Free access article

Issue A&A Volume 424, Number 3, September IV 2004 Page(s) 1097 - 1100 DOI 10.1051/0004-6361:20034029

A&A 424, 1097-1100 (2004)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20034029

Introducing BAX: A database for X-ray clusters and groups of galaxies

R. Sadat¹, A. Blanchard¹, J.-P.  Kneib^{1, 2}, G.  Mathez¹, B.  Madore³ and J. M.  Mazzarella<sup>3

1</sup>  Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de l'Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, 14 avenue E.  Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
    e-mail: rsadat@ast.obs-mip.fr
²  Astronomy Department, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
³  California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, MS 100-22, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

(Received 1 July 2003 / Accepted 19 April 2004)

Abstract
We present BAX, Base de Données Amas de Galaxies X (http://bax.ast.obs-mip.fr), a multi-wavelength database dedicated to X-ray clusters and groups of galaxies allowing detailed information retrieval. BAX is designed to support astronomical research by providing access to published measurements of the main physical quantities and to the related bibliographic references: basic data stored in the database are cluster/group identifiers, equatorial coordinates, redshift, flux, X-ray luminosity (in the ROSAT band) and temperature, and links to additional linked parameters (in X-rays, such as spatial profile parameters, as well as SZ parameters of the hot gas, lensing measurements, and data at other wavelengths, such as optical and radio). The clusters and groups in BAX can be queried by the basic parameters as well as the linked parameters or combinations of these. We expect BAX to become an important tool for the astronomical community. BAX will optimize various aspects of the scientific analysis of X-ray clusters and groups of galaxies, from proposal planning to data collection, interpretation and publication, from both ground based facilities like MEGACAM (CFHT), VIRMOS (VLT) and space missions like XMM-Newton, Chandra and Planck.

Key words: galaxies: clusters: general -- X-rays: galaxies -- astronomical databases: miscellaneous

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