Using H$\alpha$ Filaments to Probe AGN Feedback in Galaxy Clusters

Abstract

Recent observations of giant ellipticals and brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) provide tentative evidence for a correlation between the luminosity of the H$\alpha$ emitting gas filaments and the strength of feedback associated with the active galactic nucleus (AGN). Motivated by this, we use 3D radiation-hydrodynamic simulations with the code Enzo to examine and quantify the relationship between the observable properties of the H$\alpha$ filaments and the kinetic and radiative feedback from supermassive black holes in BCGs. We find that the spatial extent and total mass of the filaments show positive correlations with AGN feedback power and can therefore be used as probes of the AGN activity. We also examine the relationship between the AGN feedback power and velocity dispersion of the H$\alpha$ filaments and find that the kinetic luminosity shows statistically significant correlation with the component of the velocity dispersion along the jet axis but not the components perpendicular to it.

arXiv commentAccepted to ApJL (7 pages, 4 figures). Revised version, includes referee's comments

References in corpus (35)

• The Structure of Cold Dark Matter Halos
• Observational Evidence of AGN Feedback
• Enzo: An Adaptive Mesh Refinement Code for Astrophysics
• Mechanical Feedback from Active Galactic Nuclei in Galaxies, Groups, and Clusters
• The Feedback-Regulated Growth of Black Holes and Bulges through Gas Accretion and Starbursts in Cluster Central Dominant Galaxies
• The detection of molecular gas in the central galaxies of cooling-flow clusters
• Thermal Instability in Gravitationally-Stratified Plasmas: Implications for Multi-Phase Structure in Clusters and Galaxy Halos
• Thermal Instability & the Feedback Regulation of Hot Halos in Clusters, Groups, and Galaxies
• Cause and Effect of Feedback: Multiphase Gas in Cluster Cores Heated by AGN Jets
• On the Nature of the NGC 1275 System
• A Global Model For Circumgalactic and Cluster-Core Precipitation
• On the Origin of the Extended Halpha Filaments in Cooling Flow Clusters
• Cooling, AGN Feedback and Star Formation in Simulated Cool-Core Galaxy Clusters
• Enzo+Moray: Radiation Hydrodynamics Adaptive Mesh Refinement Simulations with Adaptive Ray Tracing
• Shaken Snow Globes: Kinematic Tracers of the Multiphase Condensation Cascade in Massive Galaxies, Groups, and Clusters
• A Mechanism for Stimulating AGN Feedback by Lifting Gas in Massive Galaxies
• Modeling AGN Feedback in Cool-Core Clusters: The Formation of Cold Clumps
• XMM-Newton Observations of the Perseus Cluster II: Evidence for Gas Motions in the Core
• The origin of cold gas in giant elliptical galaxies and its role in fueling radio-mode AGN feedback
• Cool core cycles: Cold gas and AGN jet feedback in cluster cores
• Metal Cooling in Simulations of Cosmic Structure Formation
• Chaotic cold accretion on to black holes in rotating atmospheres
• The nature of the molecular gas system in the core of NGC 1275
• The Onset of Thermally Unstable Cooling from the Hot Atmospheres of Giant Galaxies in Clusters - Constraints on Feedback Models
• Optical Spectroscopy of Halpha Filaments in Cool Core Clusters: Kinematics, Reddening, and Sources of Ionization
• Heating Cooling Flows with Weak Shock Waves
• Deep Chandra, HST-COS, and Megacam Observations of the Phoenix Cluster: Extreme Star Formation and AGN Feedback on Hundred Kiloparsec Scales
• Ionized nebulae surrounding brightest cluster galaxies
• Thermodynamic properties, multiphase gas and AGN feedback in a large sample of giant ellipticals
• Revealing the velocity structure of the filamentary nebula in NGC 1275 in its entirety
• Simulations of Jet Heating in Galaxy Clusters: Successes and Challenges
• H-alpha and Free-Free Emission from the WIM
• Simulating the Cooling Flow of Cool-Core Clusters
• Optical Line Emission in Brightest Cluster Galaxies at 0 < z < 0.6: Evidence for a Lack of Strong Cool Cores 3.5 Gyr Ago?
• The Effects of Ram Pressure on the Cold Clouds in the Centers of Galaxy Clusters

Cited by in corpus (12)

• Direct Detection of Black Hole-Driven Turbulence in the Centers of Galaxy Clusters
• Spin-driven jet feedback in idealised simulations of galaxy groups and clusters
• Gas condensation in Brightest Group Galaxies unveiled with MUSE
• The formation of dusty cold gas filaments from galaxy cluster simulations
• Non-Kolmogorov turbulence in multiphase intracluster medium driven by cold gas precipitation and AGN jets
• The Interplay of Kinetic and Radiative Feedback in Galaxy Clusters
• The complex interplay of AGN jet-inflated bubbles and the intracluster medium
• Signature of Supersonic Turbulence in Galaxy Clusters Revealed by AGN-driven H$\alpha$ Filaments
• Dynamics and Morphology of Cold Gas in Fast, Radiatively Cooling Outflows: Constraining AGN Energetics with Horseshoes
• On the Mass Loading of AGN-Driven Outflows in Elliptical Galaxies and Clusters
• Massive Molecular Gas as a Fuel Tank for Active Galactic Nuclei Feedback in Central Cluster Galaxies
• Raining in MKW 3s: a Chandra-MUSE analysis of X-ray cold filaments around 3CR 318.1