Simulations of metal enrichment in galaxy clusters by AGN outflows

Free access article

Issue		A&A Volume 463, Number 2, February IV 2007


Page(s)		513 - 518
Section		Extragalactic astronomy
DOI		http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20066386

A&A 463, 513-518 (2007)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20066386

Simulations of metal enrichment in galaxy clusters by AGN outflows

R. Moll¹, S. Schindler¹, W. Domainko^{1, 2}, W. Kapferer¹, M. Mair¹, E. van Kampen¹, T. Kronberger¹, S. Kimeswenger¹, and M. Ruffert³

¹ Institut für Astro- und Teilchenphysik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstraße 25, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
e-mail: rmo@mpa-garching.mpg.de
² Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
³ School of Mathematics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, Scotland, UK

(Received 12 September 2006 / Accepted 17 October 2006 )

Abstract
Aims.We assess the importance of AGN outflows with respect to the metal enrichment of the intracluster medium (ICM) in galaxy clusters.
Methods.We use combined N-body and hydrodynamic simulations, along with a semi-numerical galaxy formation and evolution model. Using assumptions based on observations, we attribute outflows of metal-rich gas initiated by AGN activity to a certain fraction of our model galaxies. The gas is added to the model ICM, where the evolution of the metallicity distribution is calculated by the hydrodynamic simulations. For the parameters describing the AGN content of clusters and their outflow properties, we use the most observationally favorable values.
Results.We find that AGNs have the potential to contribute significantly to the metal content of the ICM or even explain the complete abundance, which is typically ~ $0.5~Z_{\odot}$ in core regions. Furthermore, the metals end up being inhomogeneously distributed, in accordance with observations.

Key words: galaxies: clusters: general -- galaxies: active -- X-rays: galaxies: clusters -- galaxies: quasars: absorption lines -- galaxies: jets

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