Feeding and Feedback in nearby AGN from Integral Field Spectroscopy

TL;DR

This study uses integral field spectroscopy to analyze gas inflows and outflows in the central regions of nearby AGNs, revealing details about how these galaxies feed and feedback energy to their surroundings.

Contribution

It provides new observational evidence of gas inflows and outflows at parsec scales in AGNs, highlighting the roles of different gas phases and kinematic components.

Findings

Inflows observed in ionized and hot molecular gas indicate feeding mechanisms.

Outflows in ionized gas are associated with AGN feedback and often align with radio structures.

Mass outflow rates significantly exceed accretion rates, implying entrainment of galaxy gas.

Abstract

I report results of recent integral field spectroscopy of the inner few hundred parsecs (pc) around nearby Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) at a sampling of a few pc, obtained with the Gemini Telescopes. In the lowest activity AGNs, it is possible to observe inflows in ionized gas along nuclear spirals and filaments. In more luminous AGN inflows have been observed also in hot molecular gas (H_2) emission in the near-IR. In most cases the H_2 kinematics is dominated by circular rotation in the plane around the nucleus, tracing the AGN feeding. The ionized gas, on the other hand, traces the AGN feedback. Its kinematics shows two components: (1) one originating in the plane, and dominated by circular rotation; (2) another outflowing along the Narrow-Line Region (NLR) whose flux distribution and kinematics frequently correlate with structures seen in radio maps. Mass outflow rates along the NLR range from 10^-2 to 1 M_sun yr^-1, corresponding to 10-100 times the accretion rate to the AGN, indicating that most of the NLR gas mass has been entrained from the galaxy plane. The average kinetic power of the NLR outflows is ~10^-4 times the bolometric luminosity.