Abell 3627: A nearby, X-ray bright, and massive galaxy cluster

The cluster A3627 was recently recognized to be a very massive, nearby cluster in a galaxy survey close to the Galactic plane. We are reporting on ROSAT PSPC observations of this object, which confirm that the cluster is indeed very massive. The X-ray emission detected from the cluster extends over almost 1 degrees in radius. The X-ray image is not spherically symmetric and shows indications of an ongoing cluster merger. Because of the strong interstellar absorption, the spectral analysis and the gas temperature determination are difficult. The data are consistent with an overall gas temperature in the range 5-10 keV. There are signs of temperature variations in the merger region. A mass estimate based on the X-ray data yields values of 0.4-2.2 x 10(15) M(.) if extrapolated to the virial radius of 3 h(50)(-1) Mpc. In the ROSAT energy band (0.1-2.4 keV) the cluster emission yields a flux of about 2 x 10(-10) ergs s(-1) cm(-2), which makes A3627 the sixth brightest cluster in the ROSAT All Sky Survey. The cluster was missed in earlier X-ray surveys because it was confused with a neighboring X-ray bright, galactic X-ray binary (1H 1556 - 605). The large X-ray flux makes A3627 an important target for future studies.