Abstract
We present the discovery of a giant $\gtrsim$100 kpc Ly$\alpha$ nebula
detected in the core of the X-ray emitting cluster CL J1449+0856 at $z=1.99$
through Keck/LRIS narrow-band imaging. This detection extends the known
relation between Ly$\alpha$ nebulae and overdense regions of the Universe to
the dense core of a $5-7\times10^13$ M$_ødot$ cluster. The most plausible
candidates to power the nebula are two Chandra-detected AGN host cluster
members. Given the physical conditions of the Ly$\alpha$-emitting gas and the
possible interplay with the X-ray phase, we argue that the Ly$\alpha$ nebula
would be short-lived ($łesssim10$ Myr) if not continuously replenished with
cold gas at a rate of $\gtrsim1000$ Myr. Cooling from the X-ray phase is
disfavored as the replenishing mechanism, primarily because of the high
Ly$\alpha$ to X-ray luminosity ratio ($L_Ly\alpha/L_X
\approx0.3$), $\gtrsim10-1000\times$ higher than in local cool-core clusters.
Cosmological cold flows are disfavored by current modeling. Thus, the cold gas
is most plausibly supplied by cluster galaxies through massive outflows. An
independent estimate of the total mass outflow rate of core members, based on
the observed star formation and black hole accretion rates, matches the
required replenishment to sustain the nebula. This scenario directly implies
the extraction of energy from galaxies and its deposition in the surrounding
intracluster medium, as required to explain the thermodynamic properties of
local clusters. We estimate an energy injection of the order of $þickapprox2$
keV per particle in the intracluster medium over a $2$ Gyr interval. AGN
provide $75-85$% of the injected energy and $\approx66$% of the mass, while the
rest is supplied by supernovae-driven winds.
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