The Dynamics of the Galaxy Cluster Abell 2634
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Abstract
We have collected a large sample of galaxy velocities for the nearby, rich cluster of galaxies Abell 2634, which contains the prototypical wide-angle tailed (WAT) radio source 3C 465 associated with the central cD galaxy. Robust indicators of location (i.e., velocity mean) and scale (velocity dispersion) and their confidence intervals are used to determine the velocity structure of the cluster. We find a cD peculiar radial velocity of -219±98 km s-1. The Dressler-Shectman δ-test reveals significant deviations in the local dynamics on the east side of the cluster, probably due to subcluster contamination. The velocity distribution is Gaussian except for a few outliers, where the velocity outliers tend to be spatial outliers. We consider ways in which a cluster-subcluster merger could lead to the observed peculiar motion. We conclude that A2634 is an unrelaxed cluster whose X-ray and radio source structures have resulted from the turbulent gas motion of an ongoing merger.