Clues on black hole feedback from simulated and observed X-ray properties of elliptical galaxies

TL;DR

This paper compares hydrodynamical simulations of black hole feedback in elliptical galaxies with observed X-ray properties, highlighting successes and areas for improvement in modeling galaxy evolution.

Contribution

It provides a detailed comparison of simulated and observed X-ray properties of elliptical galaxies, emphasizing the role of black hole feedback in galaxy evolution.

Findings

Simulations reproduce nuclear luminosity and hot gas temperature profiles reasonably well.

Discrepancies suggest the need for refined feedback models in simulations.

Observations highlight the importance of black hole activity in shaping galaxy X-ray properties.

Abstract

The centers of elliptical galaxies host supermassive black holes that significantly affect the surrounding interstellar medium through feedback resulting from the accretion process. The evolution of this gas and of the nuclear emission during the galaxies' lifetime has been studied recently with high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations. These included gas cooling and heating specific for an average AGN spectral energy distribution, a radiative efficiency declining at low mass accretion rates, and mechanical coupling between the hot gas and AGN winds. Here we present a short summary of the observational properties resulting from the simulations, focussing on 1) the nuclear luminosity; 2) the global luminosity and temperature of the hot gas; 3) its temperature profile and X-ray brightness profile. These properties are compared with those of galaxies of the local universe, pointing out the successes of the adopted feedback and the needs for new input in the simulations.