Searching for molecular gas inflows and outflows in the nuclear regions of five Seyfert galaxies

Domínguez-Fernández, A. J.; Alonso-Herrero, A.; García-Burillo, S.; Davies, R. I.; Usero, A.; Labiano, A.; Levenson, N. A.; Pereira-Santaella, M.; Imanishi, M.; Ramos Almeida, C.; Rigopoulou, D.
Bibliographical reference

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Advertised on:
11
2020
Number of authors
11
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
23
Refereed citations
22
Description
Active galactic nucleus (AGN) driven outflows are believed to play an important role in regulating the growth of galaxies, mostly via negative feedback. However, their effects on their hosts are far from clear, especially for low- and moderate-luminosity Seyferts. To investigate this issue, we obtained cold molecular gas observations, traced by the CO(2-1) transition, using the NOEMA interferometer of five nearby (distances between 19 and 58 Mpc) Seyfert galaxies. The resolution of ∼0.3-0.8 (∼30-100 pc) and field of view of NOEMA allowed us to study the CO(2-1) morphology and kinematics in the nuclear regions (∼100 pc) and up to radial distances of ∼900 pc. We detected CO(2-1) emission in all five galaxies with disky or circumnuclear ring-like morphologies. We derived cold molecular gas masses on nuclear (∼100 pc) and circumnuclear (∼650 pc) scales in the range from 106 to 107 M☉ and from 107 to 108 M☉, respectively. In all of our galaxies, the bulk of this gas is rotating in the plane of the galaxy. However, noncircular motions are also present. In NGC 4253, NGC 4388, and NGC 7465, we can ascribe the streaming motions to the presence of a large-scale bar. In Mrk 1066 and NGC 4388, the noncircular motions in the nuclear regions are explained as outflowing material due to the interaction of the AGN wind with molecular gas in the galaxy disk. We conclude that for an unambiguous and precise interpretation of the kinematics of the cold molecular gas, we need detailed knowledge of the host galaxy (i.e., presence of bars, interactions, etc.), and also of the ionized gas kinematics and ionization cone geometry.

The reduced datacubes are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/643/A127
Related projects
Supermassive black holes modify the distribution of molecular gas in the central regions of galaxies. Credit: HST and C. Ramos Almeida.
Nuclear Activity in Galaxies: a 3D Perspective from the Nucleus to the Outskirts

This project consists of two main research lines. First, the study of quasar-driven outflows in luminous and nearby obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN) and the impact that they have on their massive host galaxies (AGN feedback). To do so, we have obtained Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC) infrared and optical observations with the instruments

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