The relation between accretion rate and jet power in early-type galaxies with thermally unstable hot atmospheres

Journal Article · 29 September 2022 · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac2770 · OSTI ID:1894970

Plšek, T. ; Werner, N.; Grossová, R.; Topinka, M.; Simionescu, A. ; Allen, S. W.

ABSTRACT We use Chandra X-ray data and Very Large Array radio observations for a sample of 20 nearby, massive, X-ray bright, early-type galaxies to investigate the relation between the Bondi accretion rates and the mechanical jet powers. We find a strong correlation ($$\rho = 0.96^{+0.03}_{-0.09}$$; BF10 > 100) between the Bondi accretion power, PBondi, and the mechanical jet power, Pjet, for a subsample of 14 galaxies, which also host cool H α+[N ii] line emitting gas and thus likely have thermally unstable atmospheres. The relation between the Bondi accretion power and the mechanical jet power for this subsample is well described by a power-law model $$\log \frac{P_{\mathrm{Bondi}}}{{10^{43} \, \mathrm{erg \, s^{-1}}}} = \alpha + \beta \log \frac{P_{\mathrm{jet}}}{{10^{43} \, \mathrm{erg \, s^{-1}}}}$$, where α = 1.10 ± 0.25 and β = 1.10 ± 0.24 with an intrinsic scatter $$\sigma = 0.08^{+0.14}_{-0.06}$$ dex. The results indicate that in all galaxies with thermally unstable atmospheres the cooling atmospheric gas feeds the central black holes at a similar jet-to-Bondi power ratio. For the full sample of 20 galaxies, the correlation is weaker and in a subset of galaxies with no signs of H α+[N ii] emission, we see a hint for a systematically lower jet-to-Bondi power ratio. We also investigate the dependence of jet power on individual quantities in the Bondi formula such as the supermassive black hole mass (M•) and the specific entropy of the gas (K) at the Bondi radius. For the subsample of H α+[N ii] emitting galaxies, we find a very tight correlation of Pjet with M• ($$\rho = 0.91^{+0.06}_{-0.11}$$; BF10 > 100) and, although poorly constrained, a hint of an anticorrelation for Pjet and K ($$\rho = -0.47^{+0.60}_{-0.37}$$; BF10 = 1.1).

• Research Organization: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: Czech Science Foundation (GACR); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Science Foundation (NSF); Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO); USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-76SF00515
• OSTI ID: 1894970
• Journal Information: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Journal Name: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 517; ISSN 0035-8711
• Publisher: Oxford University PressCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United Kingdom
• Language: English