269 research outputs found
Chaotic cold accretion on to black holes in rotating atmospheres
Chaotic cold accretion (CCA) profoundly differs from classic black hole
accretion models. Using 3D high-resolution simulations, we probe the impact of
rotation on the hot and cold accretion flow in a typical massive galaxy. In the
hot mode, with or without turbulence, the pressure-dominated flow forms a
geometrically thick rotational barrier, suppressing the accretion rate to ~1/3
of the Bondi rate. When radiative cooling is dominant, the gas loses pressure
support and quickly circularizes in a cold thin disk. In the more common state
of a turbulent and heated atmosphere, CCA drives the dynamics if the gas
velocity dispersion exceeds the rotational velocity, i.e., turbulent Taylor
number < 1. Extended multiphase filaments condense out of the hot phase via
thermal instability and rain toward the black hole, boosting the accretion rate
up to 100 times the Bondi rate. Initially, turbulence broadens the angular
momentum distribution of the hot gas, allowing the cold phase to condense with
prograde or retrograde motion. Subsequent chaotic collisions between the cold
filaments, clouds, and a clumpy variable torus promote the cancellation of
angular momentum, leading to high accretion rates. The simulated sub-Eddington
accretion rates cover the range inferred from AGN cavity observations. CCA
predicts inner flat X-ray temperature and density profiles, as
recently discovered in M 87 and NGC 3115. The synthetic H{\alpha} images
reproduce the main features of cold gas observations in massive ellipticals, as
the line fluxes and the filaments versus disk morphology. Such dichotomy is key
for the long-term AGN feedback cycle. As gas cools, filamentary CCA develops
and boosts AGN heating; the cold mode is thus reduced and the rotating disk
remains the sole cold structure. Its consumption leaves the atmosphere in hot
mode with suppressed accretion and feedback, reloading the cycle.Comment: 18 pages, 21 figures, published in A&A; fully revised version with
new major results related to H{\alpha} and X-ray observation
Spitzer Observations of Transient, Extended Dust in Two Elliptical Galaxies: New Evidence of Recent Feedback Energy Release in Galactic Cores
Spitzer observations of extended dust in two optically normal elliptical
galaxies provide a new confirmation of buoyant feedback outflow in the hot gas
atmospheres around these galaxies. AGN feedback energy is required to prevent
wholesale cooling and star formation in these group-centered galaxies. In NGC
5044 we observe interstellar (presumably PAH) emission at 8 microns out to
about 5 kpc. Both NGC 5044 and 4636 have extended 70 microns emission from cold
dust exceeding that expected from stellar mass loss. The sputtering lifetime of
this extended dust in the ~1keV interstellar gas, ~10^7 yrs, establishes the
time when the dust first entered the hot gas. Evidently the extended dust
originated in dusty disks or clouds, commonly observed in elliptical galaxy
cores, that were disrupted, heated and buoyantly transported outward. The
surviving central dust in NGC 5044 and 4636 has been disrupted into many small
filaments. It is remarkable that the asymmetrically extended 8 micron emission
in NGC 5044 is spatially coincident with Halpha+[NII] emission from warm gas. A
calculation shows that dust-assisted cooling in buoyant hot gas moving out from
the galactic core can cool within a few kpc in about ~10^7 yrs, explaining the
optical line emission observed. The X-ray images of both galaxies are
disturbed. All timescales for transient activity - restoration of equilibrium
and buoyant transport in the hot gas, dynamics of surviving dust fragments, and
dust sputtering - are consistent with a central release of feedback energy in
both galaxies about 10^7 yrs ago.Comment: 13 pages. Accepted by ApJ; minor typos correcte
AMUSE-VIRGO. III: mid-infrared photometry of early-type galaxies and limits on obscured nuclear emission
We complete our census of low-level nuclear activity in Virgo Cluster
early-type galaxies by searching for obscured emission using Spitzer Space
Telescope mid-infrared (MIR) imaging at 24mu. Of a total sample of 95
early-type galaxies, 53 objects are detected, including 16 showing
kiloparsec-scale dust in optical images. One dimensional and two dimensional
surface photometry of the 37 detections without extended dust features reveals
that the MIR light is more centrally concentrated than the optical light as
traced by Hubble Space Telescope F850LP-band images. No such modeling was
performed for the sources with dust detected in the optical images. We explore
several possible sources of the MIR excess emission, including obscured nuclear
emission. We find that radial metallicity gradients in the stellar population
appear to be a natural and most likely explanation for the observed behavior in
a majority of the sources. Alternatively, if the concentrated MIR emission were
due to nuclear activity, it would imply a MIR-to-X luminosity ratio ~5-10 for
the low luminosity AGN detected in X-rays by our survey. This ratio is an order
of magnitude larger than that of typical low-luminosity AGN and would imply an
unusual spectral energy distribution. We conclude that the black holes found by
our survey in quiescent early-type galaxies in Virgo have low bolometric
Eddington ratios arising from low accretion rates and/or highly radiatively
inefficient accretion.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures; accepted for publication in Ap
The Herschel Reference Survey: Dust in Early-Type Galaxies and Across the Hubble Sequence
We present Herschel observations of 62 Early-Type Galaxies (ETGs), including
39 galaxies morphologically classified as S0+S0a and 23 galaxies classified as
ellipticals using SPIRE at 250, 350 and 500 microns (and PACS 100 and 160
microns for 19 sources) as part of the volume-limited Herschel Reference
Survey. We detect dust emission in 24% of the ellipticals and 62% of the S0s.
The mean temperature of the dust is 23.9+/-0.8 K, warmer than that found for
late-type galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. Including the non-detections, the mean
dust mass is log(Mdust) = 5.9+/-0.1 and 5.2+/-0.1 Msun for the S0s and
elliptical galaxies respectively. The mean dust-to-stellar mass is
log(Mdust/Mstar) = -4.4+/-0.1 (S0s) and -5.8+/-0.1 (ellipticals). Virtually all
the galaxies lie close to the red sequence yet the large number of detections
of cool dust, the gas-to-dust ratios and the ratios of far-infrared to radio
emission all suggest that many ETGs contain a cool interstellar medium similar
to that in late-type galaxies. The mean dust-to-stellar mass ratio for S0s is
approximatly a factor of ten less than for early-type spirals and the sizes of
the dust sources in the S0s are also much smaller. We show that the difference
cannot be explained by either the different bulge-to-disk ratios or
environmental effects such as ram-pressure stripping. The wide range in the
dust-to-stellar mass ratio for ETGs and the lack of a correlation between dust
mass and optical luminosity suggest that much of the dust in the ETGs detected
by Herschel has been acquired as the result of gravitational interactions;
these interactions are unlikely to have had a major effect on the stellar
masses of the ETGs. The Herschel observations tentatively suggest that in the
most massive ETGs, the mass of the interstellar medium is unconnected to the
evolution of the stellar populations.Comment: 28 Pages, 12 Figures. Submitted to ApJ December 2011; accepted
January 201
AGN Driven Weather and Multiphase Gas in the Core of the NGC 5044 Galaxy Group
A deep Chandra observation of the X-ray bright group, NGC 5044, shows that
the central region of this group has been strongly perturbed by repeated AGN
outbursts. These recent AGN outbursts have produced many small X-ray cavities,
cool filaments and cold fronts. We find a correlation between the coolest X-ray
emitting gas and the morphology of the Ha filaments. The Ha filaments are
oriented in the direction of the X-ray cavities, suggesting that the warm gas
responsible for the Halpha emission originated near the center of NGC 5044 and
was dredged up behind the buoyant, AGN-inflated X-ray cavities. A detailed
spectroscopic analysis shows that the central region of NGC 5044 contains
spatially varying amounts of multiphase gas. The regions with the most
inhomogeneous gas temperature distribution tend to correlate with the extended
235 MHz and 610 MHz radio emission detected by the GMRT. This may result from
gas entrainment within the radio emitting plasma or mixing of different
temperature gas in the regions surrounding the radio emitting plasma by AGN
induced turbulence. Accounting for the effects of multiphase gas, we find that
the abundance of heavy elements is fairly uniform within the central 100 kpc,
with abundances of 60-80% solar for all elements except oxygen, which has a
significantly sub-solar abundance. In the absence of continued AGN outbursts,
the gas in the center of NGC 5044 should attain a more homogeneous distribution
of gas temperature through the dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy and heat
conduction in approximately 10e8 yr. The presence of multiphase gas in NGC 5044
indicates that the time between recent AGN outbursts has been less than
approximately 10e8 yr
A BCG with Offset Cooling:Is the AGN Feedback Cycle Broken in A2495?
We present a combined radio/X-ray analysis of the poorly studied galaxy cluster A2495 (z = 0.07923) based on new EVLA and Chandra data. We also analyze and discuss Hα emission and optical continuum data retrieved from the literature. We find an offset of ∼6 kpc between the cluster brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) (MCG+02-58-021) and the peak of the X-ray emission, suggesting that the cooling process is not taking place on the central galaxy nucleus. We propose that sloshing of the intracluster medium (ICM) could be responsible for this separation. Furthermore, we detect a second, ∼4 kpc offset between the peak of the Hα emission and that of the X-ray emission. Optical images highlight the presence of a dust filament extending up to ∼6 kpc in the cluster BCG and allow us to estimate a dust mass within the central 7 kpc of 1.7 × 105 M . Exploiting the dust-to-gas ratio and the L Hα-M mol relation, we argue that a significant amount (up to 109 M ) of molecular gas should be present in the BCG of this cluster. We also investigate the presence of ICM depressions, finding two putative systems of cavities; the inner pair is characterized by t age ∼ 18 Myr and P cav ∼ 1.2 × 1043 erg s-1, the outer one by t age ∼ 53 Myr and P cav ∼ 5.6 × 1042 erg s-1. Their age difference appears to be consistent with the freefall time of the central cooling gas and with the offset timescale estimated with the Hα kinematic data, suggesting that sloshing is likely playing a key role in this environment. Furthermore, the cavities' power analysis shows that the active galactic nucleus energy injection is able to sustain the feedback cycle, despite cooling being offset from the BCG nucleus.</p
Unusual PAH Emission in Nearby Early-Type Galaxies: A Signature of an Intermediate Age Stellar Population?
We present the analysis of Spitzer-IRS spectra of four early-type galaxies,
NGC 1297, NGC 5044, NGC 6868, and NGC 7079, all classified as LINERs in the
optical bands. Their IRS spectra present the full series of H2 rotational
emission lines in the range 5--38 microns, atomic lines, and prominent PAH
features. We investigate the nature and origin of the PAH emission,
characterized by unusually low 6 -- 9/11.3 microns inter-band ratios. After the
subtraction of a passive early type galaxy template, we find that the 7 -- 9
microns spectral region requires dust features not normally present in star
forming galaxies. Each spectrum is then analyzed with the aim of identifying
their components and origin. In contrast to normal star forming galaxies, where
cationic PAH emission prevails, our 6--14 microns spectra seem to be dominated
by large and neutral PAH emission, responsible for the low 6 -- 9/11.3 microns
ratios, plus two broad dust emission features peaking at 8.2 microns and 12
microns. Theses broad components, observed until now mainly in evolved carbon
stars and usually attributed to pristine material, contribute approximately
30-50% of the total PAH flux in the 6--14 microns region. We propose that the
PAH molecules in our ETGs arise from fresh carbonaceous material which is
continuously released by a population of carbon stars, formed in a rejuvenation
episode which occurred within the last few Gyr. The analysis of the MIR spectra
allows us to infer that, in order to maintain the peculiar size and charge
distributions biased to large and neutral PAHs, this material must be shocked,
and excited by the weak UV interstellar radiation field of our ETG.Comment: ApJ accepte
- …