Simulations of Metal Enrichment in Galaxy Clusters by AGN Outflows

Aims. We assess the importance of AGN outflows with respect to the metal enrichment of the intracluster medium (ICM) in galaxy clusters. Methods. We use combined N-body and hydrodynamic simulations, along with a semi-numerical galaxy formation and evolution model. Using assumptions based on observations, we attribute outflows of metal-rich gas initiated by AGN activity to a certain fraction of our model galaxies. The gas is added to the model ICM, where the evolution of the metallicity distribution is calculated by the hydrodynamic simulations. For the parameters describing the AGN content of clusters and their outflow properties, we use the observationally most favorable values. Results. We find that AGNs have the potential to contribute significantly to the metal content of the ICM or even explain the complete abundance, which is typically ∼0.5Z⊙ in core regions. Furthermore, the metals end up being inhomogeneously distributed, in accordance with observations.