THE X-RAY ZURICH ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY (X-ZENS). II. X-RAY OBSERVATIONS OF THE DIFFUSE INTRAGROUP MEDIUM IN GALAXY GROUPS

We present the results of a pilot XMM-Newton and Chandra program aimed at studying the diffuse intragroup medium (IGM) of optically selected nearby groups from the Zurich ENvironmental Study (ZENS) catalog. The groups are in a narrow mass range about 10(13) M-circle dot, a mass scale at which the interplay between the IGM and the group member galaxies is still largely unprobed. X-ray emission from the IGM is detected in the energy band 0.5-2 keV with fluxPeer reviewe