ABELL-548 - AN X-RAY AND OPTICAL ANALYSIS OF SUBSTRUCTURE

X-ray observations of Abell 548 reveal that the hot gas in this cluster is at least as complex as the galaxy distribution. Our ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter image is used in conjunction with optical data from the Minnesota plate-scanning project and redshift data in the literature to investigate the degree of substructure in the intracluster medium and the galaxy distribution. A548 has several X-ray components: hot gas associated with clumps of galaxies, individual sources, and a newly discovered diffuse component. This diffuse component may be primordial gas falling into the cluster for the first time. The optical data suggest that this cluster consists of four major components, not three (as indicated when velocity data are ignored). Simple models of the orbital dynamics suggest that the cluster may not yet have reached its turnaround radius.