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: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=709795
• 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.

位于星系中心的超级质量黑洞可以通过气体的积聚来促进，产生极具能量的现象（活性银河核，AGN），例如吸收气体的发光热磁盘和强大的相对性等离子体和磁场的溢出，称为喷气机。 最近已经认识到，强大的AGN驱动流出直接影响星系的演变，喷气机中的动能加热了星系的气体并将其从中央凸起区域中排出并驱除恒星的形成。反过来，这影响了星系的恒星形成历史，介导了宿主星系和中央超级黑洞之间的关系，确定了最大的星系的数量密度，并提供了调节周围热气态环境的热力学的基本能源星系簇的群内培养基。因此，很明显，AGN反馈是塑造我们宇宙发展方式的基本过程的核心。但是，关于AGN如何与形成和不断发展的宿主星系及其环境相互作用的主要不确定性仍然存在，并且这些相互作用的详细物理学知之甚少。 拟议的研究计划的目的是详细了解强大AGN对环境的相互作用和影响的物理性质。我的方法是在全面的尺寸尺度，时间尺度和环境条件上获得AGN的多波长观察。我将研究宇宙中最大的星系（最明亮的聚类星系）中的反馈，其中集群内介质能够通过辐射气体的热能来冷却。在以前从博士生开始的工作中，我研究了最明亮的星系中的中央AGN如何能够将能量传授给热和温暖的气体以及冷分子气体，并能够将能量重新供应到热量冷却气体以及运输和分散较冷的恒星形成气体。然而，这个过程的物理学仍然很少了解。我的小组将减少和分析新获得的光学成像光谱和Atacama大毫米阵列数据，上面有关最亮星系星系，并将我们的结果与以前的Chandra和无线电观测结果相结合。这些观察结果将使我们能够研究温暖和冷（分子）气体的运动学，并将探索KPC尺度上AGN反馈过程的物理学。我们的分析将利用我们小组在无线电源传播的理论模型中的专业知识，无线电源与环境的相互作用以及反馈对集体内介质的影响。