A prediction of observable rotation in the intracluster medium of Abell 3266

We present a numerical, hydrodynamical/N-body model of A3266, whose X-ray surface brightness, temperature distribution, and galaxy spatial- and velocity-distribution data are consistent with the A3266 data. The model is an old (similar to 3 Gyr) off-axis merger having a mass ratio of similar to 2.5:1. The less massive subcluster in the model is moving on a trajectory from southwest to northeast passing on the western side of the dominant cluster while moving into the plane of the sky at similar to 45 degrees. Off-axis mergers such as this one are an effective mechanism for transferring angular momentum to the intracluster medium (ICM), making possible a large-scale rotation of the ICM. We demonstrate here that the ICM rotation predicted by our fully three-dimensional model of A3266 is observable with Astro-E.