skip to main content

Explore Research Products in the NSF-PAR

Title: Chaotic cold accretion in giant elliptical galaxies heated by AGN cosmic rays
ABSTRACT Black hole feedback plays a central role in shaping the circumgalactic medium (CGM) of elliptical galaxies. We systematically study the impact of plasma physics on the evolution of ellipticals by performing three-dimensional non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the interactions of active galactic nucleus (AGN) jets with the CGM including magnetic fields, and cosmic rays (CRs) and their transport processes. We find that the physics of feedback operating on large galactic scales depends very sensitively on plasma physics operating on small scales. Specifically, we demonstrate that (i) in the purely hydrodynamical case, the AGN jets initially maintain the atmospheres in global thermal balance. However, local thermal instability generically leads to the formation of massive cold discs in the vicinity of the central black hole in disagreement with observations; (ii) including weak magnetic fields prevents the formation of the discs because local B-field amplification in the precipitating cold gas leads to strong magnetic breaking, which quickly extracts angular momentum from the accreting clouds. The magnetic fields transform the cold clouds into narrow filaments that do not fall ballistically; (iii) when plasma composition in the AGN jets is dominated by CRs, and CR transport is neglected, the atmospheres exhibit cooling catastrophes due to inefficient heat transfer from the AGN to CGM despite Coulomb/hadronic CR losses being present; (iv) including CR streaming and heating restores agreement with the observations, i.e. cooling catastrophes are prevented and massive cold central discs do not form. The AGN power is reduced as its energy is utilized efficiently.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1715140
NSF-PAR ID:
10166991
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume:
493
Issue:
3
ISSN:
0035-8711
Page Range / eLocation ID:
4065 to 4076
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; ( , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)
    null (Ed.)
    ABSTRACT Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) feedback is responsible for maintaining plasma in global thermal balance in extended haloes of elliptical galaxies and galaxy clusters. Local thermal instability in the hot gas leads to the formation of precipitating cold gas clouds that feed the central supermassive black holes, thus heating the hot gas and maintaining global thermal equilibrium. We perform 3D magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations of self-regulated AGNs feedback in a Perseus-like galaxy cluster with the aim of understanding the impact of the feedback physics on the turbulence properties of the hot and cold phases of the intracluster medium (ICM). We find that, in general, the cold phase velocity structure function (VSF) is steeper than the prediction from Kolmogorov’s theory. We attribute the physical origin of the steeper slope of the cold phase VSF to the driving of turbulent motions primarily by the gravitational acceleration acting on the ballistic clouds. We demonstrate that, in the pure hydrodynamical case, the precipitating cold filaments may be the dominant agent driving turbulence in the hot ICM. The arguments in favour of this hypothesis are that: (i) the cold phase mass dominates over hot gas mass in the inner cool core; (ii) hot and cold gas velocities are spatially correlated; (iii) both the cold and hot phase velocity distributions are radially biased. We show that, in the MHD case, the turbulence in the ambient hot medium (excluding the jet cone regions) can also be driven by the AGN jets. The driving is then facilitated by enhanced coupling due to magnetic fields of the ambient gas and the AGN jets. In the MHD case, turbulence may thus be driven by a combination of AGN jet stirring and filament motions. We conclude that future observations, including those from high spatial and spectral resolution X-ray missions, may help to constrain self-regulated AGN feedback by quantifying the multitemperature VSF in the ICM. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al ( , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)
    ABSTRACT Without additional heating, radiative cooling of the halo gas of massive galaxies (Milky Way-mass and above) produces cold gas or stars exceeding that observed. Heating from active galactic nucleus (AGN) jets is likely required, but the jet properties remain unclear. This is particularly challenging for galaxy simulations, where the resolution is orders-of-magnitude insufficient to resolve jet formation and evolution. On such scales, the uncertain parameters include the jet energy form [kinetic, thermal, cosmic ray (CR)]; energy, momentum, and mass flux; magnetic fields; opening angle; precession; and duty cycle. We investigate these parameters in a $10^{14}\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$ halo using high-resolution non-cosmological magnetohydrodynamic simulations with the FIRE-2 (Feedback In Realistic Environments) stellar feedback model, conduction, and viscosity. We explore which scenarios qualitatively meet observational constraints on the halo gas and show that CR-dominated jets most efficiently quench the galaxy by providing CR pressure support and modifying the thermal instability. Mildly relativistic (∼MeV or ∼1010K) thermal plasma jets work but require ∼10 times larger energy input. For fixed energy flux, jets with higher specific energy (longer cooling times) quench more effectively. For this halo mass, kinetic jets are inefficient at quenching unless they have wide opening or precession angles. Magnetic fields also matter less except when the magnetic energy flux reaches ≳ 1044 erg s−1 in a kinetic jet model, which significantly widens the jet cocoon. The criteria for a successful jet model are an optimal energy flux and a sufficiently wide jet cocoon with a long enough cooling time at the cooling radius. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ( , The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review)
    Abstract

    Understanding the physical mechanisms that control galaxy formation is a fundamental challenge in contemporary astrophysics. Recent advances in the field of astrophysical feedback strongly suggest that cosmic rays (CRs) may be crucially important for our understanding of cosmological galaxy formation and evolution. The appealing features of CRs are their relatively long cooling times and relatively strong dynamical coupling to the gas. In galaxies, CRs can be close to equipartition with the thermal, magnetic, and turbulent energy density in the interstellar medium, and can be dynamically very important in driving large-scale galactic winds. Similarly, CRs may provide a significant contribution to the pressure in the circumgalactic medium. In galaxy clusters, CRs may play a key role in addressing the classic cooling flow problem by facilitating efficient heating of the intracluster medium and preventing excessive star formation. Overall, the underlying physics of CR interactions with plasmas exhibit broad parallels across the entire range of scales characteristic of the interstellar, circumgalactic, and intracluster media. Here we present a review of the state-of-the-art of this field and provide a pedagogical introduction to cosmic ray plasma physics, including the physics of wave–particle interactions, acceleration processes, CR spatial and spectral transport, and important cooling processes. The field is ripe for discovery and will remain the subject of intense theoretical, computational, and observational research over the next decade with profound implications for the interpretation of the observations of stellar and supermassive black hole feedback spanning the entire width of the electromagnetic spectrum and multi-messenger data.

     
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ( , The Astrophysical Journal)
    Abstract

    In the universe’s most massive galaxies, active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback appears to limit star formation. The accumulation of cold gas near the central black hole fuels powerful AGN outbursts, keeping the ambient medium in a state marginally unstable to condensation and formation of cold gas clouds. However, the ability of that mechanism to self-regulate may depend on numerous environmental factors, including the depth of the potential well and the pressure of the surrounding circumgalactic medium (CGM). Here we present a suite of numerical simulations, with halo mass ranging from 2 × 1012M⊙to 8 × 1014M⊙, exploring the dependence of AGN feedback on those environmental factors. We include the spatially extended mass and energy input from the massive galaxy’s old stellar population capable of sweeping gas out of the galaxy if the confining CGM pressure is sufficiently low. Our simulations show that this feedback mechanism is tightly self-regulating in a massive galaxy with a deep central potential and low CGM pressure, permitting only small amounts of multiphase gas to accumulate and allowing no star formation. In a similar-mass galaxy with shallower central potential and greater CGM pressure the feedback mechanism is more episodic, producing extended multiphase gas and allowing small rates of star formation (∼0.1M⊙yr−1). At the low-mass end, the mechanism becomes implausibly explosive, perhaps because the CGM initially has no angular momentum, which would have reduced the amount of condensed gas capable of fueling feedback.

     
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; ; ; ( , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)
    null (Ed.)
    Abstract We study the effects of cosmic rays (CRs) on outflows from star-forming galaxies in the circum and inter-galactic medium (CGM/IGM), in high-resolution, fully-cosmological FIRE-2 simulations (accounting for mechanical and radiative stellar feedback, magnetic fields, anisotropic conduction/viscosity/CR diffusion and streaming, and CR losses). We showed previously that massive (Mhalo ≳ 1011 M⊙), low-redshift (z ≲ 1 − 2) halos can have CR pressure dominate over thermal CGM pressure and balance gravity, giving rise to a cooler CGM with an equilibrium density profile. This dramatically alters outflows. Absent CRs, high gas thermal pressure in massive halos “traps” galactic outflows near the disk, so they recycle. With CRs injected in supernovae as modeled here, the low-pressure halo allows “escape” and CR pressure gradients continuously accelerate this material well into the IGM in “fast” outflows, while lower-density gas at large radii is accelerated in-situ into “slow” outflows that extend to >Mpc scales. CGM/IGM outflow morphologies are radically altered: they become mostly volume-filling (with inflow in a thin mid-plane layer) and coherently biconical from the disk to >Mpc. The CR-driven outflows are primarily cool (T ∼ 105 K) and low-velocity. All of these effects weaken and eventually vanish at lower halo masses (≲ 1011 M⊙) or higher redshifts (z ≳ 1 − 2), reflecting the ratio of CR to thermal+gravitational pressure in the outer halo. We present a simple analytic model which explains all of the above phenomena. We caution that these predictions may depend on uncertain CR transport physics. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email