Quasar feedback: more bang for your buck

Abstract

We propose a two-stage model for the effects of feedback from a bright quasar on the cold gas in a galaxy. It is difficult for feedback from near the accretion disk to directly impact dense molecular clouds at ~kpc. But if such feedback can drive a weak wind or outflow in the hot, diffuse ISM (a relatively 'easy' task), then in the wake of such an outflow passing over a cold cloud, a combination of instabilities will drive the cloud material to effectively expand in the direction perpendicular to the outflow. Such expansion dramatically increases the effective cross section of the cloud material and makes it more susceptible to ionization and momentum coupling from absorption of the incident quasar radiation field. Even a moderate effect of this nature can dramatically alter the ability of clouds at large radii to be fully ionized and driven into a secondary outflow by radiation pressure. Since the amount of momentum and volume which can be ionized by observed quasar radiation field is more than sufficient to affect the entire cold gas supply once it has been altered in this manner (and the 'initial' feedback need only initiate a moderate wind in the low-density hot gas), this reduces by an order of magnitude the required energy budget for feedback to affect a host galaxy. Instead of ~5% of the radiated energy (~100% momentum) needed if the initial feedback must directly heat or blow out the galactic gas, if only ~0.5% of the luminosity (~10% momentum) can couple to drive the initial hot outflow, this mechanism could be efficient. This amounts to hot gas outflow rates from near the accretion disk of only 5-10% of the BH accretion rate.