The unusual active galaxy H1821+643 and the elusive nature of FRI quasars

TL;DR

This paper investigates the unique properties and evolutionary stage of the active galaxy H1821+643, linking its black hole spin, jet characteristics, and feedback effects within a theoretical framework.

Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical model explaining H1821+643's properties and predicts its future evolution towards becoming jetless based on black hole spin and accretion history.

Findings

H1821+643's black hole spin is estimated between 0.1 and 0.7.

The galaxy's feedback mechanism is unaffected by jet tilt.

It is predicted to become jetless within millions of years.

Abstract

The moderate spin estimate for the black hole at the center of the cool core cluster H1821+643 motivates the completion of a story about this object's origin and evolution that was in the making since the work by Blundell and Rawlings over two decades ago as the first example of a massive black hole accreting at near Eddington rates with an FRI jet. This elusive combination of properties was explained in our 2010 model where we showed it to be part of a small parameter space that includes X shaped radio galaxies. As an accreting black hole that never experienced a counterrotating phase, H1821+643 is constrained by theory to produce a jet for spin values between 0.1 and about 0.7 and an FRI jet for a slightly smaller range. The feedback from such a black hole is not subject to a tilted jet and is why star formation rates remain high in this cluster environment. The prediction is that H1821+643 is within millions of years of becoming jetless.