Active galactic nucleus feedback in clusters of galaxies.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 20351250.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.0913904107 and PMC identifier 2867695.
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Abstract
Observations made during the last ten years with the Chandra X-ray Observatory have shed much light on the cooling gas in the centers of clusters of galaxies and the role of active galactic nucleus (AGN) heating. Cooling of the hot intracluster medium in cluster centers can feed the supermassive black holes found in the nuclei of the dominant cluster galaxies leading to AGN outbursts which can reheat the gas, suppressing cooling and large amounts of star formation. AGN heating can come in the form of shocks, buoyantly rising bubbles that have been inflated by radio lobes, and the dissipation of sound waves.