Gas Accretion from a Neighbouring Galaxy Fuels the Low-luminosity AGN in NGC 4278

TL;DR

This study uses high-sensitivity radio observations to reveal that external gas accretion from a neighboring galaxy fuels the low-luminosity AGN in NGC 4278, linking gas inflow to jet activity and gamma-ray emission.

Contribution

It provides direct observational evidence of external gas accretion fueling an AGN in an elliptical galaxy, highlighting the role of tidal interactions.

Findings

External gas accretion fuels the AGN in NGC 4278.

Accreted gas forms a rotating disk around the galaxy.

Gamma-ray emission is linked to accreted HI gas.

Abstract

How a seemingly `dead' host galaxy provides fuel for its active galactic nuclei (AGN) remains an unresolved problem. Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), we present a new high-sensitivity atomic-hydrogen (HI) observation toward the nearby elliptical galaxy NGC 4278 and its adjacent region. From the observation, we found that external gas accretion from a neighbouring galaxy fuels the low-luminosity AGN in NGC 4278 through tidal interactions. The accreted gas entering NGC 4278 exhibits a rotating gas disk. And the accreted galaxy has been gas-poor and has an HI to stellar mass ratio of about 0.02. Due to the process of gas accretion, it is likely that relativistic jets are generated in the AGN of NGC 4278. The emission of TeV gamma rays in NGC 4278 is likely to be associated with the newly accreted HI gas.