Precessing AGN Jets, Bubbles and Cooling Flows

TL;DR

This study uses 3D hydrodynamical simulations to show that precessing AGN jets can create multiple misaligned bubbles and effectively suppress cooling flows in galaxy clusters, aligning with observations.

Contribution

It demonstrates that precessing jets are capable of forming observed bubble structures and halting cooling flows, providing a new understanding of AGN feedback mechanisms.

Findings

Precessing jets produce multiple misaligned bubbles.

Bubbles rise and redistribute thermal energy over tens of kiloparsecs.

Cooling flows cease within 50-70 Myr after jet initiation.

Abstract

Several galaxy clusters are known to present multiple and misaligned pairs of cavities seen in X-rays, as well as twisted kiloparsec-scale jets at radio wavelengths. It suggests that the AGN precessing jets play a role in the formation of the misaligned bubbles. Also, X-ray spectra reveal that typically these systems are also able to supress cooling flows, predicted theoretically. The absence of cooling flows in galaxy clusters has been a mistery for many years since numerical simulations and analytical studies suggest that AGN jets are highly energetic, but are unable to redistribute it at all directions. We performed 3D hydrodynamical simulations of the interaction between a precessing AGN jet and the warm intracluster medium plasma, which dynamics is coupled to a NFW dark matter gravitational potential. Radiative cooling has been taken into account and the cooling flow problem was studied. We found that precession is responsible for multiple pairs of bubbles, as observed. The misaligned bubbles rise up to scales of tens of kiloparsecs, where the thermal energy released by the jets are redistributed. After $\sim 150$ Myrs, the temperature of the gas within the cavities is kept of order of $\sim 10^7$ K, while the denser plasma of the intracluster medium at the central regions reaches $T \sim 10^5$ K. The existence of multiple bubbles, at diferent directions, result in an integrated temperature along the line of sight much larger than the simulations of non-precessing jets. This result is in agreement with the observations. The simulations reveal that the cooling flows cessed $\sim 50 - 70$ Myr after the AGN jets are started.