Illuminating the Role of AGN in X-ray Luminous Galaxy Groups: Examples and Implications of Anomalous Temperature and Abundance Distributions

Details Illuminating the Role of AGN in X-ray Luminous Galaxy Groups: Examples and Implications of Anomalous Temperature and Abundance Distributions Illuminating the Role of AGN in X-ray Luminous Galaxy Groups: Examples and Implications of Anomalous Temperature and Abundance Distributions

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006head....9.1506v&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, HEAD meeting #9, #15.06; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.379

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

The role of central galaxy AGN in the control of cluster cooling cores has been extensively explored, but Chandra and XMM are now also providing illuminating examples of X-ray bright galaxy groups to extend this exploration to the group environment. As examples we discuss here recent studies of two groups with remarkable disturbances.
Chandra and XMM observations of the NGC 3411 group show surface brightness and abundance distributions indicative of a rather relaxed halo. However, the temperature profile is highly unusual, showing a hot inner core surrounded by a cool shell of gas with a radius of about 20-40 kpc, in turn surrounded by a hotter halo. VLA observations reveal a relatively weak nuclear radio source, with no evidence of lobes or jets. A lack of evidence for activity at optical or X-ray wavelengths indicates that the central black hole is currently in a quiescent state. Accordingly it seems probable that it underwent a period of enhanced activity in the recent past. We may be observing the group at a very unusual period in its history, when the effects of both cooling an heating are visible.
In the case of the well-studied NGC 4636 group we we present Chandra and XMM spectral maps which reveal a 15 kpc wide plume of low temperature, high abundance gas extending 25-30 kpc to the southwest of the galaxy. We interpret the structure as entrained gas drawn out of the galaxy core during previous episodes of AGN activity. This may be evidence that as well as preventing gas cooling through direct heating, AGN outbursts can produce significant gas mixing, disturbing the temperature structure of the halo and transporting metals out from the galaxy into the surrounding intra-group medium.

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