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Precipitation of cold gas due to thermal instability in both galaxy clusters and the circumgalactic medium may regulate AGN feedback. We investigate thermal instability in idealized simulations of the circumgalactic medium with a parameter study of over 600 three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of stratified turbulence with cooling, each evolved for 10 Gyr. The entropy profiles are maintained in a steady state via an idealized `thermostat' process, consistent with galaxy cluster entropy profiles. In the presence of external turbulent driving, we find cold gas precipitates, with a strong dependence whether the turbulent driving mechanism is solenoidal, compressive, or purely vertical. In the purely-vertical turbulent driving regime, we find that significant cold gas may form when the cooling time to free-fall time $t_{\rm cool} / t_{\text{ff}} \lesssim 5$. Our simulations with a ratio of $t_{\rm cool} / t_{\text{ff}} \sim 10$ do not precipitate under any circumstances, perhaps because the thermostat mechanism we use maintains a significant non-zero entropy gradient., Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures. Submitted to MNRAS. Simulation movies are available at this URL: https://benwibking.github.io/precipitation.html

We present a new algorithm for identifying superbubbles in HI column density maps of both observed and simulated galaxies that has only a single adjustable parameter. The algorithm includes an automated galaxy-background separation step to focus the analysis on the galactic disk. To test the algorithm, we compare the superbubbles it finds in a simulated galactic disk with the ones it finds in 21cm observations of a similar galactic disk. The sizes and radial distribution of those superbubbles are indeed qualitatively similar. However, superbubbles in the simulated galactic disk have lower central HI column densities. The HI superbubbles in the simulated disk are spatially associated with pockets of hot gas. We conclude that the algorithm is a promising method for systematically identifying and characterizing superbubbles using only HI column density maps that will enable standardized tests of stellar feedback models used in galaxy simulations., Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures. Submitted to MNRAS

Strong AGN heating provides an alternative means for the disruption of cluster cool cores (CCs) to cluster mergers. In this work we present a systematic Chandra study of a sample of 108 nearby ($z<0.1$) galaxy clusters, to investigate the effect of AGN heating on CCs. About 40% of clusters with small offsets between the BCG and the X-ray centre ($\le50$ kpc) have small CCs. For comparison, 14 of 17 clusters with large offsets have small CCs, which suggests that mergers or sloshing can be efficient in reducing the CC size. Relaxed, small CC clusters generally have weak radio AGNs ($P_{1.4\rm GHz}<10^{23}$ W Hz$^{-1}$), and they show a lack of systems hosting a radio AGN with intermediate radio power ($2\times10^{23}

We present new high-spectral resolution observations (R = $\lambda/\Delta\lambda$ = 7000) of the filamentary nebula surrounding NGC 1275, the central galaxy of the Perseus cluster. These observations have been obtained with SITELLE, an imaging Fourier transform spectrometer installed on the Canada-France-Hawai Telescope (CFHT) with a field of view of $11\text{ arcmin }\times 11 \text{ arcmin}$ encapsulating the entire filamentary structure of ionised gas despite its large size of $80 \text{ kpc}\times50 \text{ kpc}$. Here, we present renewed flux, velocity and velocity dispersion maps that show in great detail the kinematics of the optical nebula at \sii$\lambda6716$, \sii$\lambda6731$, \nii$\lambda6584$, H$\alpha$(6563\AA), and \nii$\lambda6548$. These maps reveal the existence of a bright flattened disk-shaped structure in the core extending to r $\sim 10$ kpc and dominated by a chaotic velocity field. This structure is located in the wake of X-ray cavities and characterised by a high mean velocity dispersion of $134$ km/s. The disk-shaped structure is surrounded by an extended array of filaments spread out to $r\sim 50$ kpc that are 10 times fainter in flux, remarkably quiescent and has a uniform mean velocity dispersion of $44$ km/s. This stability is puzzling given that the cluster core exhibits several energetic phenomena. Based on these results, we argue that there are two mechanisms to form multiphase gas in clusters of galaxies: a first triggered in the wake of X-ray cavities leading to more turbulent multiphase gas and a second, distinct mechanism, that is gentle and leads to large-scale multiphase gas spread throughout the core.

Radiative cooling and AGN heating are thought to form a feedback loop that regulates the evolution of low redshift cool-core galaxy clusters. Numerical simulations suggest that formation of multiphase gas in the cluster core imposes a floor on the ratio of cooling time ($t_{\rm cool}$) to free-fall time ($t_{\rm ff}$) at $\min ( t_{\rm cool} / t_{\rm ff} ) \approx 10$. Observations of galaxy clusters show evidence for such a floor, and usually the cluster cores with $\min ( t_{\rm cool} / t_{\rm ff} ) \lesssim 30$ contain abundant multiphase gas. However, there are important outliers. One of them is Abell 2029, a massive galaxy cluster ($M_{200} \gtrsim 10^{15}$ M$_\odot$) with $\min( t_{\rm cool}/t_{\rm ff}) \sim 20$, but little apparent multiphase gas. In this paper, we present high resolution 3D hydrodynamic AMR simulations of a cluster similar to A2029 and study how it evolves over a period of 1-2 Gyr. Those simulations suggest that Abell 2029 self-regulates without producing multiphase gas because the mass of its central black hole ($\sim 5\times 10^{10} \, M_\odot$) is great enough for Bondi accretion of hot ambient gas to produce enough feedback energy to compensate for radiative cooling., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, submitted to MNRAS

We present a multi-wavelength study of the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) in a sample of the 95 most massive galaxy clusters selected from South Pole Telescope (SPT) Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) survey. Our sample spans a redshift range of 0.3 < z < 1.7, and is complete with optical spectroscopy from various ground-based observatories, as well as ground and space-based imaging from optical, X-ray and radio wavebands. At z~0, previous studies have shown a strong correlation between the presence of a low-entropy cool core and the presence of star-formation and a radio-loud AGN in the central BCG. We show for the first time that a central entropy threshold for star formation persists out to z~1. The central entropy (measured in this work at a radius of 10 kpc) below which clusters harbor star-forming BCGs is found to be as low as $K_\mathrm{10 ~ kpc} = 35 \pm 4$ keV cm$^2$ at z < 0.15 and as high as $K_\mathrm{10 ~ kpc} = 52 \pm 11$ keV cm$^2$ at z~1. We find only marginal (~1$\sigma$) evidence for evolution in this threshold. In contrast, we do not find a similar high-z analog for an entropy threshold for feedback, but instead measure a strong evolution in the fraction of radio-loud BCGs in high-entropy cores as a function of redshift. This could imply that the cooling-feedback loop was not as tight in the past, or that some other fuel source like mergers are fueling the radio sources more often with increasing redshift, making the radio luminosity an increasingly unreliable proxy for radio jet power. We also find that our SZ-based sample is missing a small (~4%) population of the most luminous radio sources ($\nu L_{\nu} > 10^{42}$ erg/s), likely due to radio contamination suppressing the SZ signal with which these clusters are detected., Comment: 22 pages. 10 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to ApJ

We present the results from the HST WFC3 and ACS data on an archetypal galaxy undergoing ram pressure stripping (RPS), ESO 137-001, in the nearby cluster Abell 3627. ESO 137-001 is known to host a prominent stripped tail detected in many bands from X-rays, Halpha to CO. The HST data reveal significant features indicative of RPS such as asymmetric dust distribution and surface brightness as well as many blue young star complexes in the tail. We study the correlation between the blue young star complexes from HST, HII regions from Halpha (MUSE) and dense molecular clouds from CO (ALMA). The correlation between the HST blue star clusters and the HII regions is very good, while their correlation with the dense CO clumps are typically not good, presumably due in part to evolutionary effects. In comparison to the Starburst99+Cloudy model, many blue regions are found to be young (< 10 Myr) and the total star formation (SF) rate in the tail is 0.3 - 0.6 M_Sun/yr for sources measured with ages less than 100 Myr, about 40% of the SF rate in the galaxy. We trace SF over at least 100 Myr and give a full picture of the recent SF history in the tail. We also demonstrate the importance of including nebular emissions and a nebular to stellar extinction correction factor when comparing the model to the broadband data. Our work on ESO 137-001 demonstrates the importance of HST data for constraining the SF history in stripped tails., Comment: 22 pages, 20 figures, 4 tables, published in MNRAS 06/2023

We present new, deep, narrow- and broad-band Hubble Space Telescope observations of seven of the most star-forming brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs). Continuum-subtracted [O II] maps reveal the detailed, complex structure of warm ($T \sim 10^4$ K) ionized gas filaments in these BCGs, allowing us to measure spatially-resolved star formation rates (SFRs) of ~60-600 Msun/yr. We compare the SFRs in these systems and others from the literature to their intracluster medium (ICM) cooling rates (dM/dt), measured from archival Chandra X-ray data, finding a best-fit relation of log(SFR) = (1.67+/-0.17) log(dM/dt) + (-3.25+/-0.38) with an intrinsic scatter of 0.39+/-0.09 dex. This steeper-than-unity slope implies an increasingly efficient conversion of hot ($T \sim 10^7$ K) gas into young stars with increasing dM/dt, or conversely a gradual decrease in the effectiveness of AGN feedback in the strongest cool cores. We also seek to understand the physical extent of these multiphase filaments that we observe in cluster cores. We show, for the first time, that the average extent of the multiphase gas is always smaller than the radii at which the cooling time reaches 1 Gyr, the tcool/tff profile flattens, and that X-ray cavities are observed. This implies a close connection between the multiphase filaments, the thermodynamics of the cooling core, and the dynamics of X-ray bubbles. Interestingly, we find a one-to-one correlation between the average extent of cool multiphase filaments and the radius at which the cooling time reaches 0.5 Gyr, which may be indicative of a universal condensation timescale in cluster cores., Comment: 26 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables. Submitted to ApJ

Precipitation is potentially a mechanism through which the circumgalactic medium (CGM) can regulate a galaxy's star formation. Here we present idealized simulations of isolated Milky Way-like galaxies intended to examine the ability of galaxies to self-regulate their star formation, particularly via precipitation. Our simulations are the first CGM-focused idealized models to include stellar feedback due to the explicit formation of stars. We also examine the impact of rotation in the CGM. Using six simulations, we explore variations in the initial CGM $t_{\rm cool}/t_{\rm ff}$ ratio and rotation profile. Those variations affect the amount of star formation and gas accretion within the galactic disk. Our simulations are sensitive to their initial conditions, requiring us to gradually increase the efficiency of stellar feedback to avoid destroying the CGM before its gas can be accreted. Despite this gradual increase, the resulting outflows still evacuate large, hot cavities within the CGM and even beyond $r_{200}$. Some of the CGM gas avoids interacting with the cavities and is able to feed the disk along its midplane, but the cooling of feedback-heated gas far from the midplane is too slow to supply the disk with additional gas. Our simulations illustrate the importance of physical mechanisms in the outer CGM and IGM for star formation regulation in Milky Way-scale halos., Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures. Submitted to the Astrophysical Journal

The universe's biggest galaxies have both vast atmospheres and supermassive central black holes. This article reviews how those two components of a large galaxy couple and regulate the galaxy's star formation rate. Models of interactions between a supermassive black hole and the large-scale atmosphere suggest that the energy released as cold gas clouds accrete onto the black hole suspends the atmosphere in a state that is marginally stable to formation of cold clouds. A growing body of observational evidence indicates that many massive galaxies, ranging from the huge central galaxies of galaxy clusters down to our own Milky Way, are close to that marginal state. The gas supply for star formation within a galaxy in such a marginal state is closely tied to the central velocity dispersion (sigma_v) of its stars. We therefore explore the consequences of a model in which energy released during blackhole accretion shuts down star formation when sigma_v exceeds a critical value determined by the galaxy's supernova heating rate., Comment: Updated post page proofs. 272 pages, 68 figures, 666 references, PHYSICS REPORTS invited review. Immediate open access, note: 109 pages in the published page-set version available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370157322001302?via%3Dihub

Absorption-line measurements of the circumgalactic medium (CGM) display a highly non-uniform distribution of lower ionization state species accompanied by more widespread higher ionization state material. This suggests that the CGM is a dynamic, multiphase medium, such as arises in the presence of turbulence. To better understand this evolution, we perform hydrodynamic and magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the CGM surrounding Milky Way-like galaxies. In both cases, the CGM is initially in hydrostatic balance in a $10^{12}$ solar masses dark matter gravitational potential, and the simulations include rotation in the inner halo and turbulence that decreases radially. They also track ionizations, recombinations, and species-by-species radiative cooling in the presence of the redshift-zero UV background, employing the MAIHEM non-equilibrium chemistry package. We find that after 9 Gyrs of evolution, the presence of a magnetic field leads to an overall hotter CGM, with cool gas in the center where magnetic pressure dominates. While the non-MHD run produces more cold clouds overall, we find similar Si IV/O VI and N V/O VI ratios between the MHD and non-MHD runs, which are both very different from their equilibrium values. The non-MHD halo develops cool, low angular momentum filaments above the central disk, in comparison to the MHD run that has more efficient angular momentum transport, especially for the cold gas which forms a more ordered and extended disk late into its evolution., Comment: 24 pages, 16 figures

Ram pressure stripping (RPS) is an important mechanism for galaxy evolution. In this work, we present results from HST and APEX observations of one RPS galaxy, ESO 137-002 in the closest rich cluster Abell 3627. The galaxy is known to host prominent X-ray and H$\alpha$ tails. The HST data reveal significant features indicative of RPS in the galaxy, including asymmetric distribution of dust in the galaxy, dust filaments and dust clouds in ablation generally aligned with the direction of ram pressure, and young star clusters immediately upstream of the residual dust clouds that suggest star formation (SF) triggered by RPS. The distribution of the molecular gas is asymmetric in the galaxy, with no CO upstream and abundant CO downstream and in the inner tail region. A total amount of $\sim 5.5 \times 10^{9}$ M$_\odot$ of molecular gas is detected in the galaxy and its tail. On the other hand, we do not detect any active SF in the X-ray and H$\alpha$ tails of ESO 137-002 with the HST data and place a limit on the SF efficiency in the tail. Hence, if selected by SF behind the galaxy in the optical or UV (e.g., surveys like GASP or using the Galex data), ESO 137-002 will not be considered a ``jellyfish'' galaxy. Thus, galaxies like ESO 137-002 are important for our comprehensive understanding of RPS galaxies and the evolution of the stripped material. ESO 137-002 also presents a great example of an edge-on galaxy experiencing a nearly edge-on RPS wind., Comment: 19 pages, 16 figures, 5 tables, MNRAS, re-submitted

Coupling between active galactic nuclei (AGN) and the circumgalactic medium (CGM) is critical to the interplay between radiative cooling and feedback heating in the atmospheres of the universe's most massive galaxies. This paper presents a detailed analysis of numerical simulations showing how kinetic AGN feedback with a strong momentum flux interacts with the CGM. Our analysis shows that large scale CGM circulation plays an important role in reconfiguring the galactic atmosphere and regulating the atmosphere's central entropy level. We find that most of the AGN energy output goes into lifting of circumgalactic gas rather than heating of atmospheric gas within the galaxy, consequently reconfiguring the circumgalactic medium (CGM) in our simulations. Large scale (10s of kpc) circulation of the CGM on ~ 10-100 kpc scales therefore plays a critical role in preventing over-cooling of gas in these simulated galaxies. The simulations also show that our choices of accretion efficiency and jet opening angle significantly affect the AGN-CGM coupling. Reducing the jet opening angle to quarter of the fiducial opening angle increases the jet momentum flux, enabling it to drill through to larger radii without effectively coupling with the CGM at the center ( $r < 5$ kpc). Outflows with a lower momentum flux decelerate and thermalize the bulk of their energy at smaller radii ($r \lesssim 10$ )., Comment: 26 pages, 17 figures, submitted to ApJ

We present an archival analysis of Chandra X-ray observations for twelve nearby early-type galaxies hosting radio sources with radio power $>10^{23} \, \rm{W}~\rm{Hz}^{-1}$ at 1.4 GHz, similar to the radio power of the radio source in NGC 4261. Previously, in a similar analysis of eight nearby X-ray and optically-bright elliptical galaxies, Werner et al. 2012, found that NGC 4261 exhibited unusually low central gas entropy compared to the full sample. In the central 0.3 kpc of NGC 4261, the ratio of cooling time to freefall time ($t_{\rm{cool}}/t_{\rm ff}$) is less than $10$, indicating that cold clouds may be precipitating out of the hot ambient medium and providing fuel for accretion in the central region. NGC 4261 also hosts the most powerful radio source in the original sample. Because NGC 4261 may represent an important phase during which powerful feedback from a central active galactic nucleus (AGN) is fueled by multiphase condensation in the central kpc, we searched the Chandra archive for analogs to NGC 4261. We present entropy profiles of those galaxies as well as profiles of $t_{\rm{cool}}/t_{\rm ff}$. We find that one of them, IC 4296, exhibits properties similar to NGC 4261, including the presence of only single phase gas outside of $r \sim 2$ kpc and a similar central velocity dispersion. We compare the properties of NGC 4261 and IC 4296 to hydrodynamic simulations of AGN feedback fueled by precipitation. Over the course of those simulations, the single phase galaxy has an entropy gradient that remains similar to the entropy profiles inferred from our observations., Comment: 13 pages, 5 Figures, revised version of paper submitted to ApJ

In the universe's most massive galaxies, kinetic feedback from a central supermassive black hole appears to limit star formation. Abundant circumstantial evidence suggests that accumulation of cold gas near the central black hole strongly boosts the feedback output, keeping the ambient medium in a state marginally unstable to condensation and formation of cold gas clouds. However, the ability of that mechanism to self-regulate may depend on numerous environmental factors, including the depth of the potential well and the pressure of the surrounding circumgalactic medium (CGM). Here we present a suite of numerical simulations that explores the dependence of cold-fuelled bipolar kinetic feedback on those environmental factors. Halo mass in this simulation suite ranges from $2 \times 10^{12} \, M_\odot$ to $8 \times 10^{14} \, M_\odot$. We include the spatially extended mass and energy input from the massive galaxy's old stellar population, which is capable of sweeping gas out of the galaxy and away from the central black hole if the confining CGM pressure is sufficiently low. Our simulations show that this feedback mechanism is tightly self-regulating in a massive galaxy with a deep central potential and low CGM pressure, permitting only small amounts of multiphase gas to accumulate and allowing almost no star formation. In a massive galaxy of similar mass but a shallower central potential and greater CGM pressure the same feedback mechanism is more episodic, producing extended multiphase gas and occasionally allowing small rates of star formation ($\sim 0.1 \, M_\odot \, {\rm yr}^{-1}$). At the low-mass end of the explored range the mechanism becomes implausibly explosive, perhaps because the ambient gas initially has no angular momentum, which would have reduced the amount of condensed gas capable of fueling feedback., Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ

In cool-core galaxy clusters with central cooling times much shorter than a Hubble time, condensation of the ambient central gas is regulated by a heating mechanism, probably an active galactic nucleus (AGN). Previous analytical work has suggested that certain radial distributions of heat input may result in convergence to a quasi-steady global state that does not substantively change on the timescale for radiative cooling, even if the heating and cooling are not locally in balance. To test this hypothesis, we simulate idealized galaxy cluster halos using the \ENZO code with an idealized, spherically symmetric heat-input kernel intended to emulate. Thermal energy is distributed with radius according to a range of kernels, in which total heating is updated to match total cooling every $10 ~\text{Myr}$. Some heating kernels can maintain quasi-steady global configurations, but no kernel we tested produces a quasi-steady state with central entropy as low as those observed in cool-core clusters. The general behavior of the simulations depends on the proportion of heating in the inner $10 ~\text{kpc}$, with low central heating leading to central cooling catastrophes, high central heating creating a central convective zone with an inverted entropy gradient, and intermediate central heating resulting in a flat central entropy profile that exceeds observations. The timescale on which our simulated halos fall into an unsteady multiphase state is proportional to the square of the cooling time of the lowest entropy gas, allowing more centrally concentrated heating to maintain a longer lasting steady state., Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures

Inspired by the discovery of the Phoenix cluster by the South Pole Telescope team, we initiated a search for other massive clusters of galaxies missing from the standard X-ray catalogs. We began by identifying 25 cluster candidates not included in the Meta-Catalog of X-ray Clusters of galaxies cluster compilation through cross-identification of the central galaxies of optically identified clusters in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey GMBCG catalog with bright X-ray sources in the ROSAT Bright Source Catalog. Those candidates were mostly unidentified or previously classified as X-ray active galactic nucleus (AGN). We analyzed brief Chandra X-ray Observatory observations of 14 of these X-ray sources and found that eight are X-ray luminous clusters of galaxies, only one showing evidence for a central X-ray point source. The remaining six candidates turned out to be point-source dominated, with faint detections or upper limits on any extended emission. We were not able to rule out the presence of extended X-ray emission from any of the point sources. The levels of extended emission around the six point sources are consistent with expectations based on optical richness, but could also be contaminated by scattered X-ray light from the central point source or extended nonthermal emission from possible radio lobes. We characterize the extended components of each of the well-detected cluster sources, finding that six of the eight X-ray clusters are consistent with being compact cool-core clusters. One of the newly identified low-luminosity X-ray clusters may have had an X-ray-luminous AGN 20 yr prior to the recent Chandra observations, based on the 4{\sigma} difference between its Chandra and ROSAT fluxes., Comment: PDF, as published in Astrophysical Journal. 4 figures, 4 tables

Recent observations show that the star formation rate (SFR) in the {\it Phoenix} cluster's central galaxy is $\sim 500$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$. Even though {\it Phoenix} is a massive cluster ($M_{200} \approx 2.0\times 10^{15}$ M$_\odot$; $z\approx 0.6$) such a high central SFR is not expected in a scenario in which feedback from an active galactic nucleus (AGN) maintains the intracluster medium (ICM) in a state of rough thermal balance. It has been argued that either AGN feedback saturates in very massive clusters or the central supermassive black hole (SMBH) is too small to produce enough kinetic feedback and hence is unable to quench the catastrophic cooling. In this work, we present an alternate scenario wherein intense short-lived cooling and star formation phases followed by strong AGN outbursts are part of the AGN feedback loop. Using results from a 3D hydrodynamic simulation of a standard cool-core cluster ($M_{200}\sim 7\times10^{14}$ M$_\odot$; $z=0$), scaled to account for differences in mass and redshift, we argue that {\it Phoenix} is at the end of a cooling phase in which an AGN outburst has begun but has not yet arrested core cooling. This state of high cooling rate and star formation is expected to last for $\lesssim$ 100 Myr in {\it Phoenix}., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

The majority of baryons reside beyond the optical extent of a galaxy in the circumgalactic and intergalactic media (CGM/IGM). Gaseous halos are inextricably linked to the appearance of their host galaxies through a complex story of accretion, feedback, and continual recycling. The energetic processes, which define the state of gas in the CGM, are the same ones that 1) regulate stellar growth so that it is not over-efficient, and 2) create the diversity of today's galaxy colors, SFRs, and morphologies spanning Hubble's Tuning Fork Diagram. They work in concert to set the speed of growth on the star-forming Main Sequence, transform a galaxy across the Green Valley, and maintain a galaxy's quenched appearance on the Red Sequence. Most baryons in halos more massive than 10^12 Msolar along with their high-energy physics and dynamics remain invisible because that gas is heated above the UV ionization states. We argue that information on many of the essential drivers of galaxy evolution is primarily contained in this "missing" hot gas phase. Completing the picture of galaxy formation requires uncovering the physical mechanisms behind stellar and SMBH feedback driving mass, metals, and energy into the CGM. By opening galactic hot halos to new wavebands, we not only obtain fossil imprints of >13 Gyrs of evolution, but observe on-going hot-mode accretion, the deposition of superwind outflows into the CGM, and the re-arrangement of baryons by SMBH feedback. A description of the flows of mass, metals, and energy will only be complete by observing the thermodynamic states, chemical compositions, structure, and dynamics of T>=10^6 K halos. These measurements are uniquely possible with a next-generation X-ray observatory if it provides the sensitivity to detect faint CGM emission, spectroscopic power to measure absorption lines and gas motions, and high spatial resolution to resolve structures., Comment: White paper submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Survey (5 pages, 2 figures)

The past decade began with the first light of ALMA and will end at the start of the new era of hyperdimensional astrophysics. Our community-wide movement toward highly multiwavelength and multidimensional datasets has enabled immense progress in each science frontier identified by the 2010 Decadal Survey, particularly with regard to black hole feedback and the cycle of baryons in galaxies. Facilities like ALMA and the next generation of integral field unit (IFU) spectrographs together enable mapping the physical conditions and kinematics of warm ionized and cold molecular gas in galaxies in unprecedented detail (Fig. 1). JWST's launch at the start of the coming decade will push this capability to the rest-frame UV at redshifts z > 6, mapping the birth of stars in the first galaxies at cosmic dawn. Understanding of their subsequent evolution, however, now awaits an ability to map the processes that transform galaxies directly, rather than the consequences of those processes in isolation. In this paper, we argue that doing so requires an equivalent revolution in spatially resolved spectroscopy for the hot plasma that pervades galaxies, the atmospheres in which they reside, and the winds that are the engines of their evolution., Comment: A Science White Paper submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Survey (7 papers, 4 figures)

Galaxies evolve under the influence of gas flows between their interstellar medium and their surrounding gaseous halos known as the circumgalactic medium (CGM). The CGM is a major reservoir of galactic baryons and metals, and plays a key role in the long cycles of accretion, feedback, and recycling of gas that drive star formation. In order to fully understand the physical processes at work within galaxies, it is therefore essential to have a firm understanding of the composition, structure, kinematics, thermodynamics, and evolution of the CGM. In this white paper we outline connections between the CGM and galactic star formation histories, internal kinematics, chemical evolution, quenching, satellite evolution, dark matter halo occupation, and the reionization of the larger-scale intergalactic medium in light of the advances that will be made on these topics in the 2020s. We argue that, in the next decade, fundamental progress on all of these major issues depends critically on improved empirical characterization and theoretical understanding of the CGM. In particular, we discuss how future advances in spatially-resolved CGM observations at high spectral resolution, broader characterization of the CGM across galaxy mass and redshift, and expected breakthroughs in cosmological hydrodynamic simulations will help resolve these major problems in galaxy evolution., Comment: Astro2020 Decadal Science White Paper

We present ALMA and MUSE observations of the Brightest Cluster Galaxy in Abell 2597, a nearby (z=0.0821) cool core cluster of galaxies. The data map the kinematics of a three billion solar mass filamentary nebula that spans the innermost 30 kpc of the galaxy's core. Its warm ionized and cold molecular components are both cospatial and comoving, consistent with the hypothesis that the optical nebula traces the warm envelopes of many cold molecular clouds that drift in the velocity field of the hot X-ray atmosphere. The clouds are not in dynamical equilibrium, and instead show evidence for inflow toward the central supermassive black hole, outflow along the jets it launches, and uplift by the buoyant hot bubbles those jets inflate. The entire scenario is therefore consistent with a galaxy-spanning "fountain", wherein cold gas clouds drain into the black hole accretion reservoir, powering jets and bubbles that uplift a cooling plume of low-entropy multiphase gas, which may stimulate additional cooling and accretion as part of a self-regulating feedback loop. All velocities are below the escape speed from the galaxy, and so these clouds should rain back toward the galaxy center from which they came, keeping the fountain long-lived. The data are consistent with major predictions of chaotic cold accretion, precipitation, and stimulated feedback models, and may trace processes fundamental to galaxy evolution at effectively all mass scales., Comment: 31 pages, 19 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

We present a new method for photometering objects in galaxy clusters. We introduce a mode-filtering technique for removing spatially variable backgrounds, improving both detection and photometric accuracy (roughly halving the scatter in the red sequence compared to previous catalogs of the same clusters). This method is based on robustly determining the distribution of background pixel values and should provide comparable improvement in photometric analysis of any crowded fields. We produce new multiwavelength catalogs for the 25 CLASH cluster fields in all 16 bandpasses from the UV through the near IR, as well as rest-frame magnitudes. A comparison with spectroscopic values from the literature finds a ~30% decrease in the redshift deviation from previously-released CLASH photometry. This improvement in redshift precision, in combination with a detection scheme designed to maximize purity, yields a substantial upgrade in cluster member identification over the previous CLASH galaxy catalog. We construct luminosity functions for each cluster, reliably reaching depths of at least 4.5 mag below M* in every case, and deeper still in several clusters. We measure M* , $\alpha$, and their redshift evolution, assuming the cluster populations are coeval, and find little to no evolution of $\alpha$, $-0.9\lesssim\langle\alpha\rangle\lesssim -0.8$, and M* values consistent with passive evolution. We present a catalog of galaxy photometry, photometric and spectroscopic redshifts, and rest-frame photometry for the full fields of view of all 25 CLASH clusters. Not only will our new photometric catalogs enable new studies of the properties of CLASH clusters, but mode-filtering techniques, such as those presented here, should greatly enhance the data quality of future photometric surveys of crowded fields., Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures. Published in ApJ, 2017

We report new HST COS and STIS spectroscopy of a star-forming region (~100 solar masses/year) in the center of the X-ray cluster RXJ1532.9+3021 (z=0.362), to follow-up the CLASH team discovery of luminous UV filaments and knots in the central massive galaxy. We detect broad (~500 km/s) Lyman alpha emission lines with extraordinarily high equivalent width (EQW~200 Angstroms) and somewhat less broadened H-alpha (~220 km/s). Emission lines of N V and O VI are not detected, which constrains the rate at which gas cools through temperatures of 10^6 K to be less than about 10 solar masses/year. The COS spectra also show a flat rest-frame UV continuum with weak stellar photospheric features, consistent with the presence of recently-formed hot stars forming at a rate of ~10 solar masses/year, uncorrected for dust extinction. The slope and absorption lines in these UV spectra are similar to those of Lyman Break Galaxies at z approximately 3, albeit those with the highest Lyman-alpha equivalent widths and star-formation rates. This high-EQW Lyman-alpha source is a high-metallicity galaxy rapidly forming stars in structures that look nothing like disks. This mode of star formation could significantly contribute to the spheroidal population of galaxies. The constraint on the luminosity of any O VI line emission is stringent enough to rule out steady and simultaneous gas cooling and star formation, unlike similar systems in the Phoenix Cluster and Abell 1795. The fact that the current star formation rate differs from the local mass cooling rate is consistent with recent simulations of episodic AGN feedback and star formation in a cluster atmosphere., Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, accepted to Astrophysical Journal

Supermassive black holes in galaxy centres can grow by the accretion of gas, liberating energy that might regulate star formation on galaxy-wide scales. The nature of the gaseous fuel reservoirs that power black hole growth is nevertheless largely unconstrained by observations, and is instead routinely simplified as a smooth, spherical inflow of very hot gas. Recent theory and simulations instead predict that accretion can be dominated by a stochastic, clumpy distribution of very cold molecular clouds - a departure from the "hot mode" accretion model - although unambiguous observational support for this prediction remains elusive. Here we report observations that reveal a cold, clumpy accretion flow towards a supermassive black hole fuel reservoir in the nucleus of the Abell 2597 Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG), a nearby (redshift z=0.0821) giant elliptical galaxy surrounded by a dense halo of hot plasma. Under the right conditions, thermal instabilities can precipitate from this hot gas, producing a rain of cold clouds that fall toward the galaxy's centre, sustaining star formation amid a kiloparsec-scale molecular nebula that inhabits its core. The observations show that these cold clouds also fuel black hole accretion, revealing "shadows" cast by the molecular clouds as they move inward at about 300 kilometres per second towards the active supermassive black hole in the galaxy centre, which serves as a bright backlight. Corroborating evidence from prior observations of warmer atomic gas at extremely high spatial resolution, along with simple arguments based on geometry and probability, indicate that these clouds are within the innermost hundred parsecs of the black hole, and falling closer towards it., Comment: Published in the June 9th, 2016 issue of Nature

We compare several common sub-grid implementations of AGN feedback, focusing on the effects of different triggering mechanisms and the differences between thermal and kinetic feedback. Our main result is that pure thermal feedback that is centrally injected behaves differently from feedback with even a small kinetic component. Specifically, pure thermal feedback results in excessive condensation and smothering of the AGN by cold gas because the feedback energy does not propagate to large enough radii. We do not see large differences between implementations of different triggering mechanisms, as long as the spatial resolution is sufficiently high, probably because all of the implementations tested here trigger strong AGN feedback under similar conditions. In order to assess the role of resolution, we vary the size of the "accretion zone" in which properties are measured to determine the AGN accretion rate and resulting feedback power. We find that a larger accretion zone results in steadier jets but can also allow too much cold-gas condensation in simulations with a Bondi-like triggering algorithm. We also vary the opening angle of jet precession and find that a larger precession angle causes more of the jet energy to thermalize closer to the AGN, thereby producing results similar to pure thermal feedback. Our simulations confirm that AGN can regulate the thermal state of cool-core galaxy clusters and maintain the core in a state that is marginally susceptable to thermal instability and precipitation., Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, submitted to ApJ

Morphology is often used to infer the state of relaxation of galaxy clusters. The regularity, symmetry, and degree to which a cluster is centrally concentrated inform quantitative measures of cluster morphology. The Cluster Lensing and Supernova survey with Hubble Space Telescope (CLASH) used weak and strong lensing to measure the distribution of matter within a sample of 25 clusters, 20 of which were deemed to be relaxed based on their X-ray morphology and alignment of the X-ray emission with the BCG. Towards a quantitative characterization of this important sample of clusters, we present uniformly estimated X-ray morphological statistics for all 25 CLASH clusters. We compare X-ray morphologies of CLASH clusters with those identically measured for a large sample of simulated clusters from the MUSIC-2 simulations, selected by mass. We confirm a threshold in X-ray surface brightness concentration of C>0.4 for cool-core clusters, where C is the ratio of X-ray emission inside 100 kpc/h70 compared to inside 500 kpc/h70. We report and compare morphologies of these clusters inferred from Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect (SZE) maps of the hot gas and in from projected mass maps based on strong and weak lensing. We find a strong agreement in alignments of the orientation of major axes for the lensing, X-ray, and SZE maps of nearly all of the CLASH clusters at radii of 500 kpc (approximately 0.5R500 for these clusters). We also find a striking alignment of clusters shapes at the 500 kpc scale, as measured with X-ray, SZE, and lensing, with that of the near-infrared stellar light at 10 kpc scales for the 20 "relaxed" clusters. This strong alignment indicates a powerful coupling between the cluster- and galaxy-scale galaxy formation processes., Comment: 13 pages. Accepted to ApJ 11 Jan 2016

We present a multiwavelength morphological analysis of star forming clouds and filaments in the central ($< 50$ kpc) regions of 16 low redshift ($z<0.3$) cool core brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs). New Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging of far ultraviolet continuum emission from young ($\sim 10$ Myr), massive ($> 5$ \Msol) stars reveals filamentary and clumpy morphologies, which we quantify by means of structural indices. The FUV data are compared with X-ray, Ly$\alpha$, narrowband H$\alpha$, broadband optical/IR, and radio maps, providing a high spatial resolution atlas of star formation locales relative to the ambient hot ($\sim10^{7-8}$ K) and warm ionised ($\sim 10^4$ K) gas phases, as well as the old stellar population and radio-bright AGN outflows. Nearly half of the sample possesses kpc-scale filaments that, in projection, extend toward and around radio lobes and/or X-ray cavities. These filaments may have been uplifted by the propagating jet or buoyant X-ray bubble, or may have formed {\it in situ} by cloud collapse at the interface of a radio lobe or rapid cooling in a cavity's compressed shell. The morphological diversity of nearly the entire FUV sample is reproduced by recent hydrodynamical simulations in which the AGN powers a self-regulating rain of thermally unstable star forming clouds that precipitate from the hot atmosphere. In this model, precipitation triggers where the cooling-to- freefall time ratio is $t_{\mathrm{cool}}/t_{\mathrm{ff}}\sim 10$. This condition is roughly met at the maxmial projected FUV radius for more than half of our sample, and clustering about this ratio is stronger for sources with higher star formation rates., Comment: 36 pages, 30 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Galaxy growth depends critically on the interplay between radiative cooling of cosmic gas and the resulting energetic feedback that cooling triggers. This interplay has proven exceedingly difficult to model, even with large supercomputer simulations, because of its complexity. Nevertheless, real galaxies are observed to obey simple scaling relations among their primary observable characteristics. Here we show that a generic emergent property of the interplay between cooling and feedback can explain the observed scaling relationships between a galaxy's stellar mass, its total mass, and its chemical enrichment level, as well as the relationship between the average orbital velocity of its stars and the mass of its central black hole. These relationships naturally result from any feedback mechanism that strongly heats a galaxy's circumgalactic gas in response to precipitation of colder clouds out of that gas, because feedback then suspends the gas in a marginally precipitating state., Comment: Submitted to ApJ Letters

Brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) are usually quiescent, but many exhibit star formation. Here we exploit the opportunity provided by rest-frame UV imaging of galaxy clusters in the CLASH (Cluster Lensing and Supernovae with Hubble) Multi-Cycle Treasury Project to reveal the diversity of UV morphologies in BCGs and to compare them with recent simulations of the cool, star-forming gas structures produced by precipitation-driven feedback. All of the CLASH BCGs are detected in the rest-frame UV (280 nm), regardless of their star-formation activity, because evolved stellar populations produce a modest amount of UV light that traces the relatively smooth, symmetric, and centrally peaked stellar distribution seen in the near infrared. Ultraviolet morphologies among the BCGs with strong UV excesses exhibit distinctive knots, multiple elongated clumps, and extended filaments of emission that distinctly differ from the smooth profiles of the UV-quiet BCGs. These structures, which are similar to those seen in the few star-forming BCGs observed in the UV at low redshift, are suggestive of bi-polar streams of clumpy star formation, but not of spiral arms or large, kpc-scale disks. Based on the number of streams and lack of culprit companion galaxies, these streams are unlikely to have arisen from multiple collisions with gas-rich galaxies. These star-forming UV structures are morphologically similar to the cold-gas structures produced in simulations of precipitation-driven AGN feedback in which jets uplift low-entropy gas to greater altitudes, causing it to condense. Unobscured star-formation rates estimated from CLASH UV images using the Kennicutt relation range up to 80 solar masses per year in the most extended and highly structured systems. The circumgalactic gas-entropy threshold for star formation in CLASH BCGs at z~0.2-0.5 is indistinguishable from that for clusters at z < 0.2., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, accepted to the Astrophysical Journal 02-April-2015

Numerical simulations of active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback in cool-core galaxy clusters have successfully avoided classical cooling flows, but often produce too much cold gas. We perform adaptive mesh simulations that include momentum-driven AGN feedback, self-gravity, star formation and stellar feedback, focusing on the interplay between cooling, AGN heating and star formation in an isolated cool-core cluster. Cold clumps triggered by AGN jets and turbulence form filamentary structures tens of kpc long. This cold gas feeds both star formation and the supermassive black hole (SMBH), triggering an AGN outburst that increases the entropy of the ICM and reduces its cooling rate. Within 1-2 Gyr, star formation completely consumes the cold gas, leading to a brief shutoff of the AGN. The ICM quickly cools and redevelops multiphase gas, followed by another cycle of star formation/AGN outburst. Within 6.5 Gyr, we observe three such cycles. There is good agreement between our simulated cluster and the observations of cool-core clusters. ICM cooling is dynamically balanced by AGN heating, and a cool-core appearance is preserved. The minimum cooling time to free-fall time ratio typically varies between a few and $\gtrsim 20$. The star formation rate (SFR) covers a wide range, from 0 to a few hundred $\rm M_{\odot}\, yr^{-1}$, with an average of $\sim 40 \,\rm M_{\odot}\, yr^{-1}$. The instantaneous SMBH accretion rate shows large variations on short timescales, but the average value correlates well with the SFR. Simulations without stellar feedback or self-gravity produce qualitatively similar results, but a lower SMBH feedback efficiency (0.1% compared to 1%) results in too many stars., Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, submitted to ApJ

We present profiles of temperature (Tx), gas mass, and hydrostatic mass estimated from new and archival X-ray observations of CLASH clusters. We compare measurements derived from XMM and Chandra observations with one another and compare both to gravitational lensing mass profiles derived with CLASH HST and ground-based lensing data. Radial profiles of Chandra and XMM electron density and enclosed gas mass are nearly identical, indicating that differences in hydrostatic masses inferred from X-ray observations arise from differences in Tx measurements. Encouragingly, cluster Txs are consistent with one another at ~100-200 kpc radii but XMM Tx systematically decline relative to Chandra Tx at larger radii. The angular dependence of the discrepancy suggests additional investigation on systematics such as the XMM point spread function correction, vignetting and off-axis responses. We present the CLASH-X mass-profile comparisons in the form of cosmology-independent and redshift-independent circular-velocity profiles. Ratios of Chandra HSE mass profiles to CLASH lensing profiles show no obvious radial dependence in the 0.3-0.8 Mpc range. However, the mean mass biases inferred from the WL and SaWLens data are different. e.g., the weighted-mean value at 0.5 Mpc is = 0.12 for the WL comparison and = -0.11 for the SaWLens comparison. The ratios of XMM HSE mass profiles to CLASH lensing profiles show a pronounced radial dependence in the 0.3-1.0 Mpc range, with a weighted mean mass bias of value rising to ~0.3 at ~1 Mpc for the WL comparison and of 0.25 for SaWLens comparison. The enclosed gas mass profiles from both Chandra and XMM rise to a value 1/8 times the total-mass profiles inferred from lensing at 0.5 Mpc and remain constant outside of that radius, suggesting that [8xMgas] profiles may be an excellent proxy for total-mass profiles at >0.5 Mpc in massive galaxy clusters., Comment: Accepted to ApJ; 24 pages; scheduled to appear in the Oct 10, 2014 issue. This version corrects the typographical error in the superscripts for Equation (2) to include the square of (r/r_core). The correct version of this equation was used in the analysis

The nature of the interaction between low-excitation gas filaments at ~10^4 K, seen in optical line emission, and diffuse X-ray emitting coronal gas at ~10^7 K in the centers of galaxy clusters remains a puzzle. The presence of a strong, empirical correlation between the two gas phases is indicative of a fundamental relationship between them, though as yet of undetermined cause. The cooler filaments, originally thought to have condensed from the hot gas, could also arise from a merger or the disturbance of cool circumnuclear gas by nuclear activity. Here, we have searched for intrinsic line emission polarization in cool core galaxy clusters as a diagnostic of fundamental transport processes. Drawing on developments in solar astrophysics, direct energetic particle impact induced polarization holds the promise to definitively determine the role of collisional processes such as thermal conduction in the ISM physics of galaxy clusters, while providing insight into other highly anisotropic excitation mechanisms such as shocks, intense radiation fields and suprathermal particles. Under certain physical conditions, theoretical calculations predict of order ten percent polarization. Our observations of the filaments in four nearby cool core clusters place stringent upper limits (<0.1%) on the presence of emission line polarization, requiring that if thermal conduction is operative, the thermal gradients are not in the saturated regime. This limit is consistent with theoretical models of the thermal structure of filament interfaces., Comment: 49 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

We provide a new observational test for a key prediction of the \Lambda CDM cosmological model: the contributions of mergers with different halo-to-main-cluster mass ratios to cluster-sized halo growth. We perform this test by dynamically analyzing seven galaxy clusters, spanning the redshift range $0.13 < z_c < 0.45$ and caustic mass range $0.4-1.5$ $10^{15} h_{0.73}^{-1}$ M$_{\odot}$, with an average of 293 spectroscopically-confirmed bound galaxies to each cluster. The large radial coverage (a few virial radii), which covers the whole infall region, with a high number of spectroscopically identified galaxies enables this new study. For each cluster, we identify bound galaxies. Out of these galaxies, we identify infalling and accreted halos and estimate their masses and their dynamical states. Using the estimated masses, we derive the contribution of different mass ratios to cluster-sized halo growth. For mass ratios between ~0.2 and ~0.7, we find a ~1 $\sigma$ agreement with \Lambda CDM expectations based on the Millennium simulations I and II. At low mass ratios, $\lesssim 0.2$, our derived contribution is underestimated since the detection efficiency decreases at low masses, $\sim 2 \times 10^{14}$ $h_{0.73}^{-1}$ M$_{\odot}$. At large mass ratios, $\gtrsim 0.7$, we do not detect halos probably because our sample, which was chosen to be quite X-ray relaxed, is biased against large mass ratios. Therefore, at large mass ratios, the derived contribution is also underestimated., Comment: 25 pages, 16 figures, 6 tables, 2 machine readable tables, accepted for publication in ApJ, updated acknowledgements and data table format modifications made

Simulations of galaxy clusters have a difficult time reproducing the radial gas-property gradients and red central galaxies observed to exist in the cores of galaxy clusters. Thermal conduction has been suggested as a mechanism that can help bring simulations of cluster cores into better alignment with observations by stabilizing the feedback processes that regulate gas cooling, but this idea has not yet been well tested with cosmological numerical simulations. Here we present cosmological simulations of ten galaxy clusters performed with five different levels of isotropic Spitzer conduction, which alters both the cores and outskirts of clusters, but not dramatically. In the cores, conduction flattens central temperature gradients, making them nearly isothermal and slightly lowering the central density but failing to prevent a cooling catastrophe there. Conduction has little effect on temperature gradients outside of cluster cores because outward conductive heat flow tends to inflate the outer parts of the intracluster medium (ICM) instead of raising its temperature. In general, conduction tends reduce temperature inhomogeneity in the ICM, but our simulations indicate that those homogenizing effects would be extremely difficult to observe in ~5 keV clusters. Outside the virial radius, our conduction implementation lowers the gas densities and temperatures because it reduces the Mach numbers of accretion shocks. We conclude that despite the numerous small ways in which conduction alters the structure of galaxy clusters, none of these effects are significant enough to make the efficiency of conduction easily measurable unless its effects are more pronounced in clusters hotter than those we have simulated., Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures. Submitted to The Astrophysical Journal

Star formation within the central galaxies of galaxy clusters is often interpreted as being fueled by cooling of the hot intracluster medium. However, the star-forming gas is dusty, and Spitzer spectra show that the dust properties are similar to those in more normal star-forming environments, in which the dust has come from the winds of dying stars. Here we consider whether the primary source of the star-forming gas in central cluster galaxies could be normal stellar mass loss. We show that the overall stellar mass-loss rate in a large central galaxy (~4-8 solar masses per year) is at least as large as the observed star-formation rates in all but the most extreme cases and must be included in any assessment of the gas-mass budget of a central cluster galaxy. We also present arguments suggesting that the gas shed by stars in galaxy clusters with high core pressures and short central cooling times may remain cool and distinct from its hot surroundings, thereby preserving the dust within it., Comment: ApJ Letters, in press, 4 pages, 1 figure

We present measurements of 5-25 {\mu}m emission features of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) with strong optical emission lines in a sample of 9 cool-core clusters of galaxies observed with the Infrared Spectrograph on board the Spitzer Space Telescope. These systems provide a view of dusty molecular gas and star formation, surrounded by dense, X-ray emitting intracluster gas. Past work has shown that BCGs in cool-core clusters may host powerful radio sources, luminous optical emission line systems, and excess UV, while BCGs in other clusters never show this activity. In this sample, we detect polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), extremely luminous, rotationally-excited molecular hydrogen line emission, forbidden line emission from ionized gas ([Ne II] and [Ne III]), and infrared continuum emission from warm dust and cool stars. We show here that these BCGs exhibit more luminous forbidden neon and H2 rotational line emission than star-forming galaxies with similar total infrared luminosities, as well as somewhat higher ratios of 70 {\mu}m / 24 {\mu}m luminosities. Our analysis suggests that while star formation processes dominate the heating of the dust and PAHs, a heating process consistent with suprathermal electron heating from the hot gas, distinct from star formation, is heating the molecular gas and contributing to the heating of the ionized gas in the galaxies. The survival of PAHs and dust suggests that dusty gas is somehow shielded from significant interaction with the X-ray gas., Comment: 27 preprint pages, 18 figures, accepted by Astrophysical Journal

We present measurements of the masses of a sample of 25 moderate X-ray luminosity clusters of galaxies from the 160 square degree ROSAT survey. The masses were obtained from a weak lensing analysis of deep F814W images obtained using the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). We present an accurate empirical correction for the effect of charge transfer (in)efficiency on the shapes of faint galaxies. A significant lensing signal is detected around most of the clusters. The lensing mass correlates tightly with the cluster richness. We measured the intrinsic scatter in the scaling relation between M_2500 and L_X and find the best fit power law slope and normalisation to be alpha=0.68+-0.07 and M_X=(1.2+-0.12)10^14M_sun (for L_X=2x10^44 erg/s). These results agree well with a number of recent studies, but the normalisation is lower compared to the study of Rykoff et al. (2008b). One explanation for this difference may be the fact that (sub)structures projected along the line-of-sight boost both the galaxy counts and the lensing mass. Such superpositions lead to an increased mass at a given L_X when clusters are binned by richness., Comment: accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal; 15 pages, 11 figures

Quillen et al. and O'Dea et al. carried out a Spitzer study of a sample of 62 brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) from the ROSAT Brightest Cluster Sample chosen based on their elevated H-alpha flux. We present Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) far ultraviolet (FUV) images of the Ly-alpha and continuum emission of the luminous emission-line nebulae in 7 BCGs found to have an infrared excess. We confirm that the BCGs are actively forming stars suggesting that the IR excess seen in these BCGs is indeed associated with star formation. The FUV continuum emission extends over a region of ~7-28 kpc (largest linear size) and even larger in Ly-alpha. The young stellar population required by the FUV observations would produce a significant fraction of the ionizing photons required to power the emission line nebulae. Star formation rates estimated from the FUV continuum range from ~3 to ~14 times lower than those estimated from the IR, however both the Balmer decrement in the central few arcseconds and detection of CO in most of these galaxies imply that there are regions of high extinction that could have absorbed much of the FUV continuum. Analysis of archival VLA observations reveals compact radio sources in all 7 BCGs and kpc scale jets in Abell 1835 and RXJ 2129+00. The four galaxies with archival deep Chandra observations exhibit asymmetric X-ray emission, the peaks of which are offset from the center of the BCGs by ~10 kpc on average. A low feedback state for the AGN could allow increased condensation of the hot gas into the center of the galaxy and the feeding of star formation., Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

Supernova (SN) rates are potentially powerful diagnostics of metal enrichment and SN physics, particularly in galaxy clusters with their deep, metal-retaining potentials and relatively simple star-formation histories. We have carried out a survey for supernovae (SNe) in galaxy clusters, at a redshift range 0.5

We present UV broadband photometry and optical emission-line measurements for a sample of 32 Brightest Cluster Galaxies (BCGs) in clusters of the Representative XMM-Newton Cluster Structure Survey (REXCESS) with z = 0.06-0.18. The REXCESS clusters, chosen to study scaling relations in clusters of galaxies, have X-ray measurements of high quality. The trends of star formation and BCG colors with BCG and host properties can be investigated with this sample. The UV photometry comes from the XMM Optical Monitor, supplemented by existing archival GALEX photometry. We detected H\alpha and forbidden line emission in 7 (22%) of these BCGs, in optical spectra. All of the emission-line BCGs occupy clusters classified as cool cores, for an emission-line incidence rate of 70% for BCGs in cool core clusters. Significant correlations between the H\alpha equivalent widths, excess UV production in the BCG, and the presence of dense, X-ray bright intracluster gas with a short cooling time are seen, including the fact that all of the H\alpha emitters inhabit systems with short central cooling times and high central ICM densities. Estimates of the star formation rates based on H\alpha and UV excesses are consistent with each other in these 7 systems, ranging from 0.1-8 solar masses per year. The incidence of emission-line BCGs in the REXCESS sample is intermediate, somewhat lower than in other X-ray selected samples (-35%), and somewhat higher than but statistically consistent with optically selected, slightly lower redshift BCG samples (-10-15%). The UV-optical colors (UVW1-R-4.7\pm0.3) of REXCESS BCGs without strong optical emission lines are consistent with those predicted from templates and observations of ellipticals dominated by old stellar populations. We see no trend in UV-optical colors with optical luminosity, R-K color, X-ray temperature, redshift, or offset between X-ray centroid and X-ray peak ()., Comment: 19 pages, 18 figures, 6 tables. Submitted, with minor revisions, to ApJ.

We present radial entropy profiles of the intracluster medium (ICM) for a collection of 239 clusters taken from the Chandra X-ray Observatory's Data Archive. Entropy is of great interest because it controls ICM global properties and records the thermal history of a cluster. Entropy is therefore a useful quantity for studying the effects of feedback on the cluster environment and investigating any breakdown of cluster self-similarity. We find that most ICM entropy profiles are well-fit by a model which is a power-law at large radii and approaches a constant value at small radii: K(r) = K0 + K100(r/100 kpc), where K0 quantifies the typical excess of core entropy above the best fitting power-law found at larger radii. We also show that the K0 distributions of both the full archival sample and the primary HIFLUGCS sample of Reiprich (2001) are bimodal with a distinct gap between K0 ~ 30 - 50 keV cm^2 and population peaks at K0 ~ 15 keV cm^2 and K0 ~ 150 keV cm^2. The effects of PSF smearing and angular resolution on best-fit K0 values are investigated using mock Chandra observations and degraded entropy profiles, respectively. We find that neither of these effects is sufficient to explain the entropy-profile flattening we measure at small radii. The influence of profile curvature and number of radial bins on best-fit K0 is also considered, and we find no indication K0 is significantly impacted by either. For completeness, we include previously unpublished optical spectroscopy of Halpha and [N II] emission lines discussed in Cavagnolo et al. (2008a). All data and results associated with this work are publicly available via the project web site., Comment: Accepted to ApJ Supplement, 46 pages, 8 figures (2 color), 5 tables

Galaxy clusters exhibit regular scaling relations among their bulk properties. These relations establish vital links between halo mass and cluster observables. Precision cosmology studies that depend on these links benefit from a better understanding of scatter in the mass-observable scaling relations. Here we study the role of merger processes in introducing scatter into the $M$-$T_{\rm X}$ relation, using a sample of 121 galaxy clusters simulated with radiative cooling and supernova feedback, along with three statistics previously proposed to measure X-ray surface brightness substructure. These are the centroid variation ($w$), the axial ratio ($\eta$), and the power ratios ($P_{20}$ and $P_{30}$). We find that in this set of simulated clusters, each substructure measure is correlated with a cluster's departures $\delta \ln T_{\rm X}$ and $\delta \ln M$ from the mean $M$-$T_{\rm X}$ relation, both for emission-weighted temperatures $T_{\rm EW}$ and for spectroscopic-like temperatures $T_{\rm SL}$, in the sense that clusters with more substructure tend to be cooler at a given halo mass. In all cases, a three-parameter fit to the $M$-$T_{\rm X}$ relation that includes substructure information has less scatter than a two-parameter fit to the basic $M$-$T_{\rm X}$ relation., Comment: Accepted by ApJ, 10 pages, 10 figures

Our Chandra X-ray Observatory archival study of intracluster entropy in a sample of 222 galaxy clusters shows that H-alpha and radio emission from the brightest cluster galaxy are much more pronounced when the cluster's core gas entropy is < 30 keV cm^2. The prevalence of H-alpha emission below this threshold indicates that it marks a dichotomy between clusters that can harbor multiphase gas and star formation in their cores and those that cannot. The fact that strong central radio emission also appears below this boundary suggests that AGN feedback turns on when the intracluster medium starts to condense, strengthening the case for AGN feedback as the mechanism that limits star formation in the Universe's most luminous galaxies., Comment: Submitted to ApJ Letters

We explore the band dependence of the inferred X-ray temperature of the intracluster medium (ICM) for 192 well-observed galaxy clusters selected from the Chandra Data Archive. If the hot ICM is nearly isothermal in the projected region of interest, the X-ray temperature inferred from a broad-band (0.7-7.0 keV) spectrum should be identical to the X-ray temperature inferred from a hard-band (2.0-7.0 keV) spectrum. However, if unresolved cool lumps of gas are contributing soft X-ray emission, the temperature of a best-fit single-component thermal model will be cooler for the broad-band spectrum than for the hard-band spectrum. Using this difference as a diagnostic, the ratio of best-fitting hard-band and broad-band temperatures may indicate the presence of cooler gas even when the X-ray spectrum itself may not have sufficient signal-to-noise to resolve multiple temperature components. To test this possible diagnostic, we extract X-ray spectra from core-excised annular regions for each cluster in our archival sample. We compare the X-ray temperatures inferred from single-temperature fits when the energy range of the fit is 0.7-7.0 keV (broad) and when the energy range is 2.0/(1+z)-7.0 keV (hard). We find that the hard-band temperature is significantly higher, on average, than the broad-band temperature. Upon further exploration, we find this temperature ratio is enhanced preferentially for clusters which are known merging systems. In addition, cool-core clusters tend to have best-fit hard-band temperatures that are in closer agreement with their best-fit broad-band temperatures. We show, using simulated spectra, that this diagnostic is sensitive to secondary cool components (TX = 0.5-3.0 keV) with emission measures >10-30% of the primary hot component., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ

We observed the brightest central galaxy (BCG) in the nearby (z=0.0821) cool core galaxy cluster Abell 2597 with the IRAC and MIPS instruments on board the Spitzer Space Telescope. The BCG was clearly detected in all Spitzer bandpasses, including the 70 and 160 micron wavebands. We report aperture photometry of the BCG. The spectral energy distribution exhibits a clear excess in the FIR over a Rayleigh-Jeans stellar tail, indicating a star formation rate of ~4-5 solar masses per year, consistent with the estimates from the UV and its H-alpha luminosity. This large FIR luminosity is consistent with that of a starburst or a Luminous Infrared Galaxy (LIRG), but together with a very massive and old population of stars that dominate the energy output of the galaxy. If the dust is at one temperature, the ratio of 70 to 160 micron fluxes indicate that the dust emitting mid-IR in this source is somewhat hotter than the dust emitting mid-IR in two BCGs at higher-redshift (z~0.2-0.3) and higher FIR luminosities observed earlier by Spitzer, in clusters Abell 1835 and Zwicky 3146., Comment: Accepted at ApJ

We present deep emission-line imaging taken with the SOAR Optical Imaging Camera of the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) in the nearby (z=0.035) X-ray cluster 2A0335+096. We analyze long-slit optical spectroscopy, archival VLA, Chandra X-ray, and XMM UV data. 2A0335+096 is a bright, cool-core X-ray cluster, once known as a cooling flow. Within the highly disturbed core revealed by Chandra X-ray observations, 2A0335+096 hosts a highly structured optical emission-line system. The redshift of the companion is within 100 km/s of the BCG and has certainly interacted with the BCG, and is likely bound to it. The comparison of optical and radio images shows curved filaments in H-alpha emission surrounding the resolved radio source. The velocity structure of the emission-line bar between the BCG nucleus and the companion galaxy provides strong evidence for an interaction between the two in the last ~50 Myrs. The age of the radio source is similar to the interaction time, so this interaction may have provoked an episode of radio activity. We estimate a star formation rate of >7 solar mass/yr based on the Halpha and archival UV data, a rate similar to, but somewhat lower than, the revised X-ray cooling rate of 10-30 solar masses/year estimated from XMM spectra by Peterson & workers. The Halpha nebula is limited to a region of high X-ray surface brightness and cool X-ray temperature. The detailed structures of H-alpha and X-ray gas differ. The peak of the X-ray emission is not the peak of H-alpha emission, nor does it lie in the BCG. The estimated age of the radio lobes and their interaction with the optical emission-line gas, the estimated timescale for depletion and accumulation of cold gas, and the dynamical time in the system are all similar, suggesting a common trigger mechanism., Comment: Accepted AJ, July 2007 publication. Vol 134, p. 14-25