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. 2010 Apr 20;107(16):7174-8.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.0913904107. Epub 2010 Mar 29.

Active galactic nucleus feedback in clusters of galaxies

Elizabeth L Blanton  1 , T E Clarke, Craig L Sarazin, Scott W Randall, Brian R McNamara
Affiliations

Active galactic nucleus feedback in clusters of galaxies

Elizabeth L Blanton et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

Observations made during the last ten years with the Chandra X-ray Observatory have shed much light on the cooling gas in the centers of clusters of galaxies and the role of active galactic nucleus (AGN) heating. Cooling of the hot intracluster medium in cluster centers can feed the supermassive black holes found in the nuclei of the dominant cluster galaxies leading to AGN outbursts which can reheat the gas, suppressing cooling and large amounts of star formation. AGN heating can come in the form of shocks, buoyantly rising bubbles that have been inflated by radio lobes, and the dissipation of sound waves.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Composite X-ray (blue, Chandra 657 ksec image), optical (red, Digitized Sky Survey), radio [green/yellow, 1.4 GHz (53)] 5′.6 × 4′.7 (230 × 190 kpc) image of Abell 2052.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Composite X-ray (blue, Chandra 139 ksec image), optical (red, Digitized Sky Survey), radio [green/yellow, 1.4 GHz (22)] 5′.6 × 4′.7 (110 × 90 kpc) image of Abell 262.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Three-color Chandra 657 ksec 4′.3 × 3′.7 (180 × 150 kpc) image of Abell 2052 (red = 0.3–1 keV, green = 1–2 keV, blue = 2–10 keV).
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Unsharp-masked 657 ksec Chandra 2′.8 × 2′.4 (115 × 95 kpc) image of Abell 2052 with 1.4 GHz radio contours from the VLA FIRST survey superposed. Multiple sets of bubbles are seen, as well as ripple-like jumps in surface brightness that are consistent with weak shocks.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.
Residual Chandra 139 ksec 3′.7 × 1′.5 (70 × 30 kpc) images (green) of Abell 262 with radio emission superposed in pink [VLA 1.4 GHz (Top) and GMRT 610 MHz (Bottom), (22)].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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