Supermassive black holes (SMBH) at work: M87, a case study of the effects of SMBH outbursts

Abstract

AbstractSupermassive black holes (SMBHs) play key roles in galaxy and cluster evolution. This is most clearly seen in the “fossil record” that is imprinted in the gas rich atmospheres of early type galaxies, groups, and clusters by powerful SMBH outbursts. From a detailed X-ray study of M87, we present the properties of a typical SMBH outburst, its evolution, and the energy partition between shocks and the enthalpy of the gas cavities inflated by the SMBH. About 12 Myr ago, the SMBH in M87 inflated a cavity of relativistic plasma which is still centered near the galaxy nucleus. This outburst drove a shock into the surrounding gas. For M87, we show that the outburst duration is a few Myr and that about 50% of the total energy (5 × 1057 ergs) resides in the bubble inflated by the jet from the SMBH, that 25% of the outburst energy is deposited directly into the ambient atmosphere by the shock, and that 25% of the outburst energy is lost from the radiatively bright core as the weak shock moves to large radii. We conclude by describing a future X-ray mission, SMART-X, with < 1” angular resolution that would allow us to study the evolution of SMBHs and the hot, X-ray emitting atmospheres from high redshifts to the present for M87-like systems.