We present recent Hubble Space Telescope observations of the inner filament of Centaurus A, using the new Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) F225W, F657N and

Aims.We test the effects of re-orienting jets from an active galactic nucleus (AGN) on the intracluster medium in a galaxy cluster environment with short central cooling time. We investigate both the appearance and the properties of the resulting cavities, and the efficiency of the jets in providing near-isotropic heating to the cooling cluster core.Methods.We use numerical simulations to explore four models of AGN jets over several active/inactive cycles. We keep the jet power and duration fixed across the models, varying only the jet re-orientation angle prescription. We track the total energy of the intracluster medium (ICM) in the cluster core over time, and the fraction of the jet energy transferred to the ICM. We pay particular attention to where the energy is deposited. We also generate synthetic X-ray images of the simulated cluster and compare them qualitatively to actual observations.Results.Jets whose re-orientation is minimal (≲20°) typically produce conical structures of interconnected cavities, with the opening angle of the cones being ~15–20°, extending to ~300 kpc from the cluster centre. Such jets transfer about 60% of their energy to the ICM, yet they are not very efficient at heating the cluster core, and even less efficient at heating it isotropically, because the jet energy is deposited further out. Jets that re-orientate by ≳20° generally produce multiple pairs of detached cavities. Although smaller, these cavities are inflated within the central 50 kpc and are more isotropically distributed, resulting in more effective heating of the core. Such jets, over hundreds of millions of years, can deposit up to 80% of their energy precisely where it is required. Consequently, these models come the closest in terms of approaching a heating/cooling balance and mitigating runaway cooling of the cluster core even though all models have identical jet power/duration profiles. Additionally, the corresponding synthetic X-ray images exhibit structures and features closely resembling those seen in real cool-core clusters.

We investigate the interplay between jets from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM) through full 3D, high-resolution, adaptive mesh refinement simulations performed with the flash code. We follow the jet–ISM system for several Myr in its transition from an early, compact source to an extended one including a large cocoon. During the jet evolution, we identify three major evolutionary stages and we find that, contrary to the prediction of popular theoretical models, none of the simulations shows a self-similar behaviour. We also follow the evolution of the energy budget, and find that the fraction of input power deposited into the ISM (the AGN coupling constant) is of the order of a few per cent during the first few Myr. This is in broad agreement with galaxy formation models employing AGN feedback. However, we find that in these early stages, this energy is deposited only in a small fraction (<1 per cent) of the total ISM volume. Finally, we demonstrate the relevance of backflows arising within the extended cocoon generated by a relativistic AGN jet within the ISM of its host galaxy, previously proposed as a mechanism for self-regulating the gas accretion on to the central object. These backflows tend later to be destabilized by the 3D dynamics, rather than by hydrodynamic (Kelvin–Helmholtz) instabilities. Yet, in the first few hundred thousand years, backflows may create a central accretion region of significant extent, and convey there as much as a few millions of solar masses.

Relativistic jets originating from supermassive black holes can have a considerable impact on the interstellar/intergalactic medium within which they

We present post-process neutron-capture computations for Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars of 1.5–3 M _⊙ and metallicities −1.3 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤ 0.1. The reference stellar models are computed with the FRANEC code, using the Schwarzschild's criterion for convection; our motivations for this choice are outlined. We assume that MHD processes induce the penetration of protons below the convective boundary, when the Third Dredge Up occurs. There, the ¹³C n-source can subsequently operate, merging its effects with those of the ²²Ne(α, n)²⁵Mg reaction, activated at the temperature peaks characterizing AGB stages. This work has three main scopes. (i) We provide a grid of abundance yields, as produced through our MHD mixing scheme, which are uniformly sampled in mass and metallicity. From this, we deduce that the solar s-process distribution, as well as the abundances in recent stellar populations, can be accounted for, without the need of the extra primary-like contributions suggested in the past. (ii) We formulate analytic expressions for the mass of the ¹³C-pockets generated to allow easy verification of our findings. (iii) We compare our results with observations of evolved stars and with isotopic ratios in presolar SiC grains, also noticing how some flux tubes should survive turbulent disruption, carrying C-rich materials into the winds even when the envelope is O-rich. This wind phase is approximated through the G-component of AGB s-processing. We conclude that MHD-induced mixing is adequate to drive slow n-capture phenomena accounting for observations; our prescriptions should permit its inclusion into current stellar evolutionary codes.