AMUSE-Antlia: Nuclear X-ray Properties of Early-Type Galaxies in a Transitional Environment

Understanding the role that the galaxy environment plays in AGN activity is essential to understanding the formation and growth of galaxies and their central supermassive black holes. We propose three ACIS-I pointings to map the Antlia cluster (D = 35 Mpc), the nearest non-cool- core and the nearest merging galaxy cluster. Antlia provides a unique environment to study the nuclear activity in spheroids that cannot be achieved in any other cluster. Most importantly, as a newly-formed and dynamically young cluster, it is the closest analog to the high redshift Universe. Our observations will cover ¡« 80 optically selected early-type galaxies to deliver unprecedented measurements of low-level nuclear X-ray activity in a transitional environment between the relaxed cool core cluster, Virgo, and the field. We expect higher SMBH activity in Antlia than in Virgo due to its large population of gas-rich galaxies. Its SMBH activity may be even higher than the field as ram pressure may compress gas towards the nuclei to trigger AGN before quenching.