2011ApJ...743...42P

Galactic jets are powerful energy sources reheating the intracluster medium in galaxy clusters. Their crucial role in the cosmic puzzle, motivated by observations, has been established by a great number of numerical simulations excluding the relativistic nature of these jets. We present the first relativistic simulations of the very long-term evolution of realistic galactic jets. Unexpectedly, our results show no buoyant bubbles, but large cocoon regions compatible with the observed X-ray cavities. The reheating is more efficient and faster than in previous scenarios, and it is produced by the shock wave driven by the jet, that survives for several hundreds of Myr. Therefore, the X-ray cavities in clusters produced by powerful relativistic jets would remain confined by weak shocks for extremely long periods and their detection could be an observational challenge.