Line ratio diagnostics in NGC 1068 indicate AGN outflows are shock-accelerated, with outflowing gas dust-free and 19-110 times denser than disk gas.
Molecular line emission in NGC1068 imaged with ALMA. I An AGN-driven outflow in the dense molecular gas
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abstract
We investigate the fueling and the feedback of star formation and nuclear activity in NGC1068, a nearby (D=14Mpc) Seyfert 2 barred galaxy, by analyzing the distribution and kinematics of the molecular gas in the disk. We have used ALMA to map the emission of a set of dense molecular gas tracers (CO(3-2), CO(6-5), HCN(4-3), HCO+(4-3) and CS(7-6)) and their underlying continuum emission in the central r ~ 2kpc of NGC1068 with spatial resolutions ~ 0.3"-0.5" (~ 20-35pc). Molecular line and dust continuum emissions are detected from a r ~ 200pc off-centered circumnuclear disk (CND), from the 2.6kpc-diameter bar region, and from the r ~ 1.3kpc starburst (SB) ring. Most of the emission in HCO+, HCN and CS stems from the CND. Molecular line ratios show dramatic order-of-magnitude changes inside the CND that are correlated with the UV/X-ray illumination by the AGN, betraying ongoing feedback. The gas kinematics from r ~ 50pc out to r ~ 400pc reveal a massive (M_mol ~ 2.7 (+0.9, -1.2) x 10^7 Msun) outflow in all molecular tracers. The tight correlation between the ionized gas outflow, the radio jet and the occurrence of outward motions in the disk suggests that the outflow is AGN-driven. The outflow rate estimated in the CND, dM/dt ~ 63 (+21, -37) Msun yr^-1, is an order of magnitude higher than the star formation rate at these radii, confirming that the outflow is AGN-driven. The power of the AGN is able to account for the estimated momentum and kinetic luminosity of the outflow. The CND mass load rate of the CND outflow implies a very short gas depletion time scale of <=1 Myr.
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UNVERDICTED 4representative citing papers
FIRE-3 cosmological simulations of Seyfert galaxies produce episodic AGN feedback and gas clearing but no clear anti-correlation between nuclear gas concentration and AGN luminosity, highlighting timing mismatches with observations.
Bayesian inference on ALMA observations with a neural network emulator for chemical models reveals radial and azimuthal variations in gas density, temperature, column density, and cosmic-ray ionization rate across NGC 1068.
SKAO will trace synchrotron jets, thermal emission, and low-column-density HI gas in nearby AGN to characterize duty cycles and multi-phase feeding/feedback linked to star formation.
citing papers explorer
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Dust destruction signals shock-accelerated outflows in the nearby active galaxy NGC 1068
Line ratio diagnostics in NGC 1068 indicate AGN outflows are shock-accelerated, with outflowing gas dust-free and 19-110 times denser than disk gas.
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Investigating black hole accretion and feedback self-regulation in Seyfert galaxies using the FIRE-3 cosmological hydrodynamic simulations
FIRE-3 cosmological simulations of Seyfert galaxies produce episodic AGN feedback and gas clearing but no clear anti-correlation between nuclear gas concentration and AGN luminosity, highlighting timing mismatches with observations.
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Physical and Chemical Conditions of Molecular Gas in NGC 1068: The nuclear feedback in the circumnuclear disk and starburst ring
Bayesian inference on ALMA observations with a neural network emulator for chemical models reveals radial and azimuthal variations in gas density, temperature, column density, and cosmic-ray ionization rate across NGC 1068.
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AGN Feeding & Feedback Over the Galactic Scales
SKAO will trace synchrotron jets, thermal emission, and low-column-density HI gas in nearby AGN to characterize duty cycles and multi-phase feeding/feedback linked to star formation.