NRAO/Socorro Colloquium Series
Helen Russell
University of Waterloo
Molecular gas and AGN feedback in galaxy cluster cores
The brightest cluster galaxies in the
cooling clusters A1664 and A1835 both harbour more than 10 billion
solar masses of molecular gas and nuclear starbursts at levels not seen
except in the early Universe. The molecular gas, which probably formed
from hot gas cooling out of the clusters' X-ray atmospheres, may be
fuelling the
powerful AGN outbursts observed as expanding radio bubbles, shocks and
gas outflows. I will discuss our ALMA Early Science observations of
these relatively nearby systems which show the bulk of the molecular
gas is centrally condensed and spatially coincident with the star
formation. In A1664, extended molecular gas filaments trace low
temperature X-ray and Halpha-emitting material, which could mark
residual cooling from the hot atmosphere. The CO(3-2) velocity map
shows a rotating molecular disk, potentially fuelling the AGN, and a
spectacular ~10 billion solar mass filament projected across the
nucleus at ~600km/s with respect to the systemic speed. This gas was
either ejected from the nucleus by the AGN or is falling onto the
system at high speed. In A1835, we also observe molecular filaments
drawn up around the northern radio bubble suggesting for the first time
that radio jets interact with the cold, dense molecular gas as well as
the hot, diffuse intracluster medium.
May 17, 2013
11:00 am
Array Operations Center Auditorium
All NRAO employees are invited to attend via video, available in Charlottesville Room 230, Green Bank Room 137 and Tucson N525.
