Cosmic evolution of radio-AGN feedback: confronting models with data
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 523, pp. 5292–5305
Abstract
ABSTRACT Radio-mode feedback is a key ingredient in galaxy formation and evolution models, required to reproduce the observed properties of massive galaxies in the local Universe. We study the cosmic evolution of radio-active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback out to z ∼ 2.5 using a sample of 9485 radio-excess AGN. We combine the evolving radio luminosity functions with a radio luminosity scaling relationship to estimate AGN jet kinetic powers and derive the cosmic evolution of the kinetic luminosity density, Ωkin (i.e. the volume-averaged heating output). Compared to all radio-AGN, low-excitation radio galaxies dominate the feedback activity out to z ∼ 2.5, with both these populations showing a constant heating output of $\Omega _{\rm {kin}} \approx (4\!-\!5) \times 10^{32}\, \rm {W\, Mpc^{-3}}$ across 0.5 < z < 2.5. We compare our observations to predictions from semi-analytical and hydrodynamical simulations, which broadly match the observed evolution in Ωkin, although their absolute normalization varies. Comparison to the Semi-Analytic Galaxy Evolution (sage) model suggests that radio-AGN may provide sufficient heating to offset radiative cooling losses, providing evidence for a self-regulated AGN feedback cycle. We integrate the kinetic luminosity density across cosmic time to obtain the kinetic energy density output from AGN jets throughout cosmic history to be $\sim 10^{50}\, \rm {J\, Mpc^{-3}}$. Compared to AGN winds, the kinetic energy density from AGN jets dominates the energy budget at z ≲ 2; this suggests that AGN jets play an important role in AGN feedback across most of cosmic history.
Authors 14
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R. Kondapally corresponding
Affiliation as printed
SUPA, Institute for Astronomy, Royal Observatory , Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
SUPA, Institute for Astronomy, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK
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Affiliation as printed
SUPA, Institute for Astronomy, Royal Observatory , Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
SUPA, Institute for Astronomy, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK
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Leiden University · Leiden Observatory
Affiliation as printed
Leiden Observatory, Leiden University , PO Box 9513, NL-2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Department of Physics, Durham University , Durham DH1 3LE, UK
Institute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, University of Durham , South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
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Affiliation as printed
SUPA, Institute for Astronomy, Royal Observatory , Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
SUPA, Institute for Astronomy, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK
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Affiliation as printed
School of Natural Sciences , Private Bag 37, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
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Leiden University · Leiden Observatory
Affiliation as printed
Leiden Observatory, Leiden University , PO Box 9513, NL-2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Centre for Astrophysics Research, Department of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics, University of Hertfordshire , College Lane, Hatfield AL10 9AB, UK
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Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna · National Institute for Astrophysics
Affiliation as printed
INAF-IRA , Via P. Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna, Italy
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Affiliation as printed
Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , 162 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Aix-Marseille Université · National Centre for Nuclear Research
Affiliation as printed
Aix Marseille Univ. CNRS , CNES, LAM, F-13284 Marseille, 13013, France
National Centre for Nuclear Research , ul. Pasteura 7, PL-02-093 Warszawa, Poland
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Affiliation as printed
Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Department of Physics, Durham University , Durham DH1 3LE, UK
Institute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, University of Durham , South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
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Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna · National Institute for Astrophysics
Affiliation as printed
INAF-IRA , Via P. Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna, Italy
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Affiliation as printed
Centre for Astrophysics Research, Department of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics, University of Hertfordshire , College Lane, Hatfield AL10 9AB, UK
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