Suzaku observation of Abell 2204: Galaxy cluster gas temperature measurement up to the virial radius

Abstract

Measurements of the intracluster gas temperatures out to large radii, where much of the cluster mass resides, are of the utmost importance for the use of clusters in precision cosmology and for studies of cluster physics. Previous attempts to measure temperatures at the cluster virial radius have failed. The preliminary results from the Suzaku observation of Abell 2204 reported here show that such measurements appear feasible now for the first time, if care is taken to account for background and PSF effects.