20 May 2004

Speaker: Christine Jones (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory)

Title: The Impacts of AGN Outbursts on the Hot Gaseous Atmospheres of Elliptical Galaxies

Abstract: In many elliptical galaxies, including those at the centers of clusters, Chandra observations show the impact of AGN outbursts on the surrounding hot gas. These outbursts, which can be associated with nuclear jets, create X-ray cavities in the core. Observations of M87 in the Virgo cluster also show rings of enhanced emission that are probably shock fronts, similar to those seen in the Perseus cluster. For galaxies in less dense environments, the impact of AGN outbursts also can be dramatic. This talk will present recent Chandra observations of the active galaxies M87 and Centaurus A, as well as results for "normal" ellipticals.

Video of the Presentation (Talks can be viewed with RealPlayer. Free download is available from www.real.com )

References for students:

1. "X-Ray Emission from the Hot Interstellar Medium and Southwest Radio Lobe of the Nearby Radio Galaxy Centaurus A" Kraft et al. 2003 ApJ 592, 129
2. "Reflections of AGN Outbursts in the Gaseous Atmosphere of M87" Forman et al astro-ph/0312576