Gas sloshing, cold front formation, and metal redistribution: the Virgo cluster as a quantitative test case

We perform hydrodynamical simulations of minor-merger induced gas sloshing and the subsequent formation of cold fronts. Using the Virgo cluster as a test case, we show for the first time that the sloshing scenario can reproduce the radii and the contrasts in X-ray brightness, projected temperature, and metallicity across the observed cold fronts quantitatively. The comparison suggests a third cold front 20 kpc NW of the Virgo core. We identify several new features typical for sloshing cold fronts: an alternating dis-tribution of cool, metal enriched X-ray brightness excess regions and warm brightness deficit regions of reduced metallicity; a constant or radially decreasing temperature accompanied by a plateau in metallicity inside the cold fronts; a warm rim outside the cold fronts; and a large-scale brightness asymmetry. We can trace these new features not only in Virgo, but also in other clusters exhibiting sloshing cold fronts. By comparing synthetic and real observations, we estimate that the original minor merger event took place about 1.5 Gyr ago when a subcluster of 2–4 ×1013M passe