Magnetic Fields on the Dynamics of the ICM

Abstract

Could the discrepancies found in the determination of mass in clusters of galaxies, from gravitational lensing data and from X-rays observations, be consequence of the standard description of the ICM, in which it is assumed hydrostatic equilibrium maintained by thermal pressure? In analogy to the interstellar medium of the Galaxy, it is expected a non-thermal term of pressure, which contains contributions of magnetic fields. We follow the evolution of the ICM, considering a term of magnetic pressure, aiming at answering the question whether or not these discrepancies can be explained via non-thermal terms of pressure. Our results suggest that the magnetic pressure could only affect the dynamics of the ICM on scales as small as $\la 1 {\rm kpc}$. These results are compared to the observations of large and small scale magnetic fields and we are successful at reproducing the available data.