The Role of Intracluster Stars in the Enrichment of the Intracluster Medium

How does the intracluster medium become enriched with metals? A popular idea isthat outflows from cluster galaxies are the source, but these models requirenonstandard topheavy IMFs and unphysically high mass loss rates (close to100%). As a result, galaxies are unlikely to be the sole source of metals. Werecently identified a significant population of intracluster stars in all of thenearby clusters and groups we surveyed. With simple modeling, standardqssumptions, and XMM and optical data, we find that intracluster stars canproduce a significant amount of metals in the central regions of clusters,primarily because they pollute the ICM directly. Here we propose to disentanglethe contribution of galactic outflows from that of intracluster stars in lower velocity dispersion systems. truncated!, Please see actual data for full text [truncated!, Please see actual data for full text]