Powering of cool filaments in cluster cores by buoyant bubbles. I. Qualitative model

Abstract

Cool-core clusters (e.g., Perseus or M87) often possess a network of bright gaseous filaments, observed in radio, infrared, optical and X-ray bands. We propose that these filaments are powered by the reconnection of the magnetic field in the wakes of buoyant bubbles. AGN-inflated bubbles of relativistic plasma rise buoyantly in the cluster atmosphere, stretching and amplifying the field in the wake to values of $\beta =8\pi P_{gas}/B^2\sim 1$. The field lines in the wake have opposite directions and are forced together as the bubble motion stretches the filament. This setup bears strong similarity to the coronal loops on the Sun or to the Earth's magneto-tail. The reconnection process naturally explains both the required level of local dissipation rate in filaments and the overall luminosity of filaments. The original source of power for the filaments is the potential energy of buoyant bubbles, inflated by the central AGN.

6 pages, 1 figure, MNRAS, accepted

References in corpus (9)

• Cold molecular gas in the Perseus cluster core - Association with X-ray cavity, Halpha filaments and cooling flow -
• Buoyancy Instabilities in Weakly Magnetized Low Collisionality Plasmas
• Magnetic support of the optical emission line filaments in NGC 1275
• Collisional heating as the origin of filament emission in galaxy clusters
• Impact of tangled magnetic fields on AGN-blown bubbles
• The nature of filamentary cold gas in the core of the Virgo Cluster
• Herschel observations of extended atomic gas in the core of the Perseus cluster
• Cosmic ray confinement in fossil cluster bubbles
• Essential Magnetohydrodynamics for Astrophysics

Cited by in corpus (24)

• The origin of cold gas in giant elliptical galaxies and its role in fueling radio-mode AGN feedback
• Hot Atmospheres, Cold Gas, AGN Feedback and the Evolution of Early Type Galaxies: a Topical Perspective
• A Comprehensive Study of the Radio Properties of Brightest Cluster Galaxies
• Deep Chandra, HST-COS, and Megacam Observations of the Phoenix Cluster: Extreme Star Formation and AGN Feedback on Hundred Kiloparsec Scales
• The Galactic center chimneys: The base of the multiphase outflow of the Milky Way
• Ionised gas structure of 100 kpc in an over-dense region of the galaxy group COSMOS-Gr30 at z ~ 0.7
• A volume-limited sample of X-ray galaxy groups and clusters: III. Central abundance drops
• ALMA observation of the disruption of molecular gas in M87
• Models of magnetic-field evolution and effective viscosity in weakly collisional extragalactic plasmas
• HST imaging of the dusty filaments and nucleus swirl in NGC4696 at the centre of the Centaurus Cluster
• Non-Kolmogorov turbulence in multiphase intracluster medium driven by cold gas precipitation and AGN jets
• On the origin of central abundance drops in the intracluster medium of galaxy groups and clusters
• Chaotic cold accretion in giant elliptical galaxies heated by AGN cosmic rays
• Exploring diffuse radio emission in galaxy clusters and groups with the uGMRT and the SKA
• Plasma physics of the intracluster medium
• Molecular Flows in Contemporary Active Galaxies and the Efficacy of Radio-Mechanical Feedback
• Shattering and growth of cold clouds in galaxy clusters: the role of radiative cooling, magnetic fields and thermal conduction
• Powering of H$\alpha$ filaments by cosmic rays
• Collisional excitation of [C II], [O I] and CO in Massive Galaxies
• A Numerical Study of the Impact of Jet Magnetic Topology on Radio Galaxy Evolution
• Stormy weather in 3C 196.1: nuclear outbursts and merger events shape the environment of the hybrid radio galaxy 3C 196.1
• Suppressed cooling and turbulent heating in the core of X-ray luminous clusters RXCJ1504.1-0248 and Abell 1664
• The BIG X-ray tail
• Fast and "lossless" propagation of relativistic electrons along magnetized non-thermal filaments in galaxy clusters and the Galactic Center region