GOALS-JWST: Resolving the Circumnuclear Gas Dynamics in NGC 7469 in the Mid-infrared
Journal article, 2022
The nearby, luminous infrared galaxy NGC 7469 hosts a Seyfert nucleus with a circumnuclear star-forming ring and is thus the ideal local laboratory for investigating the starburst-AGN (active galactic nucleus) connection in detail. We present integral-field observations of the central 1.3 kpc region in NGC 7469 obtained with the JWST Mid-InfraRed Instrument. Molecular and ionized gas distributions and kinematics at a resolution of ∼100 pc over the 4.9-7.6 μm region are examined to study the gas dynamics influenced by the central AGN. The low-ionization [Fe ii] λ5.34 μm and [Ar ii] λ6.99 μm lines are bright on the nucleus and in the starburst ring, as opposed to H2 S(5) λ6.91 μm, which is strongly peaked at the center and surrounding ISM. The high-ionization [Mg v] line is resolved and shows a broad, blueshifted component associated with the outflow. It has a nearly face-on geometry that is strongly peaked on the nucleus, where it reaches a maximum velocity of −650 km s−1, and extends about 400 pc to the east. Regions of enhanced velocity dispersion in H2 and [Fe ii] ∼ 180 pc from the AGN that also show high L(H2)/L(PAH) and L([Fe ii])/L(Pfα) ratios to the W and N of the nucleus pinpoint regions where the ionized outflow is depositing energy, via shocks, into the dense interstellar medium between the nucleus and the starburst ring. These resolved mid-infrared observations of the nuclear gas dynamics demonstrate the power of JWST and its high-sensitivity integral-field spectroscopic capability to resolve feedback processes around supermassive black holes in the dusty cores of nearby luminous infrared galaxies.
Author
U. Vivian
University of California at Irvine (UCI)
Thomas Lai
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Marina Bianchin
Federal University of Santa Maria
University of California at Irvine (UCI)
Raymond P. Remigio
University of California at Irvine (UCI)
Lee Armus
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
K. Larson
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
T. Diaz-Santos
European University Cyprus
Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH)
Aaron S. Evans
University of Virginia
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
S. Stierwalt
Occidental College
David R. Law
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
M. A. Malkan
University of California
S. T. Linden
University of Massachusetts
Y. Song
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
European Southern Observatory Santiago
University of Virginia
P. van der Werf
Leiden University
Tianmu Gao
Beijing Normal University
G. Privon
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
University of Florida
Anne M. Medling
ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics
University of Toledo
Loreto Barcos-Munoz
University of Virginia
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Christopher C. Hayward
Flatiron Institute
H. Inami
Hiroshima University
Jeff Rich
Carnegie Observatories
Susanne Aalto
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Astronomy and Plasmaphysics
P. Appleton
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Thomas Bohn
Hiroshima University
T. Boker
European Space Agency (ESA)
Michael J.I. Brown
Monash University
V. Charmandaris
University of Crete
Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH)
European University Cyprus
Luke Finnerty
University of California
Justin Howell
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
K. Iwasawa
University of Barcelona
Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies
F. Kemper
Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies
Jason Marshall
Glendale Community College
J. Mazzarella
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Jed McKinney
University of Massachusetts
Francisco Muller-Sanchez
University of Memphis
E. J. Murphy
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
D. B. Sanders
University of Hawaii
J. A. Surace
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Astrophysical Journal Letters
2041-8205 (ISSN) 2041-8213 (eISSN)
Vol. 940 1 L5Subject Categories
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
DOI
10.3847/2041-8213/ac961c