CosmoDRAGoN simulations -- I. Dynamics and observable signatures of radio jets in cosmological environments

TL;DR

This paper introduces the CosmoDRAGoN project, a suite of cosmological simulations of AGN jets that explore their dynamics and observable radio signatures in galaxy cluster environments, providing insights into jet-environment interactions.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel large-scale simulation framework combining SPH and grid-based hydrodynamics to study AGN jets in realistic cosmological environments, including synthetic radio spectra.

Findings

Jets produce both FR I and FR II morphologies.

Accurate jet and environment modeling is crucial for realistic radio features.

Simulations reveal the impact of jet parameters on morphology and feedback.

Abstract

We present the Cosmological Double Radio Active Galactic Nuclei (CosmoDRAGoN) project: a large suite of simulated AGN jets in cosmological environments. These environments sample the intra-cluster media of galaxy clusters that form in cosmological smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations, which we then use as inputs for grid-based hydrodynamic simulations of radio jets. Initially conical jets are injected with a range of jet powers, speeds (both relativistic and non-relativistic), and opening angles; we follow their collimation and propagation on scales of tens to hundreds of kiloparsecs, and calculate spatially-resolved synthetic radio spectra in post-processing. In this paper, we present a technical overview of the project, and key early science results from six representative simulations which produce radio sources with both core- (Fanaroff-Riley Type I) and edge-brightened (Fanaroff-Riley Type II) radio morphologies. Our simulations highlight the importance of accurate representation of both jets and environments for radio morphology, radio spectra, and feedback the jets provide to their surroundings.