New Perspectives on Radio Galaxy Dynamics

A special issue of Galaxies (ISSN 2075-4434).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 11059

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics (MIfA), Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Interests: radio galaxy dynamics; supernova remnant dynamics

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Co-Guest Editor
School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Interests: extragalactic astrophysics; formation and evolution of galaxies, and the physics of active supermassive black holes (Active Galactic Nuclei—AGN); development and application of analytical and computational techniques in modelling and data analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Radio Galaxies are the radio luminous products of magnetized AGN jets interacting with circumgalactic and extragalactic media. Radio galaxy jets and their luminous by-products can span volumes extending from a few tens of kpc to multiple Mpc. The basic twin jet dynamical model for radio galaxy dynamics has been around since the mid-1970s. However, over the past several decades, vastly improved observational data and theoretical/numerical modeling sophistication have revealed very rich dynamical pictures for the jets, their by-products and relationships of radio galaxies generally to their surroundings. These new perspectives provide exciting and important, but still-to-be-understood, windows to the physics of the AGN sources, the host galaxies and the circumgalactic and extragalactic environments they encounter.

To help frame these new perspectives clearly, Galaxies is hosting a Special Issue on this topic. We invite researchers to submit review papers in which the current status of observational, theoretical studies applied to radio galaxy dynamics are discussed, especially in the context of new perspectives brought to the subject.

Prof. Dr. Thomas W. Jones
Dr. Stanislav S. Shabala
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 5062 KiB  
Article
Hydrodynamic Simulations of a Relativistic Jet Interacting with the Intracluster Medium: Application to Cygnus A
by John A. ZuHone, Paul E. J. Nulsen, Po-Hsun Tseng, Hsi-Yu Schive and Tom W. Jones
Galaxies 2023, 11(2), 51; https://doi.org/10.3390/galaxies11020051 - 23 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1857
Abstract
The Fanaroff–Riley Class II radio galaxy Cygnus A hosts jets that produce radio emission, X-ray cavities, cocoon shocks, and X-ray hotspots, where the jet interacts with the ICM. Surrounding one hotspot is a peculiar “hole” feature, which appears as a deficit in X-ray [...] Read more.
The Fanaroff–Riley Class II radio galaxy Cygnus A hosts jets that produce radio emission, X-ray cavities, cocoon shocks, and X-ray hotspots, where the jet interacts with the ICM. Surrounding one hotspot is a peculiar “hole” feature, which appears as a deficit in X-ray emission. We used relativistic hydrodynamic simulations of a collimated jet interacting with an inclined interface between lobe and cluster plasma to model the basic processes that may lead to such a feature. We found that the jet reflects off of the interface into a broad, turbulent flow back out into the lobe, which is dominated by gas stripped from the interface at first and from the intracluster medium itself at later times. We produced simple models of X-ray emission from the ICM, the hotspot, and the reflected jet to show that a hole of emission surrounding the hotspot as seen in Cygnus A may be produced by Doppler de-boosting of the emission from the reflected jet, as seen by an observer with a sight line nearly along the axis of the outgoing material. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives on Radio Galaxy Dynamics)
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20 pages, 6922 KiB  
Article
Simulating the Enrichment of Fossil Radio Electrons by Multiple Radio Galaxies
by Franco Vazza, Denis Wittor, Marcus Brüggen and Gianfranco Brunetti
Galaxies 2023, 11(2), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/galaxies11020045 - 13 Mar 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1774
Abstract
We simulate the evolution of relativistic electrons injected into the intracluster medium by five radio galaxies. We study the spatial transport and the emission properties of the injected radio plasma over a ∼5 Gyr period, and the sequence of cooling and re-acceleration events [...] Read more.
We simulate the evolution of relativistic electrons injected into the intracluster medium by five radio galaxies. We study the spatial transport and the emission properties of the injected radio plasma over a ∼5 Gyr period, and the sequence of cooling and re-acceleration events experienced by electrons, using a Lagrangian approach joined with a numerical method to model the evolution of momentum spectra of relativistic electrons. When compared with electrons injected by shock waves, electrons injected by radio galaxies (here limited to a single injection event) in our tests are unable to fuel large ∼Mpc-sized radio relics with fossil electrons, as required by current theoretical models, while electrons previously seeded by other shocks can do this. On the other hand, the combination of seeding from radio galaxies and of re-acceleration events from plasma perturbation can produce detectable, small-scale, and filamentary emissions in the proximity (≤100–200 kpc) of radio galaxies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives on Radio Galaxy Dynamics)
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Review

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43 pages, 7503 KiB  
Review
The Dynamics and Energetics of Remnant and Restarting RLAGN
by Vijay H. Mahatma
Galaxies 2023, 11(3), 74; https://doi.org/10.3390/galaxies11030074 - 13 Jun 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1623
Abstract
In this article, I review past, current, and future advances on the study of radio-loud AGN (RLAGN; radio-loud quasars and radio galaxies) lifecycles exclusively in the remnant and restarting phases. I focus on their dynamics and energetics as inferred from radio observations while [...] Read more.
In this article, I review past, current, and future advances on the study of radio-loud AGN (RLAGN; radio-loud quasars and radio galaxies) lifecycles exclusively in the remnant and restarting phases. I focus on their dynamics and energetics as inferred from radio observations while discussing their radiative lifetimes, population statistics, and trends in their physical characteristics. I briefly summarise multi-wavelength observations, particularly X-rays, that have enabled studies of the large-scale environments of RLAGN in order to understand their role in feedback. Furthermore, I discuss analytic and numerical simulations that predict key properties of remnant and restarting sources as found in wide-area surveys, and discuss the prospects of future surveys that may shed further light on these elusive subpopulations of RLAGN. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives on Radio Galaxy Dynamics)
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46 pages, 5709 KiB  
Review
Recent Progress in Modeling the Macro- and Micro-Physics of Radio Jet Feedback in Galaxy Clusters
by Martin A. Bourne and Hsiang-Yi Karen Yang
Galaxies 2023, 11(3), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/galaxies11030073 - 13 Jun 2023
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2096
Abstract
Radio jets and the lobes they inflate are common in cool-core clusters and are known to play a critical role in regulating the heating and cooling of the intracluster medium (ICM). This is an inherently multi-scale problem, and much effort has been made [...] Read more.
Radio jets and the lobes they inflate are common in cool-core clusters and are known to play a critical role in regulating the heating and cooling of the intracluster medium (ICM). This is an inherently multi-scale problem, and much effort has been made to understand the processes governing the inflation of lobes and their impact on the cluster, as well as the impact of the environment on the jet–ICM interaction, on both macro- and microphysical scales. The developments of new numerical techniques and improving computational resources have seen simulations of jet feedback in galaxy clusters become ever more sophisticated. This ranges from modeling ICM plasma physics processes such as the effects of magnetic fields, cosmic rays, and viscosity to including jet feedback in cosmologically evolved cluster environments in which the ICM thermal and dynamic properties are shaped by large-scale structure formation. In this review, we discuss the progress made over the last ∼decade in capturing both the macro- and microphysical processes in numerical simulations, highlighting both the current state of the field, as well as the open questions and potential ways in which these questions can be addressed in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives on Radio Galaxy Dynamics)
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20 pages, 930 KiB  
Review
Wide-Angle-Tail (WAT) Radio Sources
by Christopher P. O’Dea and Stefi A. Baum
Galaxies 2023, 11(3), 67; https://doi.org/10.3390/galaxies11030067 - 12 May 2023
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2792
Abstract
We review the properties of Wide-Angle-Tail (WAT) radio sources. The WAT radio sources are powerful, bent radio sources typically associated with the dominant galaxy in a cluster or group. For the purpose of this review, we define the radio morphology properties of WATs [...] Read more.
We review the properties of Wide-Angle-Tail (WAT) radio sources. The WAT radio sources are powerful, bent radio sources typically associated with the dominant galaxy in a cluster or group. For the purpose of this review, we define the radio morphology properties of WATs as (1) a sudden jet-tail transition, (2) overall bending of the tails to one side, and (3) non-parallel tails. The mechanism for the rapid jet-tail transition is uncertain but it seems to occur near the transition from the host ISM to ICM. The jet-tail transition may make the jets easier to bend. The narrow range in radio luminosity can be understood if there is a minimum luminosity required to allow the jets to propagate undisturbed for tens of kpc and a maximum luminosity required to allow the jet disruption mechanism to act. WATs are typically hosted by the brightest cluster galaxies in clusters which are currently merging. Thus, WATs can be used as tracers of merging clusters. The merging produces large-scale bulk motions in the ICM which can provide sufficient ram pressure to bend the jets. We suggest that although the Lorentz force may not bend the jets in WATs, it may be relevant in other sources, e.g., protostellar jets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives on Radio Galaxy Dynamics)
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