We present estimates of the energy input from supernovae ( SNe ) into the intergalactic medium using ( i ) recent measurements of Si and Fe abundances in the intracluster medium ( ICM ) and ( ii ) self-consistent gasdynamical simulations that include processes of cooling , star formation , SNe feedback , and a multi-phase model of the interstellar medium .
We estimate the energy input from observed abundances using two different assumptions : ( i ) spatial uniformity of metal abundances in the ICM and ( ii ) radial abundance gradients .
We show that these two cases lead to energy input estimates which are different by an order of magnitude , highlighting a need for observational data on large-scale abundance gradients in clusters .
Our analysis indicates that the SNe energy input can be important for heating of the entire ICM ( providing energy of \sim 1 keV per particle ) only if the ICM abundances are uniform and the efficiency of gas heating by SN explosions is close to 100 \% ( \epsilon _ { SN } \approx 1 , implying that all of the initial kinetic energy of the explosion goes into heating of the ICM ) .

The SNe energy input estimate made using simulations of galaxy formation is consistent with the above results derived from observed abundances , provided large-scale radial abundance gradients exist in clusters .
For the cluster AWM7 , in which such a gradient has been observed , the energy input estimated using observed metal abundances is \sim 0.01 and \sim 0.1 keV per particle for \epsilon _ { SN } = 0.1 and \epsilon _ { SN } = 1 , respectively .
These estimates fall far short of the required energy injection of \sim 0.5 - 3 keV per particle that appears to be needed to bring models of cluster formation into agreement with observations .
Therefore , our results indicate that , unless the most favorable conditions are met , SNe alone are unlikely to provide sufficient energy input and need to be supplemented or even substituted by some other heating process ( es ) .