Cooling Flows and Quasars: Different Aspects of the Same Phenomenon? I. Concepts

Abstract

We present a new class of solutions for the gas flows in elliptical galaxies containing massive central black holes (BHs). Modified King model galaxies are assumed. Two source terms operate: mass loss from evolving stars, and a secularly declining heating by supernovae (SNe Ia). Relevant atomic physical processes are modeled in detail. Like the previous models investigated by Ciotti et al., these new models first evolve through three consecutive evolutionary stages: wind, outflow, and inflow. At this point the presence of the BH alters dramatically the subsequent evolution because the energy emitted by the BH can heat the surrounding gas to above virial temperatures, causing the formation of a hot expanding central bubble. Short and strong nuclear bursts of radiation (L_BH) are followed by longer periods during which the X-ray galaxy emission comes from the coronal gas (L_X). The range and approximate distribution spanned by L_X are found to be in accordance with observations of X-ray early-type galaxies. Moreover, although high accretion rates occur during bursting phases when the central BH has a luminosity characteristic of quasars, the total mass accreted is very small when compared to that predicted by stationary cooling-flow solutions and computed masses are in accord with putative BH nuclear masses. In the bursting phases the X-ray gas luminosity is low and the surface brightness profile is very low compared to preburst or to cooling flow models. We propose that these new models, while solving some long-standing problems of the cooling flow scenario, can provide a unified description of QSO-like objects and X-ray-emitting elliptical galaxies, these being the same objects observed at two different evolutionary phases.