Active galactic nuclei feedback in an elliptical galaxy (III): the impacts and fate of cosmological inflow

The cosmological inflow of a galaxy is speculated to be able to enter the galaxy and enhance the star formation rate (SFR) and black hole accretion rate (BHAR). In this paper, by performing high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations in the framework of {\it MACER}, we investigate the fate of the inflow and its impacts on the evolution of a massive elliptical galaxy. The inflow properties are adopted from the cosmological simulation IllustrisTNG. We find that, the inflow gas hardly enters but is blocked beyond $\sim 20$ kpc from the central galaxy and becomes part of the circumgalactic medium (CGM). The gas pressure gradient, mainly contributed by the thermalized stellar wind and subdominantly by the energy input from the AGN, balances gravity and prevents the inflow from entering the galaxy. The SFR and BHAR are almost not affected by the normal inflow. However, if the rate of cosmological inflow were increased by a factor of 3, a small fraction of the inflow would enter the galaxy and contribute about 10\% of the gas in the galaxy. In this case, the gas density in the galaxy would increase by a factor of $\ga$ 20. This increase is not because of the additional gas supply by the inflow but the increase of gas density in the CGM caused by the inflow. Consequently, the SFR and BHAR would increase by a factor of $\sim$ 5 and $\sim 1000$ respectively. Finally, AGN feedback can perturb the motion of the inflow and heat the CGM through its intermittent outbursts.