Search for cold gas along radio lobes in the cooling core galaxies MS0735.6+7421 and M87

TL;DR

This study searched for cold molecular gas along radio lobes in two cooling core galaxies, MS0735.6+7421 and M87, but only found upper limits, suggesting AGN feedback suppresses or localizes cooling.

Contribution

First observational search for CO emission along radio lobes in these galaxies, providing constraints on cold gas presence and AGN feedback effects.

Findings

No CO emission detected, setting upper limits on cold gas mass.

AGN feedback likely suppresses or localizes gas cooling.

Cooling may occur in very thin filaments or be entirely halted.

Abstract

We report CO observations towards MS0735.6+7421 a distant cooling core galaxy, and towards M87, the nearest cooling core in the center of the Virgo cluster. Both galaxies contain radio cavities that are thought to be responsible for the heating that can regulate or stop the cooling of the surrounding gas. In this feedback process, there could still be some gas cooling along filaments, along the borders of the radio cavities. Molecular gas is known to exist in clusters with cooling cores, in long and thin filaments that can be formed behind the rising bubbles inflated by the central AGN. CO emission was searched for at several locations along the radio lobes of those two galaxies, but only upper limits were found. These correspond to cold gas mass limits of a few 10^9 Msol for each pointing in MS0735.6+7421, and a few 10^6 Msol in M87. This non detection means that either the cooling is strongly reduced by the AGN feedback or that the gas is cooling in very localized places like thin filaments, possibly diluted in the large beam for MS0735.6+7421. For M87, the AGN heating appears to have stopped the cooling completely.