Jet Activity in Cosmological Simulations

Abstract

Cosmological simulations seem to require interaction of extragalactic jets with giant galaxies to explain the observed properties of these galaxies. The jets are extremely powerful and can have an enormous impact on the energy budget of their host galaxy and its environment. Many signs of this feedback can be observed nowadays, but theoretical understanding of it is still poor – expectations range from suppressed star formation and quenched cooling flows to triggering of star formation. To correctly model the effects of jet activity on cosmological simulations, the different gas phases present within and around galaxies have to be taken into account for the jet feedback since star formation is related only to the properties of the cold gas component. In our project, we perform the currently most advanced simulations of spatially resolved jet activity within the dynamical environment of galaxy formation and evolution at high redshift. This will enable us to measure jetinduced changes in both the cold and the hot gas as well as the effects on the galaxy and its environment.