Cold Gas and Star Formation in the Phoenix Cluster with JWST
We present integral field unit observations of the Phoenix Cluster with the JWST Mid-infrared Instrument’s Medium Resolution Spectrometer. We focus this study on the molecular gas, dust, and star formation in the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG). We use precise spectral modeling to produce maps of the...
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2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aded90 |
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| author | Michael Reefe Michael McDonald Marios Chatzikos Jerome Seebeck Richard Mushotzky Sylvain Veilleux Steven W. Allen Matthew Bayliss Michael Calzadilla Rebecca Canning Megan Donahue Benjamin Floyd Massimo Gaspari Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo Brian McNamara Helen Russell Arnab Sarkar Keren Sharon Taweewat Somboonpanyakul |
| author_facet | Michael Reefe Michael McDonald Marios Chatzikos Jerome Seebeck Richard Mushotzky Sylvain Veilleux Steven W. Allen Matthew Bayliss Michael Calzadilla Rebecca Canning Megan Donahue Benjamin Floyd Massimo Gaspari Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo Brian McNamara Helen Russell Arnab Sarkar Keren Sharon Taweewat Somboonpanyakul |
| author_sort | Michael Reefe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We present integral field unit observations of the Phoenix Cluster with the JWST Mid-infrared Instrument’s Medium Resolution Spectrometer. We focus this study on the molecular gas, dust, and star formation in the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG). We use precise spectral modeling to produce maps of the silicate dust, molecular gas, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the inner ∼50 kpc of the cluster. We measure the optical depth from silicates by comparing the observed H _2 line ratios to those predicted by excitation models. We provide updated measurements of the total molecular gas mass of $1.{9}_{-0.4}^{+0.5}\times 1{0}^{10}$ M _⊙ , which agrees with CO-based estimates, providing an estimate of the CO-to-H _2 conversion factor of ${\alpha }_{{\rm{CO}}}=0.8\pm 0.2\,\,{M}_{\odot }\,{{\rm{pc}}}^{-2}\,{({\rm{K}}\,{\rm{km}}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1})}^{-1}$ ; an updated stellar mass of M _* = 2.6 ± 0.5 × 10 ^10 M _⊙ ; and star formation rates (SFRs) averaged over 10 and 100 Myr of 〈SFR〉 _10 = 1340 ± 100 M _⊙ yr ^−1 and 〈SFR〉 _100 = 740 ± 80 M _⊙ yr ^−1 , respectively. The H _2 emission seems to be powered predominantly by shocks and star formation within the central ∼20 kpc, induced by stellar feedback and radio jets from the active galactic nucleus. Additionally, we find nearly an order-of-magnitude drop in the SFRs estimated by PAH fluxes in cool core BCGs compared to field galaxies, suggesting that hot particles from the intracluster medium are destroying PAH grains even in the central-most tens of kiloparsecs. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-1d8c3f440bbf4f7cac686f2ea539daa42025-08-20T04:02:32ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01989215610.3847/1538-4357/aded90Cold Gas and Star Formation in the Phoenix Cluster with JWSTMichael Reefe0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4701-8497Michael McDonald1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5226-8349Marios Chatzikos2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8823-0606Jerome Seebeck3Richard Mushotzky4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7962-5446Sylvain Veilleux5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3158-6820Steven W. Allen6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0667-5941Matthew Bayliss7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1074-4807Michael Calzadilla8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2238-2105Rebecca Canning9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1398-5542Megan Donahue10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2808-0853Benjamin Floyd11https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4175-571XMassimo Gaspari12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2754-9258Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo13https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7271-7340Brian McNamara14https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2622-2627Helen Russell15https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5208-649XArnab Sarkar16https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5222-1337Keren Sharon17https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7559-0864Taweewat Somboonpanyakul18https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3521-3631Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research , Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ; mreefe@mit.eduKavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research , Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ; mreefe@mit.eduDepartment of Physics & Astronomy, University of Kentucky , Lexington, KY 40506, USADepartment of Astronomy & Joint Space-Science Institute, University of Maryland , College Park, College Park, MD 20740, USADepartment of Astronomy & Joint Space-Science Institute, University of Maryland , College Park, College Park, MD 20740, USADepartment of Astronomy & Joint Space-Science Institute, University of Maryland , College Park, College Park, MD 20740, USAKavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University , 452 Lomita Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Physics, Stanford University , 382 Via Pueblo Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory , 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USADepartment of Physics, University of Cincinnati , Cincinnati, OH 45221, USACenter for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAInstitute of Cosmology & Gravitation, University of Portsmouth , Dennis Sciama Building, Portsmouth, PO1 3FX, UKDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI 48824, USAInstitute of Cosmology & Gravitation, University of Portsmouth , Dennis Sciama Building, Portsmouth, PO1 3FX, UK; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri-Kansas City , Flarsheim Hall, 5110 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, MO 64110, USADepartment of Physics, Informatics and Mathematics, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia , 41125 Modena, ItalyDepartment of Physics, Université de Montréal , Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, CanadaDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo , Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, CanadaSchool of Physics & Astronomy, University of Nottingham , University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UKKavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research , Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ; mreefe@mit.eduDepartment of Astronomy, University of Michigan , 1085 S. University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USADepartment of Physics, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University , 254 Phayathai Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, ThailandWe present integral field unit observations of the Phoenix Cluster with the JWST Mid-infrared Instrument’s Medium Resolution Spectrometer. We focus this study on the molecular gas, dust, and star formation in the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG). We use precise spectral modeling to produce maps of the silicate dust, molecular gas, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the inner ∼50 kpc of the cluster. We measure the optical depth from silicates by comparing the observed H _2 line ratios to those predicted by excitation models. We provide updated measurements of the total molecular gas mass of $1.{9}_{-0.4}^{+0.5}\times 1{0}^{10}$ M _⊙ , which agrees with CO-based estimates, providing an estimate of the CO-to-H _2 conversion factor of ${\alpha }_{{\rm{CO}}}=0.8\pm 0.2\,\,{M}_{\odot }\,{{\rm{pc}}}^{-2}\,{({\rm{K}}\,{\rm{km}}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1})}^{-1}$ ; an updated stellar mass of M _* = 2.6 ± 0.5 × 10 ^10 M _⊙ ; and star formation rates (SFRs) averaged over 10 and 100 Myr of 〈SFR〉 _10 = 1340 ± 100 M _⊙ yr ^−1 and 〈SFR〉 _100 = 740 ± 80 M _⊙ yr ^−1 , respectively. The H _2 emission seems to be powered predominantly by shocks and star formation within the central ∼20 kpc, induced by stellar feedback and radio jets from the active galactic nucleus. Additionally, we find nearly an order-of-magnitude drop in the SFRs estimated by PAH fluxes in cool core BCGs compared to field galaxies, suggesting that hot particles from the intracluster medium are destroying PAH grains even in the central-most tens of kiloparsecs.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aded90Galaxy clustersInfrared astronomyCooling flowsActive galaxiesElliptical galaxiesStarburst galaxies |
| spellingShingle | Michael Reefe Michael McDonald Marios Chatzikos Jerome Seebeck Richard Mushotzky Sylvain Veilleux Steven W. Allen Matthew Bayliss Michael Calzadilla Rebecca Canning Megan Donahue Benjamin Floyd Massimo Gaspari Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo Brian McNamara Helen Russell Arnab Sarkar Keren Sharon Taweewat Somboonpanyakul Cold Gas and Star Formation in the Phoenix Cluster with JWST The Astrophysical Journal Galaxy clusters Infrared astronomy Cooling flows Active galaxies Elliptical galaxies Starburst galaxies |
| title | Cold Gas and Star Formation in the Phoenix Cluster with JWST |
| title_full | Cold Gas and Star Formation in the Phoenix Cluster with JWST |
| title_fullStr | Cold Gas and Star Formation in the Phoenix Cluster with JWST |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cold Gas and Star Formation in the Phoenix Cluster with JWST |
| title_short | Cold Gas and Star Formation in the Phoenix Cluster with JWST |
| title_sort | cold gas and star formation in the phoenix cluster with jwst |
| topic | Galaxy clusters Infrared astronomy Cooling flows Active galaxies Elliptical galaxies Starburst galaxies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aded90 |
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