Jet-Intracluster Medium interaction in Hydra A. II The Effect of Jet Precession

TL;DR

This study uses 3D relativistic hydrodynamical simulations to explore how jet precession affects its interaction with the intracluster medium, successfully matching observed features of Hydra A's northern jet.

Contribution

It demonstrates that specific jet precession parameters can reproduce observed jet structures and dynamics in Hydra A, advancing understanding of jet-medium interactions.

Findings

Precession period of 1 Myr and angle of 20 degrees best match observations.

Simulated jet reproduces curvature, knot distribution, and transition to plume.

Bow shock Mach number indicates gentle heating of the cluster atmosphere.

Abstract

We present three dimensional relativistic hydrodynamical simulations of a precessing jet interacting with the intracluster medium and compare the simulated jet structure with the observed structure of the Hydra A northern jet. For the simulations, we use jet parameters obtained in the parameter space study of the first paper in this series and probe different values for the precession period and precession angle. We find that for a precession period P = 1 Myr and a precession angle = 20 degree the model reproduces i) the curvature of the jet, ii) the correct number of bright knots within 20 kpc at approximately correct locations, and iii) the turbulent transition of the jet to a plume. The Mach number of the advancing bow shock = 1.85 is indicative of gentle cluster atmosphere heating during the early stages of the AGN's activity.