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Vigorous turbulence driven by quasar-mode feedback in a cluster core
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DOI：10.1038/s41550-026-02939-x.png)
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Abstract
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Quasars are among the most luminous objects. They are powered by accretion onto supermassive black holes. They are thought to impact cosmological evolution primarily through energetic winds, known as quasar-mode feedback, yet the efficiency and spatial extent of this process remain poorly constrained. Here we present X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) observations of H1821+643—the nearest galaxy cluster with a central quasar (redshift z = 0.297)—which was a rare opportunity to directly probe quasar-mode feedback in the intracluster medium. High-resolution spectroscopy reveals exceptionally broadened Fe XXV emission lines from the intracluster medium, with a velocity dispersion of approximately 300 km s−1, far exceeding values observed in nearby cluster cores. These lines originate predominantly at radii of 20–100 kpc from the centre. Assuming that turbulence from a quasar-driven shock led to the broadening of the lines, the energy injected by the quasar beyond galactic scales (≳20 kpc) is estimated to be ≳1–10% of its radiative energy. Notably, this feedback efficiency exceeds previous multiwavelength estimates by orders of magnitude (≲0.01%) and reaches the levels required by the latest cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. This finding of vigorous turbulence indicates that quasar-mode feedback plays a central role in regulating galaxy and cluster evolution at high redshift. XRISM observations of the galaxy cluster H1821+643 reveal unexpectedly strong turbulence in hot gas around a central radio-quiet quasar and show that quasar-mode feedback injects ≳1–10% of the radiative energy of the active galactic nucleus into the intracluster medium on 20–100-kpc scales.
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