arXiv subjects

M. Ruszkowski

Publications and source records attributed to M. Ruszkowski.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

High-charge collimated and energy-selected laser-driven MeV electron beams produced by magnetic selection

We have developed a compact passive energy-selector for MeV-range electrons produced by irradiating solid targets by ultra-intense short-pulse lasers. The device allows for generating electron beams with a variable energy spread over a broad range of energies, from tens of keV to tens of MeV. Here we have demonstrated its use by producing electrons from solid targets in the MeV range and with a ~10% bandwidth, thereby compensating the intrinsic broadband nature of the electrons produced from such source. Coupled with a pulsed magnetic field to further compensate the intrinsic large divergence of this source, it allows to produce a highly-collimated beam of narrow-band and ultra-fast electrons, suitable for a wide range of applications, e.g. radiation therapy or time-resolved electron probing.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2025

Relighting the fire in Hickson Compact Group (HCG) 15: magnetised fossil plasma revealed by the SKA Pathfinders & Precursors

In the context of the life cycle and evolution of active galactic nuclei (AGN), the environment plays an important role. In particular, the over-dense environments of galaxy groups, where dynamical interactions and bulk motions have significant impact, offer an excellent but under-explored window into the life cycles of AGN and the processes that shape the evolution of relativistic plasma. Pilot Survey observations with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) survey recovered diffuse emission associated with the nearby (z = 0.0228) galaxy group HCG15, which was revealed to be strongly linearly polarised. We study the properties of this emission in unprecedented detail to settle open questions about its nature and its relation to the group-member galaxies. We perform a multi-frequency spectropolarimetric study of HCG15 incorporating our ASKAP EMU observations as well as new data from MeerKAT, LOFAR, the GMRT, and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), plus X-ray data from XMM-Newton and optical spectra from the Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT). Our study confirms that the diffuse structure represents remnant emission from historic AGN activity, likely associated with HCG15-D, some 80-86 Myr ago (based on ageing analysis). We detect significant highly linearly-polarised emission from a diffuse 'ridge'-like structure with a highly ordered magnetic field. Our analysis suggests that this emission is generated by draping of magnetic field lines in the intra-group medium (IGrM), although further exploration with simulations would aid our understanding. We confirm that HCG15-C is a group-member galaxy. Finally, we report the detection of thermal emission associated with a background cluster at redshift z ~ 0.87 projected onto the IGrM of HCG15, which matches the position and redshift of the recent SZ detection of ACT-CL J0207.8+0209.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

Shock-Driven Periodic Variability in a Low-Mass-Ratio Supermassive Black Hole Binary

We investigate the time-varying electromagnetic emission of a low-mass-ratio supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) embedded in a circumprimary disk, with a particular interest in variability of shocks driven by the binary. We perform a 2D, locally isothermal hydrodynamics simulation of a SMBHB with mass ratio $q=0.01$ and separation $a=100\;R_g$, using a physically self-consistent steady disk model. We estimate the electromagnetic variability from the system by monitoring accretion onto the secondary and using an artificial viscosity scheme to capture shocks and monitor the energy dissipated. The SMBHB produces a wide, eccentric gap in the disk, previously only observed for larger mass ratios, which we attribute to our disk model being much thinner ($H/R\approx0.01$ near the secondary) than is typical of previous works. The eccentric gap drives periodic accretion onto the secondary SMBH on a timescale matching the orbital period of the binary, $t_{\rm{bin}}\approx0.1\;\rm{yr}$, implying that the variable accretion regime of the SMBHB parameter space extends to lower mass ratios than previously established. Shocks driven by the binary are periodic, with a period matching the orbital period, and the shocks are correlated with the accretion rate, with peaks in the shock luminosity lagging peaks in the accretion rate by $0.43\;t_{\rm{bin}}$. We propose that the correlation of these quantities represents a useful identifier of SMBHB candidates, via observations of correlated variability in X-ray and UV monitoring of AGN, rather than single-waveband periodicity alone.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Turbulent Heating in a Stratified Medium

There is considerable evidence for widespread subsonic turbulence in galaxy clusters, most notably from {\it Hitomi}. Turbulence is often invoked to offset radiative losses in cluster cores, both by direct dissipation and by enabling turbulent heat diffusion. However, in a stratified medium, buoyancy forces oppose radial motions, making turbulence anisotropic. This can be quantified via the Froude number ${\rm Fr}$, which decreases inward in clusters as stratification increases. We exploit analogies with MHD turbulence to show that wave-turbulence interactions increase cascade times and reduces dissipation rates $\epsilon \propto {\rm Fr}$. Equivalently, for a given energy injection/dissipation rate $\epsilon$, turbulent velocities $u$ must be higher compared to Kolmogorov scalings. High resolution hydrodynamic simulations show excellent agreement with the $\epsilon \propto {\rm Fr}$ scaling, which sets in for ${\rm Fr} < 0.1$. We also compare previously predicted scalings for the turbulent diffusion coefficient $D \propto {\rm Fr}^2$ and find excellent agreement, for ${\rm Fr} < 1$. However, we find a different normalization, corresponding to stronger diffusive suppression by more than an order of magnitude. Our results imply that turbulent diffusion is more heavily suppressed by stratification, over a much wider radial range, than turbulent dissipation. Thus, the latter potentially dominates. Furthermore, this shift implies significantly higher turbulent velocities required to offset cooling, compared to previous models. These results are potentially relevant to turbulent metal diffusion (which is likewise suppressed), and to planetary atmospheres.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Fermi and eRosita bubbles as relics of the past activity of the Galactic black hole

The newly launched X-ray satellite, eRosita, has recently revealed two gigantic bubbles extending to ~80 degrees above and below the Galactic center. The morphology of these "eRosita bubbles" bears a remarkable resemblance to the Fermi bubbles previously discovered by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and its counterpart, the microwave haze. The physical origin of these striking structures has been intensely debated; however, because of their symmetry about the Galactic center, they likely originate from some energetic outbursts from the Galactic center in the past. Here we propose a theoretical model in which the eRosita bubbles, Fermi bubbles, and the microwave haze could be simultaneously explained by a single event of jet activity from the central supermassive black hole a few million years ago. Using numerical simulations, we show that this model could successfully reproduce the morphology and multi-wavelength spectra of the observed bubbles and haze, which allows us to derive critical constraints on the energetics and timescales of the outburst. This study serves as an important step forward in our understanding of the past Galactic center activity of our Milky Way Galaxy, and may bring valuable insights into the broader picture of supermassive black hole-galaxy co-evolution in the context of galaxy formation.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Non-Kolmogorov turbulence in multiphase intracluster medium driven by cold gas precipitation and AGN jets

AGN feedback is responsible for maintaining plasma in global thermal balance in extended halos of elliptical galaxies and galaxy clusters. Local thermal instability in the hot gas leads to the formation of precipitating cold gas clouds that feed the central supermassive black holes, thus heating the hot gas and maintaining global thermal equilibrium. We perform three dimensional MHD simulations of self-regulated AGN feedback in a Perseus-like galaxy cluster with the aim of understanding the impact of the feedback physics on the turbulence properties of the hot and cold phases of the ICM. We find that, in general, the cold phase velocity structure function (VSF) is steeper than the prediction from Kolmogorov's theory. We attribute the physical origin of the steeper slope of the cold phase VSF to the driving of turbulent motions primarily by the gravitational acceleration acting on the ballistic clouds. We demonstrate that, in the pure hydrodynamical case, the precipitating cold filaments may be the dominant agent driving turbulence in the hot ICM. The arguments in favor of this hypothesis are that: (i) the cold phase mass dominates over hot gas mass in the inner cool core; (ii) hot and cold gas velocities are spatially correlated; (iii) both the cold and hot phase velocity distributions are radially biased. We show that, in the MHD case, the turbulence in the ambient hot medium (excluding the jet cone regions) can also be driven by the AGN jets. The driving is then facilitated by enhanced coupling due to magnetic fields of the ambient gas and the AGN jets. In the MHD case, turbulence may thus be driven by a combination of AGN jet stirring and filament motions. We conclude that future observations, including those from high spatial and spectral resolution X-ray missions, may help to constrain self-regulated AGN feedback by quantifying the multi-temperature VSF in the ICM.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Whistler-regulated MHD: Transport equations for electron thermal conduction in the high $\beta$ intracluster medium of galaxy clusters

Transport equations for electron thermal energy in the high $\beta_e$ intracluster medium (ICM) are developed that include scattering from both classical collisions and self-generated whistler waves. The calculation employs an expansion of the kinetic electron equation along the ambient magnetic field in the limit of strong scattering and assumes whistler waves with low phase speeds $V_w\sim{v}_{te}/\beta_e\ll{v}_{te}$ dominate the turbulent spectrum, with $v_{te}$ the electron thermal speed and $\beta_e\gg1$ the ratio of electron thermal to magnetic pressure. We find: (1) temperature-gradient-driven whistlers dominate classical scattering when $L_c>L/\beta_e$, with $L_c$ the classical electron mean-free-path and $L$ the electron temperature scale length, and (2) in the whistler dominated regime the electron thermal flux is controlled by both advection at $V_w$ and a comparable diffusive term. The findings suggest whistlers limit electron heat flux over large regions of the ICM, including locations unstable to isobaric condensation. Consequences include: (1) the Field length decreases, extending the domain of thermal instability to smaller length-scales, (2) the heat flux temperature dependence changes from $T_e^{7/2}/L$ to $V_wnT_e\sim{T}_e^{1/2}$, (3) the magneto-thermal and heat-flux driven buoyancy instabilities are impaired or completely inhibited, and (4) sound waves in the ICM propagate greater distances, as inferred from observations. This description of thermal transport can be used in macroscale ICM models.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

Role of Cosmic Ray Streaming and Turbulent Damping in Driving Galactic Winds

Large-scale galactic winds driven by stellar feedback are one phenomenon that influences the dynamical and chemical evolution of a galaxy, redistributing material throughout the circumgalatic medium. Non-thermal feedback from galactic cosmic rays (CRs) -high-energy charged particles accelerated in supernovae and young stars - can impact the efficiency of wind driving. The streaming instability limits the speed at which they can escape. However, in the presence of turbulence, the streaming instability is subject to suppression that depends on the magnetization of turbulence given by its Alfv\'en Mach number. While previous simulations that relied on a simplified model of CR transport have shown that super-Alfv\'enic streaming of CRs enhances galactic winds, in the present paper we take into account a realistic model of streaming suppression. We perform three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations of a section of a galactic disk and find that turbulent damping dependent on local magnetization of turbulent interstellar medium (ISM) leads to more spatially extended gas and CR distributions compared to the earlier streaming calculations, and that scale-heights of these distributions increase for stronger turbulence. Our results indicate that the star formation rate increases with the level of turbulence in the ISM. We also find that the instantaneous wind mass loading is sensitive to local streaming physics with the mass loading dropping significantly as the strength of turbulence increases.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2018

Unveiling the Origin of the Fermi Bubbles

The Fermi bubbles, two giant structures above and below the Galactic center (GC), are among the most important discoveries of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Studying their physical origin has been providing valuable insights into cosmic-ray transport, the Galactic magnetic field, and past activity at the GC in the Milky Way galaxy. Despite their importance, the formation mechanism of the bubbles is still elusive. Over the past few years there have been numerous efforts, both observational and theoretical, to uncover the nature of the bubbles. In this article, we present an overview of the current status of our understanding of the bubbles' origin, and discuss possible future directions that will help to distinguish different scenarios of bubble formation.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Impact of Cosmic Ray Transport on Galactic Winds

The role of cosmic rays generated by supernovae and young stars has very recently begun to receive significant attention in studies of galaxy formation and evolution due to the realization that cosmic rays can efficiently accelerate galactic winds. Microscopic cosmic ray transport processes are fundamental for determining the efficiency of cosmic ray wind driving. Previous studies focused on modeling of cosmic ray transport either via constant diffusion coefficient or via streaming proportional to the Alfven speed. However, in predominantly cold, neutral gas, cosmic rays can propagate faster than in the ionized medium and the effective transport can be substantially larger; i.e., cosmic rays can decouple from the gas. We perform three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical simulations of patches of galactic disks including the effects of cosmic rays. Our simulations include the decoupling of cosmic rays in the cold, neutral interstellar medium. We find that, compared to the ordinary diffusive cosmic ray transport case, accounting for the decoupling leads to significantly different wind properties such as the gas density and temperature, significantly broader spatial distribution of cosmic rays, and larger wind speed. These results have implications for X-ray, gamma-ray and radio emission, and for the magnetization and pollution of the circumgalactic medium by cosmic rays.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

The Spatially Uniform Spectrum of the Fermi Bubbles: the Leptonic AGN Jet Scenario

The Fermi bubbles, two giant gamma-ray bubbles above and below the Galactic center (GC), are among the most important findings of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Because of the proximity, spatially resolved, multi-wavelength observations offer excellent opportunities to learn about the physical origin of the bubbles. One of the unique features of the observed bubbles is that their gamma-ray spectrum, including a high-energy cutoff at ~110 GeV and the overall shape of the spectrum, is nearly spatially uniform. The high-energy spectral cutoff is suggestive of a leptonic origin as it could be a signature of synchrotron and inverse-Compton (IC) cooling of cosmic-ray (CR) electrons; however, even for a leptonic model, it is not obvious why the spectrum should be spatially uniform. In this work, we investigate the formation of the Fermi bubble in the leptonic jet scenario using a newly implemented CRSPEC module in FLASH that allows us to track the evolution of CR spectrum on-the-fly during the simulations. We show that the high-energy cutoff is caused by fast synchrotron and IC cooling near the GC when the jets were first launched. After the jets propagate away from the GC, the dynamical timescale of the jets become the shortest among all relevant timescales, and therefore the spectrum is essentially advected with only mild cooling losses. This could explain why the bubble spectrum is nearly spatially uniform: the CRs from different parts of the bubbles as seen today all share the same origin near the GC at early stage of the bubble expansion. We find that the CR spatial and spectral distribution predicted by the leptonic jet model can simultaneously match the normalization, spectral shape, and high-energy cutoff of the observed gamma-ray spectrum and their spatial uniformity, suggesting that past AGN jet activity is a likely mechanism for the formation of the Fermi bubbles.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Cosmic ray feedback heating of the intracluster medium

Self-regulating AGN feedback in the cool cores of galaxy clusters plays central role in solving the decades-old cooling flow problem, but one major problem remains unsolved - how is the AGN energy thermalized in the ICM and what are the effective black hole feeding rates in realistic systems? We perform a suite of 3D MHD AMR simulations of AGN feedback in a cool core cluster including cosmic ray (CR) physics. CRs are supplied to the ICM via collimated AGN jets and subsequently disperse in the magnetized ICM via streaming, and interact with the ICM via hadronic, Coulomb, and streaming instability heating. We find that CR transport is an essential model ingredient needed for AGN feedback to self-regulate, at least within the context of the physical model considered here. When CR streaming is neglected, the suppression of CR mixing with the ICM by magnetic fields significantly reduces ICM heating, which leads to cooling catastrophes. In the opposite case, CRs come into contact with the ambient ICM and efficiently heat it, which results in globally stable atmospheres. Moreover, the dynamical state and intermittency of the central AGN are dramatically altered when CR streaming is present. We find that CR streaming heating dominates over the heating due to Coulomb and hadronic processes. Importantly, in simulations that include CR streaming, CR pressure support in the central 100 kpc is very low and does not demonstrably violate observational constraints. On the contrary, when CR streaming is neglected, CR energy is not spent on the ICM heating and CR pressure builds up to the level that is in disagreement with the data. Overall, our models demonstrate that CR heating is a viable channel for the thermalization of AGN energy in clusters, and likely also in elliptical galaxies, and that CRs play an important role in determining AGN intermittency and the dynamical state of cool core atmospheres.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

Deep Chandra observation and numerical studies of the nearest cluster cold front in the sky

We present the results of a very deep (500 ks) Chandra observation, along with tailored numerical simulations, of the nearest, best resolved cluster cold front in the sky, which lies 90 kpc (19 arcmin) to the north-west of M 87. The northern part of the front appears the sharpest, with a width smaller than 2.5 kpc (1.5 Coulomb mean free paths; at 99 per cent confidence). Everywhere along the front, the temperature discontinuity is narrower than 4-8 kpc and the metallicity gradient is narrower than 6 kpc, indicating that diffusion, conduction and mixing are suppressed across the interface. Such transport processes can be naturally suppressed by magnetic fields aligned with the cold front. Interestingly, comparison to magnetohydrodynamic simulations indicates that in order to maintain the observed sharp density and temperature discontinuities, conduction must also be suppressed along the magnetic field lines. However, the northwestern part of the cold front is observed to have a non-zero width. While other explanations are possible, the broadening is consistent with the presence of Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities (KHI) on length-scales of a few kpc. Based on comparison with simulations, the presence of KHI would imply that the effective viscosity of the intracluster medium is suppressed by more than an order of magnitude with respect to the isotropic Spitzer-like temperature dependent viscosity. Underneath the cold front, we observe quasi-linear features that are ~10 per cent brighter than the surrounding gas and are separated by ~15 kpc from each other in projection. Comparison to tailored numerical simulations suggests that the observed phenomena may be due to the amplification of magnetic fields by gas sloshing in wide layers below the cold front, where the magnetic pressure reaches ~5-10 per cent of the thermal pressure, reducing the gas density between the bright features.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

Fermi bubble simulations: black hole feedback in the Milky Way

The $Fermi$ gamma-ray telescope discovered a pair of bubbles at the Galactic center. These structures are spatially-correlated with the microwave emission detected by the WMAP and Planck satellites. These bubbles were likely inflated by a jet launched from the vicinity of a supermassive black hole in the Galactic center. Using MHD simulations, which self-consistently include interactions between cosmic rays and magnetic fields, we build models of the supersonic jet propagation, cosmic ray transport, and the magnetic field amplification within the $Fermi$ bubbles. Our key findings are that: (1) the synthetic $Fermi$ gamma-ray and WMAP microwave spectra based on our simulations are consistent with the observations, suggesting that a single population of cosmic ray leptons may simultaneously explain the emission across a range of photon energies; (2) the model fits the observed centrally-peaked microwave emission if a second, more recent, pair of jets embedded in the $Fermi$ bubbles is included in the model. This is consistent with the observationally-based suggestion made by Su & Finkbeiner (2012); (3) the radio emission from the bubbles is expected to be strongly polarized due to the relatively high level of field ordering caused by elongated turbulent vortices. This effect is caused by the interaction of the shocks driven by the jets with the preexisting interstellar medium turbulence; (4) a layer of enhanced rotation measure in the shock-compressed region could exist in the bubble vicinity but the level of this enhancement depends on the details of the magnetic topology.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

The Fermi Bubbles: Gamma-ray, Microwave, and Polarization Signatures of Leptonic AGN Jets

The origin of the Fermi bubbles and the microwave haze is yet to be determined. To disentangle different models requires detailed comparisons between theoretical predictions and multi-wavelength observations. Our previous simulations have demonstrated that the primary features of the Fermi bubbles could be successfully reproduced by recent jet activity from the central active galactic nucleus (AGN). In this work, we generate gamma-ray and microwave maps and spectra based on the simulated properties of cosmic rays (CRs) and magnetic fields in order to examine whether the observed bubble and haze emission could be explained by leptons contained in the AGN jets. We also investigate the model predictions of the polarization properties of the Fermi bubbles. We find that: (1) The same population of leptons can simultaneously explain the bubble and haze emission given that the magnetic fields within the bubbles are very close to the exponentially distributed ambient field, which can be explained by mixing in of the ambient field followed by turbulent field amplification; (2) The centrally peaked microwave profile suggests CR replenishment, which is consistent with the presence of a more recent second jet event; (3) The bubble interior exhibits a high degree of polarization because of ordered radial magnetic field lines stretched by elongated vortices behind the shocks; highly-polarized signals could also be observed inside the draping layer; (4) Enhancement of rotation measures could exist within the shock-compressed layer because of increased gas density and more amplified and ordered magnetic fields. We discuss the possibility that the deficient haze emission at b<-35 degrees is due to the suppression of magnetic fields, which is consistent with the existence of lower-energy CRs causing the polarized emission at 2.3 GHz. Possible AGN jet composition in the leptonic scenario is also discussed.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

The origin of cold gas in giant elliptical galaxies and its role in fueling radio-mode AGN feedback

We present a multi-wavelength study of the interstellar medium in eight nearby, X-ray and optically bright, giant elliptical galaxies. Using Herschel PACS, we map the cold gas in the lines of [CII], [OI], and [OIb]. Additionally, we present Ha+[NII] imaging of warm ionized gas with the SOAR telescope, and a study of the hot X-ray emitting plasma with Chandra. All systems with extended Ha emission in our sample (6/8 galaxies) display significant [CII] line emission indicating the presence of cold gas. This emission is co-spatial with the Ha+[NII] emitting nebulae and the lowest entropy X-ray emitting plasma. The entropy profiles of the hot galactic atmospheres show a clear dichotomy, with the systems displaying extended emission line nebulae having lower entropies beyond r~1 kpc than the cold-gas-poor systems. We show that while the hot atmospheres of the cold-gas-poor galaxies are thermally stable outside of their innermost cores, the atmospheres of the cold-gas-rich systems are prone to cooling instabilities. This result indicates that the cold gas is produced chiefly by thermally unstable cooling from the hot phase. We show that cooling instabilities may develop more easily in rotating systems and discuss an alternative condition for thermal instability for this case. The hot atmospheres of cold-gas-rich galaxies display disturbed morphologies indicating that the accretion of clumpy multiphase gas in these systems may result in variable power output of the AGN jets, potentially triggering sporadic, larger outbursts. In the two cold-gas-poor, X-ray morphologically relaxed galaxies of our sample, NGC 1399 and NGC 4472, powerful AGN outbursts may have destroyed or removed most of the cold gas from the cores, allowing the jets to propagate and deposit most of their energy further out, increasing the entropy of the hot galactic atmospheres and leaving their cores relatively undisturbed.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

Powering of cool filaments in cluster cores by buoyant bubbles. I. Qualitative model

Cool-core clusters (e.g., Perseus or M87) often possess a network of bright gaseous filaments, observed in radio, infrared, optical and X-ray bands. We propose that these filaments are powered by the reconnection of the magnetic field in the wakes of buoyant bubbles. AGN-inflated bubbles of relativistic plasma rise buoyantly in the cluster atmosphere, stretching and amplifying the field in the wake to values of $\displaystyle \beta =8\pi P_{gas}/B^2\sim 1$. The field lines in the wake have opposite directions and are forced together as the bubble motion stretches the filament. This setup bears strong similarity to the coronal loops on the Sun or to the Earth's magneto-tail. The reconnection process naturally explains both the required level of local dissipation rate in filaments and the overall luminosity of filaments. The original source of power for the filaments is the potential energy of buoyant bubbles, inflated by the central AGN.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Chaotic cold accretion onto black holes

Using 3D AMR simulations, linking the 50 kpc to the sub-pc scales over the course of 40 Myr, we systematically relax the classic Bondi assumptions in a typical galaxy hosting a SMBH. In the realistic scenario, where the hot gas is cooling, while heated and stirred on large scales, the accretion rate is boosted up to two orders of magnitude compared with the Bondi prediction. The cause is the nonlinear growth of thermal instabilities, leading to the condensation of cold clouds and filaments when t_cool/t_ff < 10. Subsonic turbulence of just over 100 km/s (M > 0.2) induces the formation of thermal instabilities, even in the absence of heating, while in the transonic regime turbulent dissipation inhibits their growth (t_turb/t_cool < 1). When heating restores global thermodynamic balance, the formation of the multiphase medium is violent, and the mode of accretion is fully cold and chaotic. The recurrent collisions and tidal forces between clouds, filaments and the central clumpy torus promote angular momentum cancellation, hence boosting accretion. On sub-pc scales the clouds are channelled to the very centre via a funnel. A good approximation to the accretion rate is the cooling rate, which can be used as subgrid model, physically reproducing the boost factor of 100 required by cosmological simulations, while accounting for fluctuations. Chaotic cold accretion may be common in many systems, such as hot galactic halos, groups, and clusters, generating high-velocity clouds and strong variations of the AGN luminosity and jet orientation. In this mode, the black hole can quickly react to the state of the entire host galaxy, leading to efficient self-regulated AGN feedback and the symbiotic Magorrian relation. During phases of overheating, the hot mode becomes the single channel of accretion (with a different cuspy temperature profile), though strongly suppressed by turbulence.

astro-ph.CO↗