A 20 cm VLA survey of Abell clusters of galaxies. I. Distance class of not greater than 3 clusters

Nearby Abell clusters of distance class of not greater than 3 are studied based on 20-cm VLA observations, Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope results, and Einstein Observatory X-ray data. No significant correlation is found between the 20-cm radio power and X-ray luminosity, and no evidence is found that regular-type clusters are statistically more likely to be radio loud than irregular-type clusters. A weak correlation is noted between X-ray-cooling mass-accretion rates and radio powers for central dominant galaxies in cooling-flow clusters, suggesting that either cooling accretion directly fuels the central engine and/or cooling flows strongly interact with the radio plasma. 175 refs