Inflating Fat Bubbles in Clusters of Galaxies by Precessing Massive Slow Jets

TL;DR

This study uses hydrodynamical simulations to show that precessing massive slow jets can inflate spherical bubbles in galaxy clusters, highlighting their role in feedback heating during galaxy formation.

Contribution

It demonstrates that fast precession of massive slow jets is essential for inflating fat bubbles, providing new constraints on jet velocity and mass outflow rates.

Findings

Precessing massive slow jets can inflate spherical bubbles in galaxy clusters.

Fast precession and large precessing angles are necessary for fat bubble formation.

Jet velocity should be around 10^4 km/s with significant mass outflow rates.

Abstract

We conduct hydrodynamical numerical simulations and find that precessing massive slow jets can inflate fat bubbles, i.e., more or less spherical bubbles, that are attached to the center of clusters of galaxies. To inflate a fat bubble the jet should precess fast. The precessing angle $\theta$ should be large, or change over a large range $ 0 \le \theta \le \theta_{\max} \sim 30-70 ^\circ$ (depending also on other parameters), where $\theta=0$ is the symmetry axis. The constraints on the velocity and mass outflow rate are similar to those on wide jets to inflate fat bubbles. The velocity should be $v_j \sim 10^4 \kms$, and the mass loss rate of the two jets should be $ 2 \dot M_j \simeq 1-50 \dot M_\odot \yr^{-1} $. These results, and our results from a previous paper dealing with slow wide jets, support the claim that a large fraction of the feedback heating in cooling flow clusters and in the processes of galaxy formation is done by slow massive jets.