Black hole outbursts and major mergers in galaxy clusters

Galaxy clusters consist of hundreds of galaxies embedded in a massive dark matter halo and a hot, diluteatmosphere that emits X-rays. The hot gas atmosphere captures the energy from major evolutionaryevents in the lives of these clusters, such as jetted outbursts from their central supermassive black holeand massive mergers with neighbouring clusters. This energy is dissipated through vast shocks, cold fronts,giant cavities, sound waves and turbulent eddies, which are imprinted on the hot atmosphere. The subarcsecond spatial resolution of NASA's Chandra X-ray satellite can resolve the properties of thesedetailed structures, and even probe the gas gravitationally captured by the supermassive black hole in nearby galaxies. The ALMA sub-mm observatory then reveals the impact of these energetic events on galaxy growth by mapping the structure of star-forming cold gas clouds throughout the universe. This project will combine Chandra observations of black hole activity and mergers with ALMA observations of cold gas flows in the host galaxies to understand how these mechanisms transform galaxies over cosmic time.