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We present VLT-SINFONI K-band integral field spectroscopy of the central galaxies in the cool core clusters A1664, A2204 and PKS 0745−191, to probe the spatio-kinematic properties of the Paα and ro-vibrational H2 line emission. In A1664, the two emission-line velocity systems seen in our previous Hα spectroscopy appear in both Paα and H2 emission, with notable morphological differences. The recession velocity of the red component of Paα increases linearly with decreasing radius, particularly along an 8 kpc filament aligned with the major axis of the underlying galaxy and the cluster X-ray emission. These kinematics are modelled as gravitational free-fall as gas cools rapidly out of the hot phase. In A2204, the gas shows three or four filaments reaching radii of 10 kpc, three of which lie towards ‘ghost bubbles’ seen in X-ray imaging by Sanders et al. For PKS 0745−191, we confirm the twin-arm morphology in the narrow-band images of Donahue et al.; the Paα kinematics suggest rotational motion about an axis aligned with the kiloparsec-scale radio jet; on nucleus, we find an underlying broad Paα component [full width at half-maximum (FWHM) ] and a secondary H2 velocity system redshifted by . The S(3)/Paα ratio is the highest in the most isolated and extended regions where it matches the levels in the NGC 1275 filaments as modelled by Ferland et al. Regions with much lower ratios highlight active star formation and are often kinematically quiescent (FWHM ). Our findings suggest that the three clusters may be captured in different stages of the ‘cold feedback’ cycle of Pizzolato & Soker, with A1664 in a short-lived phase of extreme cooling and star formation prior to an active galactic nucleus (AGN) heating event; PKS 0745−191 in an outburst state with the AGN accreting from a cool gas disc, and A2204 in a later phase in which cool gas is dragged out of the galaxy by the buoyant rise of old radio bubbles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present Spitzer high-resolution spectra of off-nuclear regions in the central cluster galaxies NGC 1275 and NGC 4696 in the Perseus and Centaurus clusters, respectively. Both objects are surrounded by extensive optical emission-line filamentary nebulae, bright outer parts of which are the targets of our observations. The 10–37 μm spectra show strong pure-rotational lines from molecular hydrogen revealing a molecular component to the filaments which has an excitation temperature of ∼300−400 K. The flux in the 0−0 S(1) molecular hydrogen line correlates well with the strength of the optical lines, having about 3 per cent of the Hα+[N ii] emission. The 11.3-μm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon feature is seen in some spectra. Emission is also seen from both low- and high-ionization fine-structure lines. Molecular hydrogen cooler than ∼400 K dominates the mass of the outer filaments; the nebulae are predominantly molecular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]