Radio galaxy feedback in X-ray selected groups from COSMOS: the effect on the ICM

We quantify the importance of the mechanical energy released by radio galaxies inside galaxy groups. We use scaling relations to estimate the mechanical energy released by 16 radio-active galactic nuclei located inside X-ray-detected galaxy groups in the COSMOS field. By comparing this energy output to the host groups' gravitational binding energy, we find that radio galaxies produce sufficient energy to unbind a significant fraction of the intragroup medium. This unbinding effect is negligible in massive galaxy clusters with deeper potential wells. Our results correctly reproduce the breaking of self-similarity observed in the scaling relation between entropy and temperature for galaxy groups.