Active Galactic Nuclei Feedback in Galaxies and Clusters of Galaxies

星系和星系团中的活跃星系核反馈

• 批准号: RGPIN-2016-06030
• 负责人: ODea, Christopher
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: University of Manitoba
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=661122
• 关键词: Active; Galactic; Nuclei; Feedback; Galaxies

Super-massive black holes located in the center of a galaxy can be fueled by the accretion of gas, producing extremely energetic phenomenon (Active Galactic Nuclei, AGN) such as luminous hot disks of accreting gas and powerful outflows of relativistic plasma and magnetic fields, called jets. It has been recently recognized that powerful AGN-driven outflows directly affect the evolution of galaxies, with the kinetic energy in the jets heating the galaxy's gas and expelling it from the central bulge regions and quenching star formation. This in turn influences galaxies' star formation histories, mediating the relationship between host galaxy and central supermassive black hole, determining the number density of the most massive galaxies, and providing a fundamental energy source which regulates the thermodynamics of the surrounding hot gaseous environment, including the intracluster medium of galaxy clusters. Thus, it is clear that AGN feedback is at the heart of the fundamental processes which shape the way our universe evolved. However, major uncertainties remain about how AGN interact with the forming and evolving host galaxies and their environments, and the detailed physics of these interactions are poorly understood. The objective of the proposed research program is to develop a detailed understanding of the physical nature of the interactions and impacts of powerful AGN on their environments. My approach is to obtain multi-wavelength observations of AGN over a comprehensive range of size scales, time scales, and environmental conditions. I will study feedback in the most massive galaxies in the universe (the Brightest Cluster Galaxies) in the cores of clusters where the intracluster medium is able to cool via radiating the thermal energy of the gas. In previous work that began with a PhD student, I studied how the central AGN in the brightest cluster galaxy is able to impart energy to the hot and warm gas as well as the cold molecular gas and is able to both resupply energy to the hot but cooling gas as well as transport and disperse the colder star forming gas. The physics of this process, however, remains poorly understood. My group will reduce and analyze newly obtained optical imaging spectroscopy and Atacama Large Millimeter Array data on brightest cluster galaxies and combine our results with those from previous Chandra and radio observations. These observations will allow us to study the kinematics of both the warm and cold (molecular) gas and will explore the physics of the AGN feedback process on scales of tens of kpc. Our analysis will make use of our group's expertise in theoretical modelling of radio source propagation, interaction of radio sources with their environments, and the effects of feedback on the intracluster medium.**

位于星系中心的超大质量黑洞可以通过气体吸积来提供燃料，产生极其高能的现象（活动星系核，AGN），例如吸积气体的发光热盘以及相对论等离子体和磁场的强大流出，称为喷气机。 最近人们认识到，强大的活动星系核驱动的外流直接影响星系的演化，喷流中的动能加热星系的气体并将其从中央核球区域排出并抑制恒星的形成。这反过来又影响星系的恒星形成历史，调解宿主星系和中心超大质量黑洞之间的关系，确定最大质量星系的数量密度，并提供调节周围热气态环境热力学的基本能源，包括星系团的簇内介质。因此，很明显，活动星系核反馈是塑造宇宙演化方式的基本过程的核心。然而，活动星系核如何与形成和演化的宿主星系及其环境相互作用仍然存在重大不确定性，而且人们对这些相互作用的详细物理原理知之甚少。 拟议研究计划的目标是详细了解强大活动星系核对其环境的相互作用和影响的物理性质。我的方法是在各种尺寸尺度、时间尺度和环境条件下获得活动星系核的多波长观测结果。我将研究宇宙中质量最大的星系（最亮的星团星系）的星团核心的反馈，其中星团内的介质能够通过辐射气体的热能来冷却。在之前由一名博士生开始的工作中，我研究了最亮星团星系中的中央活动星系核如何能够向热而温暖的气体以及冷分子气体提供能量，并且能够向热而冷的分子气体重新提供能量。冷却气体以及运输和分散较冷的恒星形成气体。然而，人们对这个过程的物理原理仍然知之甚少。我的小组将减少和分析新获得的光学成像光谱和最亮星团星系的阿塔卡马大型毫米波阵列数据，并将我们的结果与之前钱德拉和射电观测的结果结合起来。这些观测结果将使我们能够研究热气体和冷气体（分子）的运动学，并将探索 AGN 反馈过程在数十 kpc 尺度上的物理原理。我们的分析将利用我们小组在无线电源传播理论建模、无线电源与其环境的相互作用以及反馈对簇内介质的影响方面的专业知识。 **