Summary
The heating occurs mainly along the direction of the jet, showing a directional transfer of energy.
This mechanism helps explain why some galaxies transition from active star‑forming to more passive states.
Key Points
4 points1
Supermassive black holes can emit powerful jets of hot plasma.
2
Jets interact with the circumgalactic medium, depositing energy.
3
Heated gas becomes less likely to cool and collapse into new stars.
4
Directional heating influences the overall growth and life cycle of the host galaxy.
New Words to Learn
6 wordssupermassive black hole
an extremely large black hole, millions to billions of times heavier than the Sun, located at a galaxy’s centre
jet
a focused, high‑speed outflow of extremely hot, charged particles launched from near a black hole
plasma
the fourth state of matter; a hot, ionised gas where electrons are separated from atoms
circumgalactic medium
the extensive, diffuse envelope of gas that surrounds a galaxy, extending far beyond its visible stars
ionised
a condition where atoms have lost or gained electrons, giving the gas an electric charge
star formation
the process by which dense regions of gas collapse under gravity to create new stars
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