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Estimating the Masses of Galaxy Groups: Alternatives to the Virial Theorem

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2017

J. Heisler ,
S. Tremaine  and
J. Bahcall
J. Heisler
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
S. Tremaine
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
J. Bahcall
Affiliation:
Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ

Abstract

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Group masses are almost always computed using the virial theorem. Bahcall and Tremaine (1981) studied the reliability of mass estimates based on the virial theorem for the case of test particles orbiting a central mass. They found that virial theorem estimates were both inefficient and biased. We have extended the work of Bahcall and Tremaine by exploring alternative mass estimators to the virial theorem for self-gravitating systems.

Type
Research Article
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 117: Dark Matter in the Universe , 1987 , pp. 113
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1987 

References

Bahcall, J., and Tremaine, S. 1981. Astrophys. J. 244, 805.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huchra, J.P., and Geller, M.J. 1982. Astrophys. J. 257, 423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar