Hui Li - Magnetically Driven AGN Jets and Lobes in the Intracluster Medium: Magnetic Fields, Turbulence, and Observational Signatures

Jets and lobes produced by active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in galaxy clusters play a central role in understanding the properties and evolution of the intracluster medium (ICM). A variety of jet models have been proposed and studied, and comparisons with observations have provided important constraints on the underlying jet physics and properties. These studies have also yielded insights into AGN feedback from jets and lobes that can be incorporated into cosmological simulations to improve our understanding of cosmic structure formation.

In this talk, we will present our latest three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the evolution of AGN jets and lobes propagating through a turbulent ICM. We examine how different jet models produce distinct physical and observational signatures that can be compared with observations, and investigate how ICM turbulence influences jet propagation and the long-term evolution of the resulting lobes. We will focus in particular on the evolution and properties of magnetic flux during both the active jet/lobe phase and the subsequent long-lived fossil phase. We show that magnetically driven jets produce distinctive Faraday rotation signatures and compare these predictions with observations, including polarization measurements. We will also discuss implications for radio relics, ICM turbulence, and velocity-dispersion measurements.