Numerical modelling of the lobes of radio galaxies in cluster environments -- IV. Remnant radio galaxies

Abstract

We examine the remnant phase of radio galaxies using three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of relativistic jets propagating through cluster environments. By switching the jets off once the lobes have reached a certain length we can study how the energy distribution between the lobes and shocked intra-cluster medium compares to that of an active source, as well as calculate synchrotron emission properties of the remnant sources. We see that as a result of disturbed cluster gas beginning to settle back into the initial cluster potential, streams of dense gas are pushed along the jet axis behind the remnant lobes, causing them to rise out of the cluster faster than they would due to buoyancy. This leads to increased adiabatic losses and a rapid dimming. The rapid decay of total flux density and surface brightness may explain the small number of remnant sources found in samples with a high flux density limit and may cause analytic models to overestimate the remnant fraction expected in sensitive surveys such as those now being carried out with LOFAR.

13 pages, 11 colour figures. Accepted by MNRAS

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• Recent Progress in Modeling the Macro- and Micro-Physics of Radio Jet Feedback in Galaxy Clusters
• Simulations of AGN Driven Galactic Outflow Morphology and Content
• Dynamics of relativistic radio jets in asymmetric environments
• The best of both worlds: Combining LOFAR and Apertif to derive resolved radio spectral index images
• The Dynamics and Energetics of Remnant and Restarting RLAGN
• A Numerical Study of the Impact of Jet Magnetic Topology on Radio Galaxy Evolution
• On the Energy Coupling Efficiency of AGN Outbursts in Galaxy Clusters
• Studying the link between radio galaxies and AGN fuelling with relativistic hydrodynamic simulations of flickering jets