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MS 0735.6+7421
MS 0735.6+7421
MS 0735.6+7421
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MS 0735.6+7421
A composite image from Hubble and Chandra
Observation data (Epoch J2000)
Right ascension07h 41m 50.2s[1]
Declination+74° 14′ 51″[1]
Redshift64,800 ± 900 km/s[1]
Distance2.6 billion light-years
Other designations
ZwCl 0735.7+7421[1]

MS 0735.6+7421 is a galaxy cluster located in the constellation Camelopardalis, approximately 2.6 billion light-years away. It is notable as the location of one of the largest central galactic black holes in the known universe, which has also apparently produced one of the most powerful active galactic nucleus eruptions discovered.[2]

In February 2020, it was reported that another similar but much more energetic AGN outburst—the Ophiuchus Supercluster eruption in the NeVe 1 galaxy, was five times the energy of MS 0735.6+7421.[3]

Black hole eruption

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Using data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, scientists have deduced that an eruption has been occurring for the last 100 million years at the heart of the galaxy cluster, releasing as much energy over this time as hundreds of millions of gamma ray bursts.[2] (The amount of energy released in a year is thus equivalent to several GRBs.) The remnants of the eruption are seen as two cavities on either side of a large central galaxy. If this outburst, with a total energy budget of more than 1055 J, was caused by a black hole accretion event, it must have consumed nearly 600 million solar masses.

Work done by Brian McNamara et al. (2008) point out the striking possibility that the outburst was not the result of an accretion event, but was instead powered by the rotation of the black hole. Moreover, the scientists mentioned the possibility that the central black hole in MS 0735.6+7421 could be one of the biggest black holes inhabiting the visible universe. This speculation is supported by the fact that the central cD Galaxy inside MS 0735.6+7421 possess the largest break radius known, as of today. With a calculated light deficit of more than 20 billion solar luminosities and an assumed light-to-mass ratio of 3, this yields a central black hole mass much above 10 billion solar masses, as far as the break radius was caused by the merger of several black holes in the past. In combination with the gargantuan energy outburst it is therefore very likely that MS 0735.6+7421 hosts a supermassive black hole in its core. The cluster has a red shift of 64,800 ± 900 km/s and an apparent size of 25′.[4]

Newer calculations using the spheroidal luminosity of the central galaxy and the estimation of its break radius yielded black hole masses of 15.85 billion M☉ and 51.3 billion M☉, respectively.[5][6]

Brightest cluster galaxy

[edit]
4C +74.13
Observation data (J2000.0 epoch)
Right ascension07h 41m 44.47s
Declination+74° 14′ 39.5″
Redshift0.216000
Heliocentric radial velocity64,755 km/s
Distance2.599 Billion Light Years (796.85 Mpc)
Characteristics
TypecD
Other designations
2MASX J07414444+7414395, LEDA 2760958, 8C 0735+743, MS 0735.6+7421 BCG

The brightest cluster galaxy in MS 0735.6+7421 is the elliptical galaxy, 4C +74.13. Known as LEDA 2760958, it is classified as a radio galaxy.[7] With a diameter of around 400 kpc, the galaxy shows a steep spectrum radio source. The core of the 4C +74.13 has a spectrum index of α1400
325 = –1.54, with its outer radio lobes found to measure α1400
325 < –3.1. According to studies, it is evident that the core activity has recently restarted in a form of two inner lobes.[8] It is also known to have ongoing star formation.[9] With its stellar core estimating to be 3.8 kiloparsecs across, it is indicated 4C +74.13 might well contain an ultramassive black hole in its center.[10]

X-ray source

[edit]
Chandra image of the hot X-ray emitting gas that pervades the galaxy cluster MS 0735.6+7421 in the constellation Camelopardalis. Two vast cavities - each 600,000 lyrs in diameter appear on opposite sides of a large galaxy at the center of the cluster. These cavities are filled with a two-sided, elongated, magnetized bubble of extremely high-energy electrons that emit radio waves. Image is 4.2 arcmin per side. RA 07h 41m 50.20s Dec +74° 14' 51.00". Observation date: November 30, 2003. Credit: NASA/CXC/Ohio U./B.McNamara.

Hot X-ray emitting gas pervades MS 0735.6+7421. Two vast cavities—each 600,000 ly in diameter—appear on opposite sides of a large galaxy at the center of the cluster. These cavities are filled with a two-sided, elongated, magnetized bubble of extremely high-energy electrons that emit radio waves.

See also

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References

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

MS 0735.6+7421

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from Grokipedia
MS 0735.6+7421 is a massive in the constellation , located approximately 2.6 billion light-years from , containing dozens of galaxies bound together by and permeated by a hot, diffuse . It is distinguished by hosting one of the most powerful (AGN) outbursts observed, originating from a with a mass of about 1 billion solar masses at the center of its brightest cluster galaxy. This eruption has excavated vast cavities in the surrounding gas, each roughly 640,000 light-years in diameter—nearly seven times the size of the —displacing more than 1 trillion solar masses of multimillion-degree plasma. The in MS 0735.6+7421 reaches temperatures of around 50 million degrees , emitting X-rays that reveal the structure of these cavities and the shock fronts associated with the outburst. Multi-wavelength observations, including deep X-ray data from 2003 onward, optical imaging from , and radio maps from the , have mapped the cavities filled with relativistic particles that produce faint radio emission. The total mechanical energy of the primary cavity system is estimated at 9 × 10^{61} ergs, with a mean age of about 160 million years and an average jet power of 1.7 × 10^{46} erg/s, indicating a significant decline in AGN activity over the past 100 million years. This system exemplifies AGN feedback in cool-core clusters, where episodic energy injections from the central black hole heat the gas, suppressing cooling flows that could otherwise fuel excessive star formation. Spectral aging analyses from recent LOFAR radio observations suggest the AGN has undergone at least three distinct activity phases over the past 170 million years, remaining active for most of that time with only brief quiescent intervals of a few to 10 million years, consistent with a high duty cycle that sustains heating against ongoing gas cooling at rates up to 36 solar masses per year. MS 0735.6+7421 thus serves as a benchmark for studying the long-term regulation of galaxy cluster thermodynamics and the co-evolution of supermassive black holes with their environments.

Galaxy Cluster Overview

Discovery and Designation

MS 0735.6+7421 was first identified as a through observations in the Einstein Medium Sensitivity Survey (EMSS), a targeted search for extended sources conducted in the using data from the Einstein Observatory. The designation "MS 0735.6+7421" originates from this survey, where "MS" denotes the catalog prefix, and the numerical suffix reflects the object's approximate position in B1950 coordinates: 07^h 35^m 36^s and +74° 21'. These coordinates precess to J2000 values of approximately RA 07^h 41^m 50^s and Dec +74° 14' 51". The cluster was subsequently recognized as a candidate cooling flow system based on Einstein Imaging Proportional Counter (IPC) data, marking it as a distant example of dynamics. In 2005, deeper targeted observations of known galaxy clusters, including MS 0735.6+7421, were carried out using NASA's to investigate the properties of hot intracluster gas and potential active galactic nuclei (AGN) activity. These observations, conducted on November 30, 2003, with an exposure time of 13 hours, uncovered evidence of a massive AGN outburst powered by the central , which briefly drives the key observed X-ray features. The discovery was detailed in a seminal paper by McNamara et al. (2005), published in Nature, which described the outburst as the most energetic known at the time and emphasized its implications for feedback mechanisms in galaxy clusters. The central supermassive black hole's role in this event was highlighted as a primary driver of the energetic phenomena. A spectroscopic redshift of z = 0.216 was confirmed for the cluster, placing it at a distance of approximately 2.6 billion light-years.

Physical Properties and Distance

MS 0735.6+7421 is situated in the constellation at equatorial coordinates RA 07^h 41^m 50^s, Dec +74° 14' 51" (J2000). It lies at a of z = 0.216, corresponding to a distance of approximately 2.6 billion light-years when derived from standard cosmological parameters, including a Hubble constant of ~70 km/s/Mpc. The has a total mass of about 2.2 × 10^{15} solar masses within its characteristic radius, with the vast majority dominated by that provides the gravitational binding. This mass estimate aligns with analyses from observations, highlighting the cluster's status as one of the most massive known structures. The physical extent spans an angular size of roughly 4 arcminutes on the sky, translating to a diameter exceeding 1 million light-years at the cluster's distance. The (ICM) exhibits temperatures around 50-60 million , characteristic of the hot plasma filling the cluster's volume, with density profiles revealing a central cool core that has been significantly disrupted by ongoing central activity. This temperature range reflects the thermal state inferred from , where the core shows multiphase gas but overall high-energy conditions. The cluster is dynamically relaxed, lacking signs of recent mergers, and member galaxies display a velocity dispersion of ~1,000 km/s, consistent with its massive, equilibrium structure.

Central Components

Brightest Cluster Galaxy

The brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) in MS 0735.6+7421 is a cD at the center of the cluster, hosting the central and associated radio source 4C 07.14. Hubble Space Telescope observations show the BCG without evidence of strong . Far-ultraviolet imaging provides an upper limit on the rate of less than 2 M⊙M_\odot yr−1^{-1}, consistent with suppressed activity in cool-core cluster centers. This galaxy hosts the driving the system's prominent outburst.

Supermassive Black Hole

The (SMBH) resides at the nucleus of the brightest cluster galaxy in MS 0735.6+7421. Its mass is estimated in the range of approximately 10910^9 to 101010^{10} solar masses (M⊙M_\odot), based on inferences from the host galaxy's luminosity and observations of the surrounding gas dynamics. The SMBH exhibits a time-averaged accretion rate of about 3–5 M⊙M_\odot yr−1^{-1}, yielding an Eddington ratio of roughly 0.03–0.04 (assuming an accretion efficiency of 0.1). This low ratio points to a radiatively inefficient accretion flow, a regime prevalent in the central regions of cool-core clusters where hot, low-density gas dominates over cold inflows. Evidence of intermittent (AGN) activity is provided by multiple relic bubbles, with ages indicating recurrent outbursts separated by intervals of approximately 100 million years and a high relative to the central cooling timescale of about 640 million years. Prolonged accretion over likely imparts a significant spin to the , with estimates of the dimensionless spin parameter aa ranging from 0.3 to 0.4 based on models linking jet power to configurations in the ; higher spins near unity are plausible given the history of sustained gas supply. In comparison to other cluster-central SMBHs, such as those in Perseus A or Hydra A, the growth of this black hole is dominated by a mix of hierarchical mergers and episodic gas inflows from the , enabling it to reach ultramassive scales while regulating cluster cooling through feedback.

Black Hole Eruption

Outburst Mechanism

The outburst in MS 0735.6+7421 is triggered by inflows of cold gas that condense from the cooling (ICM), leading to rapid accretion onto the central . This process is facilitated by multiphase gas detected near the nucleus, which cools at rates sufficient to supply the necessary fuel for enhanced activity. The accreting material forms a rotating disk around the , from which relativistic jets are launched. These jets are powered by the extraction of rotational energy from the via magnetic fields threaded through the and , as described by the Blandford-Znajek process. The 's large mass, estimated at approximately 10^9 solar masses, enables the generation of exceptionally powerful jets capable of driving the observed eruption. The timescale of the outburst is estimated at approximately 160 million years, inferred from the dynamics of bubble expansion and shock propagation within the ICM. This duration aligns with the interval between recurrent AGN activity cycles in the cluster, including at least three distinct phases over the past 170 million years identified by spectral aging analyses. The eruption establishes a feedback loop wherein the jets heat the surrounding ICM through shocks and , thereby suppressing further cooling of the gas and inhibiting in the central regions. Evidence for this heating is provided by temperature gradients that reveal regions of shocked gas, with abrupt increases across the shock front indicating energy injection from the outburst.

Cavities and Energy Release

The (ICM) of MS 0735.6+7421 contains two enormous cavities, or bubbles, carved out by relativistic plasma from the central , each with a of approximately 200 kpc and located roughly 300 kpc from the cluster center. These cavities displace a significant of hot gas, equivalent to about 1 trillion solar masses, and are filled with magnetized, high-energy electrons that produce radio emission. The total injected into the ICM by this outburst is estimated at approximately 9×10619 \times 10^{61} ergs, calculated as the minimum required to inflate the cavities assuming a relativistic plasma content. This value, derived from the standard formula for bubble E=4PVE = 4PV, where PP is the ambient ICM at the cavity location and VV is the cavity volume, represents one of the most energetic AGN outbursts known. The calculation provides a lower bound on the , as it accounts for the work done to displace the surrounding gas without including additional contributions from shocks or . Pressure and buoyancy analyses indicate that the cavities rise through the ICM at velocities of approximately 100 km/s, consistent with the and ambient density profile. aging of the radio-emitting electrons within the cavities suggests an outburst age of 100–170 million years, aligning with estimates from sound-crossing and refill timescales. Evidence for ghost cavities—fainter, older bubbles—and multiple episodes of activity points to recurrent AGN feedback, with the current cavities representing the most recent phase in a cyclic process. Recent low-frequency radio observations have detected extended emission associated with these structures, potentially indicating a forming radio minihalo.

Multi-Wavelength Observations

X-ray Observations

The primary X-ray observations of MS 0735.6+7421 were performed with the , where the 2005 discovery revealed two enormous cavities manifesting as deficits in the diffuse thermal emission from the (ICM). These cavities, each roughly 200 kpc in diameter, are filled with radio plasma and surrounded by a weak shock front, highlighting the impact of the central (AGN) outburst on the cluster's hot gas. Spectral fitting of the ICM emission employs absorbed thermal models, revealing multiphase gas in the cluster core with temperatures of approximately 0.65 keV and 3.42 keV. maps derived from these fits show a distinct jump across the elliptical shock front, from about 4.5 keV southeast of the core to 5.5 keV beyond, with a of 1.26 indicating weak shocks propagating through the ICM. Deeper exposures, totaling around 450 ks and acquired primarily in June 2009 with additional data through 2014, have resolved intricate filamentary structures of cooler gas aligned with the radio jets and mapped metal abundance gradients that decline from 0.77 solar abundances centrally to 0.3 at distances of 100–300 kpc. XMM-Newton follow-up observations corroborated the cooling flow in the cluster core, disrupted by the AGN outburst, with a measured unabsorbed luminosity of approximately 4.6×10444.6 \times 10^{44} erg/s in the 2–10 keV band. More recent imaging highlights sharpened edges along the cavity boundaries, consistent with pressure confinement by the external ICM, where radio lobes partially fill the voids but require additional support such as hot thermal gas to maintain equilibrium.

Radio Observations

Radio observations of MS 0735.6+7421 have identified giant radio lobes extending approximately 600 kpc from the central , filled with relativistic plasma that corresponds to the X-ray cavities. These structures were initially detected using the (VLA) at higher frequencies and further characterized with the (GMRT) and LOFAR at lower frequencies, revealing a steep-spectrum source indicative of aged synchrotron emission. Low-frequency VLA observations conducted in 2022 at P-band frequencies (224–480 MHz) have revealed extended diffuse emission on scales up to 900 kpc along the jet direction, with a spectral index of approximately -1.0, consistent with synchrotron radiation from relativistic electrons. Polarization studies of these lobes indicate ordered magnetic fields with strengths estimated at 5–10 μG, derived from equipartition assumptions and synchrotron properties. Additional low-frequency data suggest the presence of relic or halo emission at the cluster periphery, potentially arising from merger-induced shocks or turbulence, extending the non-thermal emission beyond the primary lobes. Spectral aging analysis, employing models of losses, estimates the age of electrons in the outer lobes at 106–170 Myr under equipartition of ~5.9 μG, providing constraints on the energies and the duration of the AGN outburst. These radio features align spatially with cavities for a multi-wavelength view of the eruption.

Scientific Implications

Impact on Cluster Dynamics

The energetic outburst from the central in MS 0735.6+7421 injects mechanical energy into the (ICM), primarily through expanding radio bubbles and a weak shock front, heating the gas and preventing runaway cooling flows. This heating raises the ICM temperature by approximately 0.6 keV per particle within 1 Mpc of the cluster center, balancing the luminosity of about 2.6 × 10⁴⁴ erg s⁻¹ with an AGN power exceeding it by more than 60 times. As a result, the central profile flattens to a floor of 12.6 ± 0.6 keV cm², stabilizing the thermodynamic structure against collapse. The rising bubbles also drive the uplift of low-entropy, metal-enriched gas from the cluster core, entraining cool material at a rate of 150 ± 80 M⊙ yr⁻¹ out to distances of ~300 kpc along the jet axis. Abundance maps derived from deep X-ray spectroscopy reveal enhanced metal concentrations (0.42–0.46 Z⊙) aligned with the radio jets and cavity edges, indicating that this process redistributes centrally produced metals into the broader ICM. This uplift contributes to the overall chemical of the cluster while mixing low- gas outward, further supporting the entropy floor. The feedback mechanism suppresses in the central brightest cluster , where the current rate is less than 0.25 M⊙ yr⁻¹ despite a multiphase ICM cooling rate of ~40 M⊙ yr⁻¹. By removing or reheating this cooling gas through repeated outbursts, the AGN prevents significant accretion onto the , maintaining a quiescent state. Over long timescales, this establishes a self-regulating feedback cycle, with outbursts recurring every ~1.1 × 10⁸ yr—shorter than the central cooling time of 6.4 × 10⁸ yr—thus stabilizing the cool core against . Modeling studies of the outburst, including buoyancy-driven bubble rise times of 1.5–1.7 × 10⁸ yr, demonstrate how the inflating cavities induce turbulence in the ICM, enhancing mixing and distributed heating. These models highlight the role of buoyant rise in propagating energy from the central AGN outward, sustaining the dynamical equilibrium of the cluster atmosphere.

Comparisons and Context

MS 0735.6+7421 was recognized as hosting the most energetic known active galactic nucleus (AGN) outburst until the discovery of a more powerful event in the Ophiuchus galaxy cluster in 2020, where the eruption in the central NeVe 1 galaxy released approximately five times more energy (about 5 × 10^61 erg) compared to the ~10^61 erg in MS 0735.6+7421. This positions MS 0735.6+7421 as a benchmark for extreme AGN feedback events, highlighting the scale of energy injection possible from supermassive black holes in cluster environments. The cluster shares characteristics with other cool-core systems, such as and Hydra A, where central AGNs drive similar bubble-like cavities through radio lobe expansion into the . However, MS 0735.6+7421 stands out due to its exceptionally large cavities, each spanning roughly 600,000 light-years—over ten times the volume of those in —allowing for deeper insights into the mechanics of prolonged, high-power outbursts. Observations of MS 0735.6+7421 have played a key role in elucidating AGN feedback mechanisms that regulate cooling flows and in galaxy clusters, informing semi-analytic models of galaxy evolution by demonstrating how intermittent energy injections can balance gas cooling over gigayears. Its powerful eruption exemplifies how such feedback suppresses excessive in brightest cluster galaxies, contributing to the observed quiescence in massive ellipticals. Recent low-frequency radio observations with the (LOFAR) in 2021 have refined estimates of the AGN in MS 0735.6+7421, indicating near-continuous activity with only brief quiescent phases of a few to 10 million years, rather than prolonged off states. This high (close to unity) underscores the efficiency of recurrent outbursts in maintaining thermal balance in the cluster core. At a of z ≈ 0.22, MS 0735.6+7421 serves as a valuable probe for studying growth in the relatively local , where feedback processes link black hole accretion to the assembly of massive galaxy clusters and the enrichment of the .

References

  1. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2006/ms0735/
  2. https://chandra.harvard.edu/press/05_releases/press_010505.html
  3. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2006/ms0735/more.html
  4. https://arxiv.org/abs/1405.6208
  5. https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2021/06/aa40063-20/aa40063-20.html
  6. https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/new-perspective-galaxy-cluster/
  7. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2005/ms0735/
  8. https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0411553
  9. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1405.6208.pdf
  10. https://arxiv.org/pdf/0911.1774.pdf
  11. https://science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/galaxy-cluster-ms-0735/
  12. https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/414/2/1253/977250
  13. https://arxiv.org/abs/0811.3020
  14. https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/398/1/422/1099145
  15. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-637X/698/1/594
  16. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1405.6208
  17. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/adeb44
  18. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.442.3192V/abstract
  19. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005Natur.433...45M/abstract
  20. https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/442/4/3192/1340574
  21. https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/519/1/767/6884922
  22. https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0611265
  23. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202040063
  24. https://arxiv.org/abs/2202.01235
  25. https://www.sci.news/astronomy/ophiuchus-cluster-eruption-08173.html
  26. https://chandra.harvard.edu/chronicle/0105/bh_ce/index.html
  27. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/430845/pdf
  28. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2005/ms0735/more.html
  29. https://www.americanscientist.org/article/on-the-trail-of-monster-black-holes
  30. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023MNRAS.519..767B/abstract
  31. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/507672/pdf
  32. https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2017/09/aa30940-17/aa30940-17.html
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