arXiv subjects

Fabrizio Brighenti

Publications and source records attributed to Fabrizio Brighenti.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Star Formation Histories and Stellar Dynamics in the Central Galaxies of RX J0820.9+0752, A1835, and PKS 0745-191

We present Keck Cosmic Web Imager observations of stellar populations in three galaxies lying at the centers of cooling flow clusters. All three host rich molecular gas reservoirs and show prominent Balmer absorption from $30-100$ Myr-old stars consistent with long lasting star formation. Two systems, A1835 and PKS 0745$-$191, have spatially extended young stellar populations in their centers with recent star formation rates of 100 M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ and 8 M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$, respectively. In A1835 we uncover a blueshifted clump of young stars moving at high speed with respect to the gas and central galaxy. We suggest these stars formed in a gaseous outflow and have since detached from their natal gas and are now falling inward. This result indicates that star formation is proceeding in a dynamically complex environment shaped by the central galaxy's motion relative to cooling clouds and the feedback from radio jets. In RX J0820.9+0752 intermediate-age stars are found in a filament outside the nucleus with no discernible star formation at the center of the galaxy. All projected galaxies consist of old stellar populations with deep D4000 breaks and lack detectable warm gas. While they may interact gravitationally with the central galaxy, they cannot have donated the upward of $10^{10}~ M_{\odot}$ of molecular gas found in these systems. These results highlight the importance of analyzing spatially resolved stellar kinematics and star formation histories in brightest cluster galaxies, an approach that remains relatively understudied.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

Cold gas formation triggered by active galactic nuclei jet feedback in galaxy cluster cores

Extended warm and cold gas nebulae, with complex morphologies and kinematics, have been observed in the centres of cool-core galaxy clusters. Their origin within the hot intracluster medium (ICM) is still puzzling, and among many mechanisms, positive feedback from the central active galactic nucleus (AGN) has been proposed. In this work, we performed a suite of very high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations of a Perseus-like cool-core galaxy cluster subject to self-regulated AGN jet feedback, which leads to realistic ICM properties. By explicitly following warm ionized, neutral, and molecular gas phases, we studied the complex interplay between AGN activity and the multi-phase ICM. While AGN feedback globally heats the ICM, we find that during the individual AGN jet bursts, hot material is also injected laterally to the jet axis, within the turbulent mixing layer. This material, as it expands, compresses the surrounding hot ICM, reducing the local cooling time, and leads to the formation of cold clumps on a characteristic timescale of $\sim 30$ Myr. By employing tracers, we explicitly track cooling within the affected regions, finding that very hot gas identified in high-compression, low-vorticity zones condenses in situ to form cold clumps. A statistical analysis reveals that the condensation of cold gas is highly promoted once the local turbulent Mach number, $σ_{hot}/c_{s,hot}$, in the hot gas component ($T \geq 10^7$ K) takes values around ~0.3. The presented process is a further important step in understanding the physical mechanisms that lead to the formation of cold gas in the cluster core. Our measured values of the characteristic turbulent Mach number, together with detailed multi-phase gas kinematics predictions, provide important theoretical tools to interpret future X-ray spectroscopy and deep radio data, ultimately to constrain the origin of cool-core cluster nebulae.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

AGN Feedback and the Development of Dusty Multiphase Gas in X-ray Emitting Elliptical Galaxies

This paper investigates the physical and kinematic properties of dust-rich regions in a small sample of group-centered elliptical galaxies, emphasizing their connection with the hot X-ray emitting gas and detailed dust grain characteristics. Comprehensive multi-wavelength data, including H-alpha and CO emission detected by MUSE and ALMA, demonstrate the presence of dust clouds embedded within complex, hot X-ray atmospheres shaped by AGN feedback. X-ray images show bubbles and cavities surrounded by bright rims. We find that dust regions containing molecular gas traced by CO are preferentially located at the rims of these X-ray cavities, suggesting that AGN-driven outflows enhance the condensation of cold, dusty gas at these compressive interfaces. Kinematic measurements indicate that molecular and ionized gas phases are dynamically and spatially linked, supporting the framework of a multiphase medium arising from the top-down condensation rain in the hot plasma and related chaotic cold accretion. Crucially, spatial variations in the total-to-selective extinction ratio Rv show that regions where dust, CO, and H-alpha emission coincide exhibit notably smaller Rv values, implying steeper extinction curves and the predominance of smaller or less evolved dust grains within these mixed-phase environments. This contrasts with larger Rv values found elsewhere in the dust clouds, suggesting grain growth or survival mechanisms within shielded cold gas.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

The Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS) Community Science Book

The AXIS Community Science Book represents the collective effort of 592 scientists worldwide to define the transformative science enabled by the Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS), a next-generation X-ray mission selected by NASA's Astrophysics Probe Program for Phase A study. AXIS will advance the legacy of high-angular-resolution X-ray astronomy with ~1.5'' imaging over a wide 24' field of view and an order of magnitude greater collecting area than Chandra in the 0.3-12 keV band. Combining sharp imaging, high throughput, and rapid response capabilities, AXIS will open new windows on virtually every aspect of modern astrophysics, exploring the birth and growth of supermassive black holes, the feedback processes that shape galaxies, the life cycles of stars and exoplanet environments, and the nature of compact stellar remnants, supernova remnants, and explosive transients. This book compiles 138 community-contributed science cases developed by five Science Working Groups focused on AGN and supermassive black holes, galaxy evolution and feedback, compact objects and supernova remnants, stellar physics and exoplanets, and time-domain and multi-messenger astrophysics. Together, these studies establish the scientific foundation for next-generation X-ray exploration in the 2030s and highlight strong synergies with facilities of the 2030s, such as JWST, Roman, Rubin/LSST, SKA, ALMA, ngVLA, and next-generation gravitational-wave and neutrino networks.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Multiphase gas offsets in the atmospheres of central galaxies and their consequences for SMBH activation I. The hot and warm ionized gas phases

We investigate the spatial relationships between multi-phase gas components and supermassive black hole (SMBH) activity in a sample of 25 cool core galaxy groups and clusters. Using high angular resolution observations from \textit{Chandra}, VLT/MUSE, and VLBA, we robustly locate the position, respectively, of the X-ray peak of the intracluster medium (ICM), of the H$α$ peak of the warm ionized gas, and of the SMBH radio core on parsec scales. We identify spatial offsets between the X-ray peak of the hot gas and the SMBH in 80% of the systems, with an average displacement of $\langleΔ^{\text{SMBH}}_{\text{X-ray}}\rangle = 4.8$ kpc (dispersion of $3.8$ kpc). In contrast, the peak of warm ionized gas traced by H$α$ exhibits much smaller offsets ($\langleΔ^{\text{SMBH}}_{\text{H}α}\rangle = 0.6$ kpc; dispersion of $1.4$ kpc) and a lower incidence of displacement (15%). Our findings suggest that hot gas sloshing primarily drives the observed spatial offsets, with AGN-driven uplift contributing in some systems.Importantly, systems with H$α$ - SMBH offsets of $\geq$1 kpc uniformly lack detectable radio cores on VLBA scales, with upper limits on the 5~GHz power of $P_{5\,\text{GHz}} \leq 10^{21-22}$ W Hz$^{-1}$, while those without such offsets exhibit radio powerful AGN with pc-scale radio emission up to $P_{5\,\text{GHz}} \sim 10^{24-25}$ W Hz$^{-1}$. This correlation indicates that centrally concentrated warm gas is critical for sustaining radio-loud SMBH activity, possibly supporting scenarios of cold-mode accretion. Overall, our results highlight the importance of high-angular-resolution, multi-wavelength observations for understanding the interplay between multiphase gas cooling and AGN fueling in central galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

JVLA and VLBA study of the merging cool core CHIPS 1911+4455 at z~0.5: radio emission from an infant AGN and from a rapidly star-forming BCG

Recent studies of galaxy clusters found peculiar cases at the boundary between non-cool core and cool core systems. While unusual, these objects can help us understand the evolution of the most massive clusters. We investigated the role of active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback in the starburst brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) of the merging cool core cluster CHIPS 1911+4455 (z = 0.485). We conducted new multifrequency (0.3 - 5 GHz) Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) observations of CHIPS 1911+4455 across a wide range of scales (0.01 to 20 kpc). Our analysis reveals that the AGN in the BCG has recently awakened, showing a compact core with symmetric, ~30 pc long jets in VLBA data. The onset of the AGN may be linked to the enhanced cooling of the hot gas found in a previous study. At larger scales (10 kpc), faint radio whiskers extending to the south show a striking alignment with star-forming knots and are thus interpreted as synchrotron-emitting regions associated with the starburst BCG. The implied radio star formation rate of 100 - 155 M$_{\odot}$/yr agrees with the optical/infrared one (140 - 190 M$_{\odot}$/yr). Our JVLA and VLBA radio study, informed by previous X-ray/optical/millimeter works, indicates that CHIPS 1911+4455 represents a transitional phase in cluster evolution, where the AGN in the central galaxy has just begun to respond to copious hot gas cooling.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Velocity Structure Correlations between the Nebular, Molecular, and Atmospheric Gases in the Cores of Four Cool Core Clusters

We investigate the velocity structure of nebular gas in the central galaxies of four clusters: Abell 1835, PKS 0745-191, Abell 262, and RXJ0820.9+0752, using data from the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI). Velocity structure functions (VSFs) of the [OII] emission line are compared to VSFs of molecular clouds observed with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Apart from Abell 262 where the gas is located in a circumnuclear disk, the nebular gas in the remaining galaxies lies in off-nuclear filamentary structures with VSFs steeper than the Kolmogorov slope. This steepening may be plausibly attributed to gravity although other factors, such as magnetic stresses and bulk motion,} may be significant. The VSFs of CO and [OII] emission are similar in RXJ0820 and Abell 262, indicating close coupling of the nebular and molecular gases. In contrast, the nebular and molecular gases are differentiated on most scales in PKS 0745 and Abell 1835. This discrepancy is likely due to the radio-AGN churning the gas. We compare the scale-dependent velocity amplitudes of the hot atmospheres constrained by X-ray surface brightness fluctuation analysis using Chandra observations to the nebular VSFs. The large-scale consistency in Abell 1835 and RXJ0820 is consistent with condensation from the hot atmospheres. {We explore substantial systematic biases, including projection effects, windowing, and smoothing effects when comparing VSFs using different telescopes and instruments.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

On the impact of AGN feedback modes onto the turbulent properties of the multiphase ICM

The feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) plays a crucial role in regulating the thermodynamics and the dynamics of the intracluster medium (ICM). Studying the turbulent patterns of the hot and warm ionized phases may allow us to determine how these phases are involved in the AGN cycle and the amount of turbulent pressure generated by the latter. In this work, we use new simulations to study the turbulent motions created by different types of AGN feedback in a cool core cluster and predict the observable signatures with the latest X-ray telescopes (e.g. XRISM). We run several hydrodynamic simulations with ENZO, simulating the self-regulated cycles of AGN feedback, starting from a static ICM in a cluster that represents the Perseus cluster. We study in detail different feedback modes: from pure kinetic precessing jets up to almost pure thermal feedback. Our analysis reveals that the gas velocity dispersion in the center of the cluster correlates in time with the peaks of the AGN activity and that more than 50% of the time, different feedback modalities produce the velocity dispersion observed in the Perseus cluster while leading to distinct geometrical distributions and velocity dispersion profiles. Moreover, we do not find a significant kinematic coupling between the hot and the cold phase kinematics. We find a correlation between the AGN activity and the steepening of the velocity function structure (VSF) and that the projected 2D VSF slopes are never trivially correlated with the 3D VSF ones. This line of research will allow us to use incoming detections of gas turbulent motions detectable by XRISM (or future instruments) to better constrain the duty cycle, energetics and energy dissipation modalities of AGN feedback in massive clusters of galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

Complex Velocity Structure of Nebular Gas in Active Galaxies Centred in Cooling X-ray Atmospheres

[OII] emission maps obtained with the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI) are presented for four galaxies centered in cooling X-ray cluster atmospheres. Nebular emission extending tens of kpc is found in systems covering a broad range of atmospheric cooling rates, cluster masses, and dynamical states. Abell 262's central galaxy hosts a kpc-scale disk. The nebular gas in RXJ0820.9+0752 is offset and redshifted with respect to the central galaxy by $10-20$ kpc and 150 km s$^{-1}$, respectively. The nebular gases in PKS 0745-191 and Abell 1835 are being churned to higher velocity dispersion by X-ray bubbles and jets. The churned gas is enveloped by larger scale, lower velocity dispersion (quiescent) nebular emission. The mean line-of-sight speeds of the churned gas, quiescent gas, and the central galaxy each differ by up to $\sim 150$ km s$^{-1}$; nebular speeds upward of $800$ km s$^{-1}$ are found. Gases with outwardly-rising speeds upward of several hundred km s$^{-1}$ are consistent with being advected behind and being lifted by the rising bubbles. The peculiar motion between the galaxy, nebular gas, and perhaps the hot atmosphere from which it presumably condensed is affecting the bubble dynamics, and may strongly affect thermally unstable cooling, the dispersal of jet energy, and the angular momentum of gas accreting onto the galaxies and their nuclear black holes.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

The imprint of magnetic fields on absorption spectra from circumgalactic wind-cloud systems

Galactic winds probe how stellar feedback regulates the mass and metallicity of galaxies. Observations show that galactic winds are multiphase and magnetised. In the local Universe, the dense phase is traced by emission and absorption lines, which reveal the presence of fast-moving clouds embedded in hot streams. Simulations tell us that magnetic fields can shield such clouds and delay their disruption, but there is little discussed on their observational effects. Using 3D MHD simulations, we study the influence of two orientations of the magnetic field (aligned and transverse) on the cloud morphology, temperature and density structure, mixing fraction, ion kinematics, column densities, and absorption spectra. We study supersonic wind-cloud systems with radiative processes, and develop a framework to extract ion column density maps and synthetic absorption spectra. The framework relies on studying ion populations and creating down-the-barrel spectra via an interface that links our PLUTO simulations to TRIDENT using YT, CLOUDY, and STARBURST99. We find that the transverse magnetic field makes the cloud asymmetric, shields and protects dense cold gas, and reduces mixing fractions compared to the aligned case. Ions can reach higher velocities in the transverse field case. The imprints of the initial orientation of the field on the synthetic spectra are: in the cold phase we find no signature of C ii and Si ii when the field is aligned, in the intermediate phase traced by C iv and Si iv we find broader lines in the transverse case, and in the warm phase we find deeper lines for O vi and N v in the aligned case, but they are less sensitive to the field orientation. Magnetic fields significantly affect the absorption spectra of cold clouds. Intermediate ions are the most sensitive to the magnetic field orientation and can potentially yield information about magnetic field topology.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

Deep Chandra observations of Abell 2495: a possible sloshing-regulated feedback cycle in a triple-offset galaxy cluster

We present the analysis of new, deep $Chandra$ observations (130~ks) of the galaxy cluster Abell~2495. This object is known for the presence of a triple offset between the peaks of the intracluster medium (ICM), the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG), and the warm gas glowing in H$α$ line. The new $Chandra$ data confirm that the X-ray emission peak is located at a distance of $\sim$6.2 kpc from the BCG, and at $\sim$3.9 kpc from the H$α$ emission peak. Moreover, we identify two generations of X-ray cavities in the ICM, likely inflated by the central radio galaxy activity. Through a detailed morphological and spectral analysis we determine that the power of the AGN outbursts ($P_{cav} = 4.7\pm1.3\times10^{43}$~erg~s$^{-1}$) is enough to counterbalance the radiative losses from ICM cooling ($L_{cool} = 5.7\pm0.1\times10^{43}$~erg~s$^{-1}$). This indicates that, despite a fragmented cooling core, Abell~2495 still harbors an effective feedback cycle. We argue that the offsets are most likely caused by sloshing of the ICM, supported by the presence of spiral structures and a probable cold front in the gas at $\sim$58 kpc east of the center. Ultimately, we find that the outburst interval between the two generations of X-ray cavities is of the order of the dynamical sloshing timescale, as already hinted from the previous $Chandra$ snapshot. We thus speculate that sloshing may be able to regulate the timescales of AGN feedback in Abell~2495, by periodically fuelling the central AGN.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

Jet reorientation in central galaxies of clusters and groups: insights from VLBA and Chandra data

Recent observations of galaxy clusters and groups with misalignments between their central AGN jets and X-ray cavities, or with multiple misaligned cavities, have raised concerns about the jet - bubble connection in cooling cores, and the processes responsible for jet realignment. To investigate the frequency and causes of such misalignments, we construct a sample of 16 cool core galaxy clusters and groups. Using VLBA radio data we measure the parsec-scale position angle of the jets, and compare it with the position angle of the X-ray cavities detected in Chandra data. Using the overall sample and selected subsets, we consistently find that there is a 30% - 38% chance to find a misalignment larger than $ΔΨ= 45^{\circ}$ when observing a cluster/group with a detected jet and at least one cavity. We determine that projection may account for an apparently large $ΔΨ$ only in a fraction of objects ($\sim$35%), and given that gas dynamical disturbances (as sloshing) are found in both aligned and misaligned systems, we exclude environmental perturbation as the main driver of cavity - jet misalignment. Moreover, we find that large misalignments (up to $\sim90^{\circ}$) are favored over smaller ones ($45^{\circ}\leqΔΨ\leq70^{\circ}$), and that the change in jet direction can occur on timescales between one and a few tens of Myr. We conclude that misalignments are more likely related to actual reorientation of the jet axis, and we discuss several engine-based mechanisms that may cause these dramatic changes.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

Waking the monster: the onset of AGN feedback in galaxy clusters hosting young central radio galaxies

The investigation of the feedback cycle in galaxy clusters has historically been performed for systems where feedback is ongoing ("mature-feedback" clusters), that is where the central radio galaxy has inflated radio lobes, pushing aside the intracluster medium (ICM). In this pilot study we present results from "pre-feedback" clusters, where the central newly active radio galaxies (age $<10^{3}$ yr) may not yet have had time to alter the thermodynamic state of the ICM. We analyze $Chandra$ and MUSE observations of two such systems, evaluating the hot gas entropy and cooling time profiles, and characterizing the morphology and kinematics of the warm gas. Based on our exploratory study of these two sources, we find that the hot gas meets the expectations for an as-yet unheated ICM. Specifically, the entropy and cooling time of pre-feedback clusters within 20 kpc from the center fall below those of mature-feedback clusters by a factor $\sim$2. We speculate that with an estimated mechanical power of $\sim10^{44} - 10^{45}$ erg s$^{-1}$, the two young radio galaxies may restore the entropy levels in a few tens of Myr, which are typical values of power outbursts and lifetimes for radio galaxies in clusters. Conversely, the properties of the gas at $\sim10^{4}$ K seem to remain invariant between the two feedback stages, possibly suggesting that the warm gas reservoir accumulates over long periods ($10^{7}$ - $10^{8}$ yr) during the growth of the radio galaxy. We conclude that the exploratory results obtained from our analysis of two cluster-central young radio galaxies are crucial in the context of understanding the onset of active galactic nuclei feedback, and they provide enough motivation for further investigation of similar cases.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Unveiling the interplay between the GASP jellyfish galaxy JO194 and its environment with Chandra

X-ray studies of jellyfish galaxies opened a window in the physics of the interplay between intracluster medium (ICM) and interstellar medium (ISM). In this paper, we present the study of an archival \textit{Chandra} observation of the GASP jellyfish galaxy JO194. We observe X-ray emission extending from the stellar disk to the unwinding spiral arms with an average temperature of $kT=0.79\pm0.03$ keV. To investigate the origin of the X-ray emission, we compare the observed X-ray luminosities with those expected from the star formation rates (SFR) obtained from H$α$ emission. We estimate an X-ray luminosity excess of a factor $\sim2-4$ with respect to the SF, therefore we conclude that SF is not the main responsible for the extended X-ray emission of JO194. The metallicity in the spiral arms ($Z=0.24^{+0.19}_{-0.12} Z_{\odot}$) is consistent with that of the ICM around JO194 ($Z=0.35\pm0.07$), thus we suggest that the ICM radiative cooling dominates the X-ray emission of the arms. We speculate that the X-ray plasma results from the ISM-ICM interplay, although the nature of this interplay is still mostly unknown. Finally, we observe that the X-ray properties of JO194 are consistent with those of two other GASP galaxies with different stellar mass, phase-space conditions in their hosting clusters, and local ICM conditions. We suggest that the conditions required to induce extended X-ray emission in jellyfish galaxies are established at the beginning of the stripping, and they can persist on long time scales so that galaxies in different clusters and evolutionary stages can present similar extended X-ray emission.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Absorption spectra from galactic wind models: a framework to link PLUTO simulations to TRIDENT

Galactic winds probe how feedback regulates the mass and metallicity of galaxies. Galactic winds have cold gas, which is mainly observable with absorption and emission lines. Theoretically studying how absorption lines are produced requires numerical simulations and realistic starburst UV backgrounds. We use outputs from a suite of 3D PLUTO simulations of wind-cloud interactions to first estimate column densities and temperatures. Then, to create synthetic spectra, we developed a python interface to link our PLUTO simulations to TRIDENT via the YT-package infrastructure. First we produce UV backgrounds accounting for the star formation rate of starbursts. For this purpose, we use fluxes generated by STARBURST99, which are then processed through CLOUDY to create customised ion tables. Such tables are subsequently read into TRIDENT to generate absorption spectra. We explain how the various packages and tools communicate with each other to create ion spectra consistent with spectral energy distributions of starburst systems.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Detection of a radio-filled X-ray cavity within the interstellar medium of NGC 5141

We present the first Chandra detection of a single X-ray cavity within the interstellar medium of the small Fanaroff-Riley type I (FRI) radio galaxy NGC 5141. The X-ray surface brightness depression, located $\approx 4$ kpc away from the galaxy center, is projected on the northern radio lobe, which is completely contained within the galaxy. The thermal gas surrounding the cavity, which extends to $\approx$ 20 kpc, has a bolometric X-ray luminosity (0.1 - 100 keV) of L${_X}\approx2\times10^{40}$ erg s$^{-1}$ and a temperature of $kT\approx0.8$ keV. We calculated the total energy (E$_{cav} = 4PV \approx 10^{55}$ erg) required to inflate the cavity and its age ($t_{cav}\approx 9$ Myrs), assuming that it is filled with relativistic particles and rises buoyantly. The inferred total cavity power is as low as P$_{cav}=E_{cav}/t_{cav}\approx6\times10^{40}$ erg s$^{-1}$, which is the lowest one among the radio-filled systems. Comparing $P_{cav}$ to the bolometric X-ray luminosity (i.e., the cooling luminosity), we conclude that NGC 5141's central active galactic nucleus can heat the interstellar medium and balance its cooling luminosity, confirming that the $P_{cav}-L_{cool}$ relation, mainly tested on groups and clusters, also works for such a low-power system.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Exploring the relation between turbulent velocity and density fluctuations in the stratified intracluster medium

The dynamics of the intracluster medium (ICM) is affected by turbulence driven by several processes, such as mergers, accretion and feedback from active galactic nuclei. X-ray surface brightness fluctuations have been used to constrain turbulence in galaxy clusters. Here, we use simulations to further investigate the relation between gas density and turbulent velocity fluctuations, with a focus on the effect of the stratification of the ICM. In this work, we studied the turbulence driven by hierarchical accretion by analysing a sample of galaxy clusters simulated with the cosmological code ENZO. We used a fixed scale filtering approach to disentangle laminar from turbulent flows. In dynamically perturbed galaxy clusters, we found a relation between the root mean square of density and velocity fluctuations, albeit with a different slope than previously reported. The Richardson number is a parameter that represents the ratio between turbulence and buoyancy, and we found that this variable has a strong dependence on the filtering scale. However, we could not detect any strong relation between the Richardson number and the logarithmic density fluctuations, in contrast to results by recent and more idealised simulations. In particular, we find a strong effect from radial accretion, which appears to be the main driver for the gas fluctuations. The ubiquitous radial bias in the dynamics of the ICM suggests that homogeneity and isotropy are not always valid assumptions, even if the turbulent spectra follow Kolmogorov's scaling. Finally, we find that the slope of the velocity and density spectra are independent of cluster-centric radii.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

The deepest $Chandra$ view of RBS 797: evidence for two pairs of equidistant X-ray cavities

We present the first results of a deep $Chandra$ observation of the galaxy cluster RBS 797, whose previous X-ray studies revealed two pronounced X-ray cavities in the east-west (E-W) direction. Follow-up VLA radio observations of the central active galactic nucleus (AGN) uncovered different jet and lobe orientations, with radio lobes filling the E-W cavities and perpendicular jets showing emission in the north-south (N-S) direction over the same scale ($\approx$30 kpc). With the new $\sim$427 ks total exposure, we report the detection of two additional, symmetric X-ray cavities in the N-S direction at nearly the same radial distance as the E-W ones. The newly discovered N-S cavities are associated with the radio emission detected at 1.4 GHz and 4.8 GHz in archival VLA data, making RBS 797 the first galaxy cluster found to have four equidistant, centrally-symmetric, radio-filled cavities. We derive the dynamical and radiative ages of the four cavities from X-ray and radio data, respectively, finding that the two outbursts are approximately coeval, with an age difference of $\lessapprox$10 Myr between the E-W and N-S cavities. We discuss two scenarios for the origin of the two perpendicular, equidistant cavity systems: either the presence of a binary AGN which is excavating coeval pairs of cavities in perpendicular directions, or a fast ($<$10 Myr) jet reorientation event which produced subsequent, misaligned outbursts.

astro-ph.GA↗