Discovery of a Powerful >1061 erg AGN Outburst in the Distant Galaxy Cluster SPT-CLJ0528-5300

We present ~103 ks of Chandra observations of the galaxy cluster SPT-CLJ0528-5300 (SPT0528, z=0.768). This cluster harbors the most radio-loud (L_1.4GHz = 1.01 x 10^33 erg/s/Hz) central AGN of any cluster in the South Pole Telescope (SPT) SZ survey with available X-ray data. We find evidence of AGN-inflated cavities in the X-ray emission, which are consistent with the orientation of the jet direction revealed by ATCA radio data. The combined probability that two such depressions -- each at ~1.4-1.8sigma significance, oriented ~180 degrees apart and aligned with the jet axis -- would occur by chance is 0.1%. At >10^61 erg, the outburst in SPT0528 is among the most energetic known in the universe, and certainly the most powerful known at z>0.25. This work demonstrates that such powerful outbursts can be detected even in shallow X-ray exposures out to relatively high redshifts (z~0.8), providing an avenue for studying the evolution of extreme AGN feedback. The ratio of the cavity power (P_cav = 9.4+/-5.8 x 10^45 erg/s) to the cooling luminosity (L_cool = 1.5+/-0.5 x 10^44 erg/s) for SPT0528 is among the highest measured to date. If, in the future, additional systems are discovered at similar redshifts with equally high P_cav/L_cool ratios, it would imply that the feedback/cooling cycle was not as gentle at high redshifts as in the low-redshift universe.

[1]  J. Mohr,et al.  REDSHIFTS, SAMPLE PURITY, AND BCG POSITIONS FOR THE GALAXY CLUSTER CATALOG FROM THE FIRST 720 SQUARE DEGREES OF THE SOUTH POLE TELESCOPE SURVEY , 2012, 1207.4369.

[2]  P. Nulsen,et al.  Heating Hot Atmospheres with Active Galactic Nuclei , 2007, 0709.2152.

[3]  Wolfgang Voges,et al.  A ROSAT HRI study of the interaction of the X-ray-emitting gas and radio lobes of NGC 1275 , 1993 .

[4]  M. Lueker,et al.  GALAXY CLUSTERS DISCOVERED VIA THE SUNYAEV–ZEL’DOVICH EFFECT IN THE FIRST 720 SQUARE DEGREES OF THE SOUTH POLE TELESCOPE SURVEY , 2012, 1203.5775.

[5]  Steven W. Allen,et al.  Starbursts in cooling flows: blue continua and emission-line nebulae in central cluster galaxies , 1995 .

[6]  L. Moustakas,et al.  THE ERA OF STAR FORMATION IN GALAXY CLUSTERS , 2013, 1310.6039.

[7]  S. Allen,et al.  PROBING THE EXTREME REALM OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS FEEDBACK IN THE MASSIVE GALAXY CLUSTER, RX J1532.9+3021 , 2013, 1306.0907.

[8]  W. Cotton,et al.  Radio Sources and Star Formation in the Local Universe , 2002 .

[9]  D. A. Rafferty,et al.  The Feedback-regulated Growth of Black Holes and Bulges through Gas Accretion and Starbursts in Cluster Central Dominant Galaxies , 2006, astro-ph/0605323.

[10]  A. C. Fabian,et al.  Extreme AGN feedback in the MAssive Cluster Survey: a detailed study of X-ray cavities at z>0.3 , 2011, 1110.0489.

[11]  The ROSAT Brightest Cluster Sample — III. Optical spectra of the central cluster galaxies , 1999, astro-ph/9903057.

[12]  Andrew C. Fabian.  Cooling Flows in Clusters of Galaxies , 1994 .

[13]  P. Nulsen,et al.  AVERAGE HEATING RATE OF HOT ATMOSPHERES IN DISTANT CLUSTERS BY RADIO ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS: EVIDENCE FOR CONTINUOUS ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS HEATING , 2011, 1107.2946.

[14]  W. Forman,et al.  Evolution of Buoyant Bubbles in M87 , 2000 .

[15]  P. A. R. Ade,et al.  GALAXY CLUSTERS DISCOVERED WITH A SUNYAEV–ZEL'DOVICH EFFECT SURVEY , 2008, 0810.1578.

[16]  T. Ponman,et al.  HEATING THE HOT ATMOSPHERES OF GALAXY GROUPS AND CLUSTERS WITH CAVITIES: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JET POWER AND LOW-FREQUENCY RADIO EMISSION , 2011, 1104.2411.

[17]  R. Mushotzky,et al.  The discovery of large amounts of cold, X-ray absorbing matter in cooling flows , 1991 .

[18]  A. Fabian,et al.  The optical spectra of central galaxies in southern clusters: evidence for star formation , 1987 .

[19]  Andrew C. Fabian,et al.  Observational Evidence of Active Galactic Nuclei Feedback , 2012 .

[20]  M. Lueker,et al.  COSMOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS FROM SUNYAEV-ZEL’DOVICH-SELECTED CLUSTERS WITH X-RAY OBSERVATIONS IN THE FIRST 178 SQUARE DEGREES OF THE SOUTH POLE TELESCOPE SURVEY , 2011 .

[21]  G. C. Stewart,et al.  Properties of cooling flows in a flux-limited sample of clusters of galaxies , 1992 .

[22]  Cambridge,et al.  Radio bubbles in clusters of galaxies , 2005, astro-ph/0510191.

[23]  P. Nulsen,et al.  Mechanical feedback from active galactic nuclei in galaxies, groups and clusters , 2012, 1204.0006.

[24]  J. Binney,et al.  Radiative regulation of gas flow within clusters of galaxies - A model for cluster X-ray sources , 1977 .

[25]  P. Nulsen,et al.  AN ENERGETIC AGN OUTBURST POWERED BY A RAPIDLY SPINNING SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE OR AN ACCRETING ULTRAMASSIVE BLACK HOLE , 2008, 0811.3020.

[26]  Leiden University,et al.  A study of high-redshift AGN feedback in SZ cluster samples , 2017, 1706.04775.

[27]  Adrian T. Lee,et al.  GALAXY CLUSTERS DISCOVERED VIA THE SUNYAEV–ZEL'DOVICH EFFECT IN THE 2500-SQUARE-DEGREE SPT-SZ SURVEY , 2014, 1409.0850.

[28]  B. Benson,et al.  The Remarkable Similarity of Massive Galaxy Clusters from z ∼ 0 to z ∼ 1.9 , 2017, 1702.05094.

[29]  M. Lueker,et al.  COSMOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS FROM SUNYAEV–ZEL'DOVICH-SELECTED CLUSTERS WITH X-RAY OBSERVATIONS IN THE FIRST 178 deg2 OF THE SOUTH POLE TELESCOPE SURVEY , 2011, 1112.5435.

[30]  A. C. Fabian,et al.  Particle energies and filling fractions of radio bubbles in cluster cores , 2004 .

[31]  David N. Spergel,et al.  The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Sunyaev-Zel'dovich selected galaxy clusters at 148 GHz from three seasons of data , 2013, 1301.0816.

[32]  G. W. Pratt,et al.  Planck2013 results. XXIX. ThePlanckcatalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich sources , 2013, Astronomy & Astrophysics.

[33]  G. Tremblay,et al.  Revisiting the Cooling Flow Problem in Galaxies, Groups, and Clusters of Galaxies , 2018, 1803.04972.

[34]  B. A. Benson,et al.  X-RAY CAVITIES IN A SAMPLE OF 83 SPT-SELECTED CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES: TRACING THE EVOLUTION OF AGN FEEDBACK IN CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES OUT TO z = 1.2 , 2014, 1410.0025.

[35]  J. Mohr,et al.  Constraining radio mode feedback in galaxy clusters with the cluster radio AGNs properties to z ∼ 1 , 2019, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

[36]  Adrian T. Lee,et al.  THE GROWTH OF COOL CORES AND EVOLUTION OF COOLING PROPERTIES IN A SAMPLE OF 83 GALAXY CLUSTERS AT 0.3 < z < 1.2 SELECTED FROM THE SPT-SZ SURVEY , 2013, 1305.2915.

[37]  D. A. Rafferty,et al.  A Systematic Study of Radio-induced X-Ray Cavities in Clusters, Groups, and Galaxies , 2004 .

[38]  P. A. R. Ade,et al.  X-RAY PROPERTIES OF THE FIRST SUNYAEV–ZEL'DOVICH EFFECT SELECTED GALAXY CLUSTER SAMPLE FROM THE SOUTH POLE TELESCOPE , 2010, 1006.3068.

[39]  M. Postman,et al.  ULTRAVIOLET MORPHOLOGY AND UNOBSCURED UV STAR FORMATION RATES OF CLASH BRIGHTEST CLUSTER GALAXIES , 2015, 1504.00598.

[40]  B. McNamara,et al.  Star formation in cooling flows in clusters of galaxies , 1989 .

[41]  M. Donahue,et al.  An Infrared Survey of Brightest Cluster Galaxies. II. Why are Some Brightest Cluster Galaxies Forming Stars? , 2008, 0803.1772.

[42]  P. Nulsen,et al.  A relationship between halo mass, cooling, active galactic nuclei heating and the co-evolution of massive black holes , 2015, 1510.07046.

[43]  C. Carilli,et al.  A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AGN JET POWER AND RADIO POWER , 2010, 1006.5699.

[44]  J. Curran,et al.  SUMSS: a wide-field radio imaging survey of the southern sky – II. The source catalogue , 2003, astro-ph/0303188.

[45]  Adrian T. Lee,et al.  The 10 Meter South Pole Telescope , 2009, 0907.4445.

[46]  Adrian T. Lee,et al.  HIGH-REDSHIFT COOL-CORE GALAXY CLUSTERS DETECTED VIA THE SUNYAEV–ZEL'DOVICH EFFECT IN THE SOUTH POLE TELESCOPE SURVEY , 2012, 1208.3368.

[47]  A. Fabian,et al.  Subsonic accretion of cooling gas in clusters of galaxies , 1977 .

[48]  Arizona,et al.  CAUGHT IN THE ACT: THE ASSEMBLY OF MASSIVE CLUSTER GALAXIES AT z = 1.62 , 2011, 1110.3821.