Testing Observational Techniques with 3D MHD Jets in Clusters

TL;DR

This study evaluates the accuracy of observational techniques for measuring the mechanical power of AGN jets in galaxy clusters by comparing synthetic X-ray observations with 3D MHD simulations, considering factors like jet orientation and intermittency.

Contribution

It provides a systematic assessment of the reliability of observational cavity measurements against simulated data, highlighting potential errors and biases.

Findings

Cavity enthalpy, age, and luminosity estimates are within a factor of two of simulation values.

Jet orientation and intermittency affect the accuracy of observational measurements.

Synthetic observations can effectively test and calibrate observational methods.

Abstract

Observations of X-ray cavities formed by powerful jets from AGN in galaxy cluster cores are commonly used to estimate the mechanical luminosity of these sources. We test the reliability of observationally measuring this power with synthetic X-ray observations of 3-D MHD simulations of jets in a galaxy cluster environment. We address the role that factors such as jet intermittency and orientation of the jets on the sky have on the reliability of observational measurements of cavity enthalpy and age. An estimate of the errors in these quantities can be made by directly comparing ``observationally'' derived values with values from the simulations. In our tests, cavity enthalpy, age and mechanical luminosity derived from observations are within a factor of two of the simulation values.