Merger shocks in simulated merging clusters

Abstract

Merger shocks in simulated merging clusters

Dongsu Ryu (UNIST, Korea) Hyesung Kang (PNU, Korea) Eunyu Lee (UNIST, Korea)

Galaxy clusters are assembled hierarchically through successive mergers of smaller groups and clumps. These energetic merger events reshape the intracluster medium (ICM), a hot, diffuse plasma permeating the cluster. During mergers, shock waves and turbulence are driven into the ICM, amplifying magnetic fields and accelerating cosmic rays. Over the past decades, a comprehensive framework for the formation and evolution of galaxy clusters has been established through a combination of radio and X-ray observations, theoretical modeling, and simulations. In this talk, I will focus on merger shocks as revealed by simulations. I will discuss their morphology, energetics, and evolution, as well as their connection to observable signatures such as radio relics.