scholarly journals Numerical Simulations of Jets from Active Galactic Nuclei

Galaxies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
José-María Martí
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
The Status ◽  
Hydrodynamical Description ◽  
Jet Plasma ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Continuous Injection ◽  
Double Radio Galaxies

Numerical simulations have been playing a crucial role in the understanding of jets from active galactic nuclei (AGN) since the advent of the first theoretical models for the inflation of giant double radio galaxies by continuous injection in the late 1970s. In the almost four decades of numerical jet research, the complexity and physical detail of simulations, based mainly on a hydrodynamical/magneto-hydrodynamical description of the jet plasma, have been increasing with the pace of the advance in theoretical models, computational tools and numerical methods. The present review summarizes the status of the numerical simulations of jets from AGNs, from the formation region in the neighborhood of the supermassive central black hole up to the impact point well beyond the galactic scales. Special attention is paid to discuss the achievements of present simulations in interpreting the phenomenology of jets as well as their current limitations and challenges.

scholarly journals Constraining photoionization models with a reprojected optical diagnostic diagram

2020 ◽  
Vol 499 (4) ◽  
pp. 5749-5764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xihan Ji ◽  
Renbin Yan
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Line Ratio ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Optical Diagnostic ◽  
Diagnostic Diagram ◽  
Upper Limits ◽  
Nitrogen Abundance

ABSTRACT Optical diagnostic diagrams are powerful tools to separate different ionizing sources in galaxies. However, the model-constraining power of the most widely used diagrams is very limited and challenging to visualize. In addition, there have always been classification inconsistencies between diagrams based on different line ratios, and ambiguities between regions purely ionized by active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and composite regions. We present a simple reprojection of the 3D line ratio space composed of [N ii]λ6583/H α, [S ii]λλ6716, 6731/H α, and [O iii]λ5007/H β, which reveals its model-constraining power and removes the ambiguity for the true composite objects. It highlights the discrepancy between many theoretical models and the data loci. With this reprojection, we can put strong constraints on the photoionization models and the secondary nitrogen abundance prescription. We find that a single nitrogen prescription cannot fit both the star-forming locus and AGN locus simultaneously, with the latter requiring higher N/O ratios. The true composite regions stand separately from both models. We can compute the fractional AGN contributions for the composite regions, and define demarcations with specific upper limits on contamination from AGN or star formation. When the discrepancy about nitrogen prescriptions gets resolved in the future, it would also be possible to make robust metallicity measurements for composite regions and AGNs.

scholarly journals Excitation mechanism in the intracluster filaments surrounding the Brightest Cluster Galaxies

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S359) ◽  
pp. 185-187
Author(s):  
Fiorella L. Polles
Keyword(s):  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Elliptical Galaxies ◽  
Cluster Galaxies ◽  
Cooling Flow ◽  
Submillimeter Wavelengths ◽  
Hot Plasma ◽  
Brightest Cluster Galaxies ◽  
Multi Phase ◽  
The Impact

AbstractMulti-phase filamentary structures surrounding giant elliptical galaxies at the center of cool-core clusters, the Brightest Cluster Galaxies (BCGs), have been detected from optical to submillimeter wavelengths. The source of the ionisation in the filaments is still debated. Studying the excitation of these structures is key to our understanding of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) feedback in general, and more precisely of the impact of environmental and local effects on star formation. One possible contributor to the excitation of the filaments is the thermal radiation from the cooling of the hot plasma surrounding the BCGs, the so-called cooling flow.

scholarly journals Numerical Studies of Astrophysical Objects at Fesenkov Astrophysical Institute (FAI)

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-134
Author(s):  
Assylkhan Bibossinov ◽  
◽  
Denis Yurin ◽  
Chingis Omarov ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Accretion Disk ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
International Workshop ◽  
Star Clusters ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Numerical Studies ◽  
Astrophysical Objects

Numerical studies of astrophysical objects are a relatively new direction in Fesenkov Astrophysical Institute (FAI) and is mainly represented by the Laboratory of Cosmology, Stellar Dynamics and Computational Astrophysics. The lab seeks to understand the evolution of gravitating systems at various scales – from star clusters to galaxies to large-scale structure of the universe as a whole, and tackles these problems both through analytical methods and through numerical simulations. The particular focus is on numerical simulations of star clusters, especially those found in active galactic nuclei – this is a topic of oldestablished collaboration with colleagues from Astronomisches Rechen-Institut (Heidelberg) and National Astronomical Observatories of China (Beijing). The prominent example is STARDISK project dedicated to the numerical research of active galactic nuclei as multicomponent systems composed of compact stellar cluster, gaseous accretion disk and a supermassive black hole. It is demonstrated that an accretion disk can noticeably decelerate stars and thus enhance the accretion rate onto the black hole. In 2013 FAI hosted the MODEST-13 International Workshop dedicated to modeling of star clusters. Recently a new project has been approved aimed at construction of triaxial equilibrium N-body systems that can be of great help in various numerical experiments with disk galaxies. There are also long standing plans to perform cosmological simulations of large scale structures to test a new approach to dark matter and energy actively developed at FAI. For numerical calculations, FAI has a small, but growing computer cluster consisting of several high-performance computing servers equipped with computational GPU cards.

scholarly journals Hydrodynamic simulations of AGN jets: the impact of Riemann solvers and spatial reconstruction schemes on jet evolution

2020 ◽  
Vol 498 (3) ◽  
pp. 3870-3887
Author(s):  
G Musoke ◽  
A J Young ◽  
M Birkinshaw
Keyword(s):  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Numerical Algorithms ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Riemann Solver ◽  
Third Order ◽  
Riemann Solvers ◽  
Hydrodynamic Simulations ◽  
Spatial Reconstruction ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT Numerical simulations play an essential role in helping us to understand the physical processes behind relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei. The large number of hydrodynamic codes available today enables a variety of different numerical algorithms to be utilized when conducting the simulations. Since many of the simulations presented in the literature use different combinations of algorithms it is important to quantify the differences in jet evolution that can arise due to the precise numerical schemes used. We conduct a series of simulations using the flash (magneto-)hydrodynamics code in which we vary the Riemann solver and spatial reconstruction schemes to determine their impact on the evolution and dynamics of the jets. For highly refined grids the variation in the simulation results introduced by the different combinations of spatial reconstruction scheme and Riemann solver is typically small. A high level of convergence is found for simulations using third-order spatial reconstruction with the Harten–Lax–Van-Leer with contact and Hybrid Riemann solvers.

Density diagnostics of photoionized outflows in active galactic nuclei

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S350) ◽  
pp. 274-277
Author(s):  
Junjie Mao
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Density Measurement ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
Current Generation ◽  
X Ray ◽  
The Impact

AbstractPhotoionized outflows in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are thought to influence their circumnuclear and host galactic environment. However, the distance of the outflow with respect to the black hole is poorly constrained, which limits our understanding of the kinetic power by the outflow. Therefore, the impact of AGN outflows on their host galaxies is uncertain. If the density of the outflow is known, its distance can be derived. Density measurement via variability studies and density sensitive lines have been used, albeit not very effective in the X-ray band. Good measurements are rather demanding or challenging for the current generation of (grating) spectrometers. The next generation of spectrometers will certainly provide data with better quality and large quantity, leading to tight constraints on the location and the kinetic power of AGN outflows. This contribution summarizes the state-of-the-art in this field.

scholarly journals Cooling and clusters: when is heating needed?

2005 ◽  
Vol 363 (1828) ◽  
pp. 715-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg Bryan ◽  
Mark Voit
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Flow Problem ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Cluster Formation ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Clusters Of Galaxies ◽  
Cooling Flow ◽  
Current State ◽  
Unknown Source

There are (at least) two unsolved problems concerning the current state of the thermal gas in clusters of galaxies. The first is to identify the source of the heating which offsets cooling in the centres of clusters with short cooling times (the ‘cooling–flow’ problem). The second to understand the mechanism which boosts the entropy in cluster and group gas. Since both of these problems involve an unknown source of heating it is tempting to identify them with the same process, particularly since active galactic nuclei heating is observed to be operating at some level in a sample of well–observed ‘cooling–flow’ clusters. Here we show, using numerical simulations of cluster formation, that much of the gas ending up in clusters cools at high redshift and so the heating is also needed at high redshift, well before the cluster forms. This indicates that the same process operating to solve the cooling–flow problem may not also resolve the cluster–entropy problem.

scholarly journals Cosmological Evolution of the Central Engine in High-Luminosity, High-Accretion Rate AGN

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-95
Author(s):  
Matteo Guainazzi
Keyword(s):  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Accretion Rate ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Seyfert Galaxies ◽  
Cosmological Evolution ◽  
High Luminosity ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Central Engine ◽  
The Status ◽  
Multi Wavelength

In this paper I discuss the status of observational studies aiming at probing the cosmological evolution of the central engine in high-luminosity, high-accretion rate Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). X-ray spectroscopic surveys, supported by extensive multi-wavelength coverage, indicate a remarkable invariance of the accretion disk plus corona system, and of their coupling up to redshifts z≈6. Furthermore, hard X-ray (<em>E</em> &gt;10 keV) surveys show that nearby Seyfert Galaxies share the same central engine notwithstanding their optical classication. These results suggest that the high-luminosity, high accretion rate quasar phase of AGN evolution is homogeneous over cosmological times.

scholarly journals The impact of disturbed galaxy clusters on the kinematics of active galactic nuclei

2020 ◽  
Vol 499 (3) ◽  
pp. 3792-3805
Author(s):  
Lawrence E Bilton ◽  
Kevin A Pimbblet ◽  
Yjan A Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Galaxy Clusters ◽  
Velocity Dispersion ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Sloan Digital Sky Survey ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Cluster Galaxies ◽  
Sky Survey ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT We produce a kinematic analysis of AGN-hosting cluster galaxies from a sample of 33 galaxy clusters selected using the X-ray Clusters Database (BAX) and populated with galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 8. The 33 galaxy clusters are delimited by their relative intensity of member galaxy substructuring as a proxy to core merging to derive two smaller sub-samples of 8 dynamically active (merging) and 25 dynamically relaxed (non-merging) states. The AGN were selected for each cluster sub-sample by employing the WHAN diagram to the strict criteria of log10([N ii]/Hα) ≥ −0.32 and EWHα ≥ 6 Å, providing pools of 70 mergings and 225 non-merging AGN sub-populations. By co-adding the clusters to their respective dynamical states to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of our AGN sub-populations we find that merging galaxy clusters on average host kinematically active AGN between 0–1.5r200 as r200 → 0, where their velocity dispersion profile (VDP) presents a significant deviation from the non-AGN sub-population VDP by ≳3σ. This result is indicative that the AGN-hosting cluster galaxies have recently coalesced on to a common potential. Further analysis of the composite distributions illustrates non-merging AGN-hosting sub-populations have, on average, already been accreted and predominantly lie within backsplash regions of the projected phase-space. This suggests merging cluster dynamical states hold relatively younger AGN sub-populations kinematically compared with those found in non-merging cluster dynamical states.

scholarly journals Mock catalogs for the extragalactic X-ray sky: Simulating AGN surveys with ATHENA and with the AXIS probe

2020 ◽  
Vol 642 ◽  
pp. A184
Author(s):  
S. Marchesi ◽  
R. Gilli ◽  
G. Lanzuisi ◽  
T. Dauser ◽  
S. Ettori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Cosmic Time ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
X Rays ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Flux Limit ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Deep Fields ◽  
First Time

We present a series of new, publicly available mock catalogs of X-ray selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs), nonactive galaxies, and clusters of galaxies. These mocks are based on up-to-date observational results on the demographic of extragalactic X-ray sources and their extrapolations. They reach fluxes below 10−20 erg cm−2 s−1 in the 0.5–2 keV band, that is, more than an order of magnitude below the predicted limits of future deep fields, and they therefore represent an important tool for simulating extragalactic X-ray surveys with both current and future telescopes. We used our mocks to perform a set of end-to-end simulations of X-ray surveys with the forthcoming ATHENA mission and with the AXIS probe, a subarcsecond resolution X-ray mission concept proposed to the Astro 2020 Decadal Survey. We find that these proposed, next generation surveys may transform our knowledge of the deep X-ray Universe. As an example, in a total observing time of 15 Ms, AXIS would detect ∼225 000 AGNs and ∼50 000 nonactive galaxies, reaching a flux limit of f0.5−2 ∼ 5 × 10−19 erg cm−2 s−1 in the 0.5–2 keV band, with an improvement of over an order of magnitude with respect to surveys with current X-ray facilities. Consequently, 90% of these sources would be detected for the first time in the X-rays. Furthermore, we show that deep and wide X-ray surveys with instruments such as AXIS and ATHENA are expected to detect ∼20 000 z > 3 AGNs and ∼250 sources at redshift z > 6, thus opening a new window of knowledge on the evolution of AGNs over cosmic time and putting strong constraints on the predictions of theoretical models of black hole seed accretion in the early universe.

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