The extent and power of "maintainance mode" feedback in MaNGA AGN

TL;DR

This study analyzes ionized gas kinematics in 293 AGN hosts from MaNGA, revealing extensive kinematically disturbed regions influenced by AGN activity, supporting the concept of low-luminosity AGN impacting their host galaxies through maintenance mode feedback.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of ionized gas kinematics in AGN and control galaxies, quantifies the extent of disturbed regions, and links outflow properties to AGN luminosity, highlighting maintenance mode feedback.

Findings

KDRs extend up to 24 kpc, with a mean ratio of 57% to ENLR.

Outflow rates and energies correlate with AGN luminosity, even at low levels.

Large KDRs indicate low-luminosity AGN can influence host galaxies over several kpc.

Abstract

We study the ionised gas kinematics of 293 Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) hosts as compared to that of 485 control galaxies from the MaNGA-SDSS survey using measurements of the [OIII]$\lambda$5007\AA emission-line profiles, presenting flux, velocity and W$_{80}$ maps. In 45% of the AGN, a broad component was needed to fit the line profiles wings within the inner few kpc, that we have identified with an outflow. But in most AGN, the profiles are broader than that of their controls over a much more extended region, identified as the "kinematically disturbed regions" (KDRs). We find a positive correlation between the mean $\langle$W$_{80}\rangle$ and L[OIII], supporting that the KDR is due to heating and turbulence of the ISM by outflows and radiation from the AGN. The extent R$_{KDR}$ reaches up to 24kpc, with a mean ratio to that of the ENLR of 57%. We estimate ionised gas mass flow rates ($\dot{M}_{\rm out}$) and kinetic powers ($\dot{E}_{\rm out}$) both from the AGN broad components and from the W$_{80}$ values, that can be obtained for the whole AGN sample. We find values for $\dot{M}_{\rm out}$ and $\dot{E}_{\rm out}$ that correlate with the AGN luminosity $L_{bol}$, populating the low luminosity end of these known correlations. The mean coupling efficiency between $\dot{E}_{\rm out}$ and AGN luminosity is $\approx$ 0.02% from the W$_{80}$ values and lower from the broad component. But the large extent of the KDR shows that even low-luminosity AGN can impact the host galaxy along several kpc in a "maintenance mode" feedback.