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 active galactic nucleus 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....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad11d8 |
| _version_ | 1827378559218352128 |
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| author | Francesco Ubertosi Gerrit Schellenberger Ewan O’Sullivan Jan Vrtilek Simona Giacintucci Laurence P. David William Forman Myriam Gitti Tiziana Venturi Christine Jones Fabrizio Brighenti |
| author_facet | Francesco Ubertosi Gerrit Schellenberger Ewan O’Sullivan Jan Vrtilek Simona Giacintucci Laurence P. David William Forman Myriam Gitti Tiziana Venturi Christine Jones Fabrizio Brighenti |
| author_sort | Francesco Ubertosi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent observations of galaxy clusters and groups with misalignments between their central active galactic nucleus 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 Very Long Baseline Array 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° 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 (∼35%), and given that gas dynamical disturbances (such 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 ∼90°) are favored over smaller ones (45° ≤ ΔΨ ≤ 70°), 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T12:57:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c3832ff6cd6e4f2f98a960eeff35379b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T12:57:31Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-c3832ff6cd6e4f2f98a960eeff35379b2024-01-19T15:20:06ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572024-01-01961113410.3847/1538-4357/ad11d8Jet Reorientation in Central Galaxies of Clusters and Groups: Insights from VLBA and Chandra DataFrancesco Ubertosi0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5338-4472Gerrit Schellenberger1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4962-0740Ewan O’Sullivan2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5671-6900Jan Vrtilek3https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0318-2814Simona Giacintucci4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1634-9886Laurence P. David5William Forman6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9478-1682Myriam Gitti7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0843-3009Tiziana Venturi8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8476-6307Christine Jones9Fabrizio Brighenti10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9807-8479Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna , via Gobetti 93/2, I-40129 Bologna, Italy ; francesco.ubertosi2@unibo.it; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica—Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio (OAS) , via Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna, ItalyCenter for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USACenter for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USACenter for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USANaval Research Laboratory , 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Code 7213, Washington, DC 20375, USACenter for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USACenter for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USADipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna , via Gobetti 93/2, I-40129 Bologna, Italy ; francesco.ubertosi2@unibo.it; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica—Istituto di Radioastronomia (IRA) , via Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Astrofisica—Istituto di Radioastronomia (IRA) , via Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna, ItalyCenter for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USADipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna , via Gobetti 93/2, I-40129 Bologna, Italy ; francesco.ubertosi2@unibo.it; University of California Observatories/Lick Observatory , Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USARecent observations of galaxy clusters and groups with misalignments between their central active galactic nucleus 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 Very Long Baseline Array 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° 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 (∼35%), and given that gas dynamical disturbances (such 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 ∼90°) are favored over smaller ones (45° ≤ ΔΨ ≤ 70°), 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.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad11d8Galaxy clustersIntracluster mediumRadio galaxiesGalaxy groupsRelativistic jetsSupermassive black holes |
| spellingShingle | Francesco Ubertosi Gerrit Schellenberger Ewan O’Sullivan Jan Vrtilek Simona Giacintucci Laurence P. David William Forman Myriam Gitti Tiziana Venturi Christine Jones Fabrizio Brighenti Jet Reorientation in Central Galaxies of Clusters and Groups: Insights from VLBA and Chandra Data The Astrophysical Journal Galaxy clusters Intracluster medium Radio galaxies Galaxy groups Relativistic jets Supermassive black holes |
| title | Jet Reorientation in Central Galaxies of Clusters and Groups: Insights from VLBA and Chandra Data |
| title_full | Jet Reorientation in Central Galaxies of Clusters and Groups: Insights from VLBA and Chandra Data |
| title_fullStr | Jet Reorientation in Central Galaxies of Clusters and Groups: Insights from VLBA and Chandra Data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Jet Reorientation in Central Galaxies of Clusters and Groups: Insights from VLBA and Chandra Data |
| title_short | Jet Reorientation in Central Galaxies of Clusters and Groups: Insights from VLBA and Chandra Data |
| title_sort | jet reorientation in central galaxies of clusters and groups insights from vlba and chandra data |
| topic | Galaxy clusters Intracluster medium Radio galaxies Galaxy groups Relativistic jets Supermassive black holes |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad11d8 |
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