GOALS-JWST: Tracing AGN Feedback on the Star-forming Interstellar Medium in NGC 7469
Journal article, 2022
We present James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) integral-field spectroscopy of the nearby merging, luminous infrared galaxy, NGC 7469. This galaxy hosts a Seyfert type-1.5 nucleus, a highly ionized outflow, and a bright, circumnuclear star-forming ring, making it an ideal target to study active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback in the local universe. We take advantage of the high spatial/spectral resolution of JWST/ MIRI to isolate the star-forming regions surrounding the central active nucleus and study the properties of the dust and warm molecular gas on ∼100 pc scales. The starburst ring exhibits prominent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission, with grain sizes and ionization states varying by only ∼30%, and a total star formation rate of 10–30 Me yr−1 derived from fine structure and recombination emission lines. Using pure rotational lines of H2 we detect 1.2 × 107 Me of warm molecular gas at a temperature higher than 200 K in the ring. All PAH bands get significantly weaker toward the central source, where larger and possibly more ionized grains dominate the emission, likely the result of the ionizing radiation and/or the fast wind emerging from the AGN. The small grains and warm molecular gas in the bright regions of the ring however display properties consistent with normal star-forming regions. These observations highlight the power of JWST to probe the inner regions of dusty, rapidly evolving galaxies for signatures of feedback and inform models that seek to explain the coevolution of supermassive black holes and their hosts.
Author
Thomas Lai
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Lee Armus
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
U. Vivian
University of California at Irvine (UCI)
T. Diaz-Santos
European University Cyprus
Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH)
K. Larson
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Aaron S. Evans
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
University of Virginia
M. A. Malkan
University of California
P. Appleton
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Jeff Rich
Carnegie Observatories
Francisco Muller-Sanchez
University of Memphis
H. Inami
Hiroshima University
Thomas Bohn
Hiroshima University
Jed McKinney
University of Massachusetts
Luke Finnerty
University of California
David Law
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
S. T. Linden
University of Massachusetts
Anne M. Medling
University of Toledo
ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics
G. Privon
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
University of Florida
Y. Song
University of Virginia
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
S. Stierwalt
Occidental College
P. van der Werf
Leiden University
Loreto Barcos-Munoz
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
University of Virginia
J. D.T. Smith
University of Toledo
Aditya Togi
Texas State
Susanne Aalto
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Astronomy and Plasmaphysics
T. Boker
European Space Agency (ESA)
V. Charmandaris
Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH)
University of Crete
European University Cyprus
Justin Howell
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
K. Iwasawa
University of Barcelona
Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies
F. Kemper
Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC)
Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
J. Mazzarella
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
E. J. Murphy
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Michael J.I. Brown
Monash University
Christopher C. Hayward
Flatiron Institute
Jason Marshall
Glendale Community College
D. B. Sanders
University of Hawaii
J. A. Surace
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Astrophysical Journal Letters
2041-8205 (ISSN) 2041-8213 (eISSN)
Vol. 941 2 36Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
DOI
10.3847/2041-8213/ac9ebf