\mathrm{vir}}RTX^{0.05}Y^{1.3}Z^{0.65},$$
(16)   
$$f=M_{\mathrm{gas}}/M_{\mathrm{vir}}X^{2.4}Y^{0.51}Z^{0.39},$$
(17)   
$$\rho _{\mathrm{vir}}M_{\mathrm{vir}}R^3X^{1.9}Y^{0.12}Z^{1.2}.$$
(18)   
Exactly speaking, $`M_{\mathrm{gas}}`$ and $`M_{\mathrm{vir}}`$ represent the core masses rather than the masses of the whole cluster. In relation (16), we assume that clusters of galaxies are in dynamical equilibrium. The scatters of $`X`$, $`Y`$, and $`Z`$ are $`\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{log}X=0.06`$, $`\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{log}Y=0.2`$, and $`\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{log}Z=0.5`$, respectively. Thus, $`Z`$ is the major axis of the fundamental band and is the primary parameter of the data distribution. On the other hand, relation (13) indicates that the scatter of $`Y`$ nearly corresponds to a variation of $`T`$ because $`\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{log}T=0.60\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{log}X+0.80\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{log}Y0.039\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{log}Z`$. It can be also shown that a variation of $`L_\mathrm{X}`$ is dominated by the scatter of $`Y`$. Since $`Y`$ corresponds the minor axis of the fundamental band, this means that the $`L_\mathrm{X}T`$ relation is well represented by only the secondary parameter $`Y`$, but not by the primary parameter $`Z`$. To put it differently, $`L_\mathrm{X}(\rho _0^2R^3T^{1/2})`$ depends on only $`T`$, which is consistent with previous findings. The result reflects the fact that a combination of $`\rho _0`$ and $`R`$ like $`\rho _0^2R^3`$ behaves as a function of $`T`$ (relation ), while $`\rho _0`$ or $`R`$ varies almost independently of $`T`$ (relations ). If we safely ignore the scatter of $`X`$ and $`Z`$ in relations (13) and (14), we obtain $`TY^{0.80}`$, and $`L_\mathrm{X}T^{3.3}`$. This slope of the $`L_\mathrm{X}T`$ relation approaches the observed ones, although it is slightly larger. On the other hand, $`M_{\mathrm{gas}}`$, $`M_{\mathrm{vir}}`$, and $`f`$ are not represented by any one of the parameters $`X`$, $`Y`$, and $`Z`$; both $`Y`$ and $`Z`$ contribute to their variations. Note that $`\rho _{\mathrm{vir}}`$ is mainly governed by $`Z`$ as relation (18) shows.

The above analysis raises two questions. The first question is why the combination like $`\rho _0^2R^3`$ behaves as a function of only $`T`$, or equivalently why $`X`$ is nearly constant. In the following arguments, we assume that the scatter of $`X`$ is due to observational errors, that is, $`\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{log}X`$ is essentially zero. The behavior of $`f`$ may be a clue to the question. Since we allow two parameters, $`f`$ can be expressed in terms of any two physical parameters. For example, if we express $`f`$ with $`M_{\mathrm{vir}}`$ and $`\rho _{\mathrm{vir}}`$, $`f`$ turns out to be determined by $`fM_{\mathrm{vir}}^{0.4}\rho _{\mathrm{vir}}^{0.1}`$. This means that the baryon fraction in clusters is an increasing function of $`M_{\mathrm{vir}}`$. If we adopt the relation of $`fM_{\mathrm{vir}}^{0.4}`$ by hand and ignore $`\rho _{\mathrm{vir}}^{0.1}`$ hereafter, we obtain $`\rho _0^2R^{3.2}T^{2.8}`$ (relations -), which is roughly consistent with the shape of the fundamental plane, and the $`L_\mathrm{X}T`$ relation. Such a relation of $`f`$ may be realized if supernovae in the galaxies in the clusters heat the intracluster medium. In other words, the behavior of $`f`$ is likely to originate from the thermal history of clusters of galaxies.

The second question is why clusters form a two-parameter family. We think that one natural parameter is $`M_{\mathrm{vir}}`$. As another physically meaningful parameter, we may choose $`\rho _{\mathrm{vir}}`$. Relation (18) implies that $`\rho _{\mathrm{vir}}`$ is not constant, which is inconsistent with the simple theoretical prediction, and that it varies nearly independent of temperature. Since $`\rho _{\mathrm{vir}}`$ is supposed to reflect the critical density of the universe when the cluster, especially around the core region, collapsed, this suggests that the present day clusters consist of objects with a range of collapse redshift. In a separate paper, we investigate cosmological implication of the results presented in this paper (Fujita & Takahara 1999).

Finally, we show that the results of this paper reproduce the size-temperature relation found by Mohr & Evrard (1997) and gas mass-temperature relation found by Mohr et al. (1999). Since surface brightness profiles of clusters in the envelope region are given by $`I(r)\rho _0^2T^{1/2}R(r/R)^3`$ when $`\beta =2/3`$, isophotal size, $`r=R_\mathrm{I}`$, has the relation $`R_\mathrm{I}\rho _0^{2/3}R^{4/3}T^{1/6}`$. Eliminating $`\rho _0`$ by the relation of the fundamental plane, $`\rho _0R^{1.39}T^{1.29}`$, we obtain the relation $`R_\mathrm{I}R^{0.41}T^{1.03}Y^{1.0}Z^{0.3}`$. This is consistent with the size-temperature relation $`R_\mathrm{I}T^{0.93}`$, although a coefficient $`R^{0.4}`$ induces scatter of $`30`$% for a given $`T`$. The correlation corresponds to a cross section of the fundamental plane seen slightly inclined from the direction of $`Z`$ axis. Next, the consistency with the gas mass-temperature relation is explained as follows: As in Mohr et al. (1999), let us define $`R_{\mathrm{vir},\mathrm{m}}T^{1/2}`$, $`M_{\mathrm{vir},\mathrm{m}}T^{3/2}`$, and $`M_{\mathrm{gas},\mathrm{m}}f_\mathrm{m}\rho _{\mathrm{vir},\mathrm{m}}R_{\mathrm{vir},\mathrm{m}}^3`$, where $`R_{\mathrm{vir},\mathrm{m}}`$, $`M_{\mathrm{vir},\mathrm{m}}`$, and $`M_{\mathrm{gas},\mathrm{m}}`$ are the virial radius, the virial mass, and the gas mass of a cluster, respectively; index m refers to the quantities for $`r<R_{\mathrm{vir},\mathrm{m}}`$. When $`\beta 2/3`$, we can show that $`f_\mathrm{m}f`$, because $`f_\mathrm{m}M_{\mathrm{gas},\mathrm{m}}/M_{\mathrm{vir},\mathrm{m}}\rho _0R^2R_{\mathrm{vir},\mathrm{m}}/M_{\mathrm{vir},\mathrm{m}}\rho _0R^2T^1f`$. Since we find $`fM_{\mathrm{vir}}^{0.4}(RT)^{0.4}`$, and since $`\rho _{\mathrm{vir},\mathrm{m}}`$ is nearly constant by definition, we obtain the relation $`M_{\mathrm{gas},\mathrm{m}}R^{0.4}T^{1.9}Y^{1.7}Z^{0.3}`$. This is consistent with the relation $`M_{\mathrm{gas},\mathrm{m}}T^{1.98}`$ found by Mohr et al. (1999). Note that the scatter originated from $`R^{0.4}`$ is not conspicuous when the observational data are plotted, because of the steepness of the relation ($`T^2`$). This correlation also corresponds to a cross section of the fundamental plane seen from very near to the direction of $`Z`$ axis.

This work was supported in part by the JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientists.