We present the results of a spatially-resolved spectroscopic analysis of the galaxy cluster Abell 496 with the S3 chip on-board the Chandra satellite .
We confirm the presence of a central positive temperature gradient consistent with a cooling flow , but with a minimum gas temperature of \sim 0.5–0.9 keV .
The cluster also exhibits sharp edges in gas density and temperature which are consistent with “ cold front ” substructures .
The iron abundance profile is not radially symmetric relative to the cluster center .
Towards the direction of the most prominent ( northerly ) cold front , the iron abundance is roughly flat , with nearly solar values .
In the opposite ( southerly ) direction from the center , the iron abundance distribution shows an “ off-center ” peak .
Various abundance ratios suggest that the heavy elements in the central regions of the cluster are dominated by SN Ia ejecta .
However , for radii greater than 100 h _ { 50 } ^ { -1 } kpc , the abundance ratios vary in such a way that different abundance ratios provide very different estimates of the proportion of SN Ia/II ejecta .
Nonetheless , observed abundances and abundance ratios are continuous across the cold fronts , which suggests that the cold fronts are not likely to be the result of a subcluster merger .
We suggest instead that the cold fronts in A496 are caused by “ sloshing ” of the central cooling flow gas , induced by the motion of the cD about the cluster center .