AGN feedback in clusters: shock and sound heating. (arXiv:1304.0400v1 [astro-ph.CO])

AGN feedback in clusters: shock and sound heating. (arXiv:1304.0400v1 [astro-ph.CO]):
Observations support the view that feedback, in the form of radio outbursts
from active nuclei in central galaxies, prevents catastrophic cooling of gas
and rapid star formation in many groups and clusters of galaxies. Variations in
jet power drive a succession of weak shocks that can heat regions close to the
active galactic nuclei (AGN). On larger scales, shocks fade into sound waves.
The Braginskii viscosity determines a well-defined sound damping rate in the
weakly magnetized intracluster medium (ICM) that can provide sufficient heating
on larger scales. It is argued that weak shocks and sound dissipation are the
main means by which radio AGN heat the ICM, in which case, the power spectrum
of AGN outbursts plays a central role in AGN feedback.