The Impact of Seyfert Jets on Galaxy Evolution Across Major Scaling Relations

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution simulations to show that Seyfert galaxy jets influence galaxy evolution by suppressing star formation, altering structural properties, and affecting key scaling relations over cosmic time.

Contribution

It demonstrates that low-luminosity Seyfert jets have long-term impacts on galaxy structure, kinematics, and scaling relations, which was previously underappreciated.

Findings

Jet feedback suppresses central star formation and redistributes gas.

Jets generate shocks that couple with the ISM and CGM.

Jets cause persistent structural, kinematic, and chemical signatures.

Abstract

We analyze a suite of high-resolution cosmological zoom-in simulations of jetted Seyfert galaxies over $z\leq10$ projected on the major scaling relations, comparing trajectories of `normal' versus jet-hosting galaxies. Models include thermal and mechanical jet feedback launched from supermassive black holes (SMBHs) seeded at $z\sim9.1$ and $z\sim3.7$ with $M_\bullet\sim10^6\,M_\odot$ in galaxies within dark matter halos of ${\rm log}\,M_{\rm halo}/M_\odot\sim11.8$ at $z=0$. A single parameter, the SMBH accretion efficiency, has been varied resulting in $L_{\rm jet}\sim10^{40-42}\,{\rm erg\,s^{-1}}$, and SMBH accretion rates range between $\sim 0.2-10^{-4}$ of the Eddington rate. We find that jet feedback (1) suppresses central star formation rates (SFRs), redistributes gas to larger radii, (2) generates long-lived expanding shocks that couple to the ISM and CGM, (3) reduces stellar mass ($M_*$), shifting galaxies toward lower central concentrations, and (4) alters host trajectories on the $M_{\rm halo}-M_*$, specific SFR$-M_*$, $M_\bullet-\sigma_{\rm bulge}$, Mass$-$Metallicity, Kennicutt-Schmidt, and baryonic Tully-Fisher relation planes. Specifically, we find that jetted Seyferts live longer in the green valley and more frequently move to the quenched region in comparison to the non-jetted galaxies. Despite producing only transient quenching, Seyfert jets cause persistent structural, kinematic and chemical signatures, including flatter rotation curves, elevated CGM metallicities, and reduced cold gas clumping. (5) Early SMBH seeding and stronger jets amplify these effects, yielding galaxies that lie systematically closer to some of the empirical relations, e.g., $M_{\rm halo}-M_*$, while showing offsets for others, e.g., Kennicutt-Schmidt, and demonstrating that low-luminosity Seyfert jets can exert a significant long-term influence on galaxy evolution.