Keynote Presentation

Cosmic Feedback from Supermassive Black Holes in Galaxies, Groups, and Clusters

Author(s): Christine Jones (SAO/CfA)

Presenter: Christine Jones (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (CfA))

Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) play key roles in the evolution of galaxies, groups, and clusters. SMBH feedback during the "radio mode" uses the mechanical energy of jets to heat or even expel the interstellar gas from the cores of galaxies, groups and clusters, thus significantly reducing radiative gas cooling and star formation. The history of the SMBH energy feedback, driven by cosmic jets, in individual systems can be directly measured from the size and distribution of bubbles and shocks observed in the surrounding hot atmospheres. Specifically, from the sizes of bubbles and intensities of shocks, we can directly measure the energy of the individual SMBH outbursts, while the distance of the bubbles and shocks from the SMBH yields the age of the outburst. This talk will review the feedback properties in several of the best studied galaxies, groups and and clusters in the local Universe. I also will present new results from a galaxy survey that shows the effects of SMBH feedback on early type galaxies and has interesting implications for the growth of SMBHs over cosmic time. I will conclude by describing a possible future mission, X-ray Surveyor, with ~1'' angular resolution and large collecting area, that would allow one to study the evolution of SMBHs and the hot, X-ray emitting atmospheres surrounding them from high redshifts to the present.