A Dissection of Spatially Resolved AGN Feedback across the Electromagnetic Spectrum

TL;DR

This study combines multi-wavelength observations to analyze AGN feedback mechanisms in a merging galaxy, revealing how radiative and mechanical driving influence gas outflows, shock heating, and radio structure formation.

Contribution

It provides a detailed, spatially resolved analysis of AGN feedback processes across the electromagnetic spectrum in a merging galaxy.

Findings

Ionized gas outflows extend beyond 10 kpc.

High velocity kinematics are driven by AGN winds impacting dense material.

Shock heating produces thermal X-ray emission and in situ radio structures.

Abstract

We present optical SuperNova Integral Field Spectrograph (SNIFS) integral field spectroscopy, Hubble Space Telescope optical imaging, Chandra X-ray imaging, and Very Large Array radio interferometry of the merging galaxy 2MASX J04234080+0408017, which hosts a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus (AGN) at z = 0.046. Our observations reveal that radiatively driven, ionized gas outflows are successful to distances > 10 kpc due to the low mass of the host system, encompassing the entirety of the observed optical emission. We also find that at large radii, where observed velocities cannot be reproduced by radiative driving models, high velocity kinematics are likely due to mechanical driving from AGN winds impacting high density host material. This impacting deposits sufficient energy to shock the host material, producing thermal X-ray emission and cosmic rays, which in turn promote the formation of in situ radio structure in a pseudo-jet morphology along the high density lanes.