Buoyant Bubbles in Intracluster Gas: Effects of Magnetic Fields and Anisotropic Viscosity

Recent observations by Chandra and XMM-Newton indicate that there are complex structures at the cores of galaxy clusters, such as cavities and filaments. One plausible model for the formation of such structures is the interaction of radio jets with the intracluster medium (ICM). To investigate this...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astrophysical journal 2009-10, Vol.704 (2), p.1309-1320
Main Authors: Dong, Ruobing, Stone, James M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ANISOTROPY
Astronomy
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
BRIGHTNESS
BUBBLES
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
COSMIC RAY SOURCES
COSMIC X-RAY SOURCES
Earth, ocean, space
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
EVOLUTION
Exact sciences and technology
FLUID MECHANICS
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GALAXIES
GALAXY CLUSTERS
GEOMETRY
HYDRODYNAMICS
INSTABILITY
IONIZING RADIATIONS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
MATHEMATICS
MECHANICS
MORPHOLOGY
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PLASMA
RADIATIONS
SIMULATION
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
VISCOSITY
X RADIATION
X-RAY GALAXIES
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Summary:Recent observations by Chandra and XMM-Newton indicate that there are complex structures at the cores of galaxy clusters, such as cavities and filaments. One plausible model for the formation of such structures is the interaction of radio jets with the intracluster medium (ICM). To investigate this idea, we use three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations including anisotropic (Braginskii) viscosity to study the effect of magnetic fields on the evolution and morphology of buoyant bubbles in the ICM. We investigate a range of different initial magnetic field geometries and strengths, and study the resulting X-ray surface brightness distribution for comparison to observed clusters. Magnetic tension forces and viscous transport along field lines tend to suppress instabilities parallel, but not perpendicular, to field lines. Thus, the evolution of the bubble depends strongly on the initial field geometry. We find that toroidal field loops initially confined to the interior of the bubble are best able to reproduce the observed cavity structures.
ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
DOI:10.1088/0004-637X/704/2/1309