Shaken and stirred: Conduction and turbulence in clusters of galaxies

Abstract

Uninhibited radiative cooling in clusters of galaxies would lead to excessive mass accretion rates contrary to observations. One of the key proposals to offset radiative energy losses is thermal conduction from outer, hotter layers of cool core (CC) clusters to their centers. However, thermal conduction is sensitive to magnetic field topology. In CC clusters where temperature decreases inwards, the heat buoyancy instability (HBI) leads to magnetic fields ordered preferentially in the direction perpendicular to that of gravity, which significantly reduces the level of conduction below the classical Spitzer-Braginskii value. However, the CC clusters are rarely in perfect hydrostatic equilibrium. Sloshing motions due to minor mergers and stirring motions induced by cluster galaxies or active galactic nuclei can significantly perturb the gas. The turbulent cascade can then affect the topology of the magnetic field and the effective level of thermal conduction. We perform three-dimensional adaptive mesh refinement magnetohydrodynamical simulations of the effect of turbulence on the properties of the anisotropic thermal conduction in CC clusters. We show that very weak subsonic motions, well within observational constraints, can randomize the magnetic field and significantly boost effective thermal conduction beyond the saturated values expected in the pure unperturbed HBI case. We find that the turbulent motions can essentially restore the conductive heat flow to the CC to level comparable to the theoretical maximum of 1/3 Spitzer for a highly tangled field. Runs with radiative cooling show that the cooling catastrophe can be averted and the cluster core stabilized; however, this conclusion may depend on the central gas density. Above a critical Froude number, these same turbulent motions also eliminate the tangential bias in the velocity and magnetic field that is otherwise induced by the trapped g-modes, and possibly allow significant turbulent heat diffusion. Our results can be tested with future radio polarization measurements and have implications for efficient metal dispersal in clusters. © 2010. The American Astronomical Society.