Meso-Scale Turbulence as Hidden Regulator in Black Hole Accretion: New Simulations Reveal Jet-CCA Weather States Missed by Prior Models
Two hydro runs show turbulence level controls whether jet-regulated CCA produces extended stormy or centrally retained rainy states, linking halo thermodynamics to SMBH feeding at meso scales.
The arXiv preprint (v1, May 2026) presents two hydrodynamical simulations of a galaxy-group atmosphere initialized with differing turbulence levels and evolved under kinetic, mass-loaded AGN jets. Condensation onset is delayed in the high-turbulence run, producing extended filamentary structures, a porous cocoon, and bursty, inefficient central fueling that evolves toward a cloud-dominated state. The low-turbulence case yields earlier, coherent central condensation with sustained super-Bondi accretion. Both runs show condensation suppressed inside the jet channel yet surviving at the jet-ambient interface. This extends chaotic cold accretion (CCA) theory by demonstrating that ambient turbulence functions as a control parameter shaping morphology and thermodynamics rather than merely modulating cooling. Prior coverage of AGN feedback has largely emphasized either horizon-scale accretion or cluster-scale heating, overlooking the meso-scale (roughly 1-100 kpc) coupling layer where jets anisotropically reorganize multiphase gas. Related work by Gaspari et al. (2018, MNRAS) on CCA in idealized cooling flows and Li et al. (2020, ApJ) on jet-induced mixing in clusters provides the baseline; the current runs add self-regulated jet feedback and explicit turbulence variation, revealing how high-turbulence environments can starve the SMBH despite ample halo cooling. Limitations include the idealized initial conditions, absence of magnetic fields or cosmic rays, and restriction to only two turbulence regimes; the study remains a preprint and has not undergone peer review. These findings imply that galaxy evolution models neglecting meso-scale weather may systematically misestimate black-hole growth rates and feedback efficiency across groups.
[HELIX]: Turbulence strength at group scales may determine whether AGN feedback quenches or permits continued black-hole growth, a missing variable in most cosmological simulations.
Sources (3)
- [1]Primary Source(https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.27503)
- [2]Related Source(https://arxiv.org/abs/1709.07438)
- [3]Related Source(https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020ApJ...889...75L)