GOALS-JWST: Mid-infrared Spectroscopy of the Nucleus of NGC 7469
Journal article, 2023
We present mid-infrared spectroscopic observations of the nucleus of the nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC 7469 taken with the MIRI instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) as part of Directors Discretionary Time Early Release Science program 1328. The high-resolution nuclear spectrum contains 19 emission lines covering a wide range of ionization. The high-ionization lines show broad, blueshifted emission reaching velocities up to 1700 km s−1 and FWHM ranging from ∼500 to 1100 km s−1. The width of the broad emission and the broad-to-narrow line flux ratios correlate with ionization potential. The results suggest a decelerating, stratified, AGN-driven outflow emerging from the nucleus. The estimated mass outflow rate is 1-2 orders of magnitude larger than the current black hole accretion rate needed to power the AGN. Eight pure rotational H2 emission lines are detected with intrinsic widths ranging from FWHM ∼125 to 330 km s−1. We estimate a total mass of warm H2 gas of ∼1.2 × 107 M ⊙ in the central 100 pc. The PAH features are extremely weak in the nuclear spectrum, but a 6.2 μm PAH feature with an equivalent width of ∼0.07 μm and a flux of 2.7 × 10−17 W m−2 is detected. The spectrum is steeply rising in the mid-infrared, with a silicate strength of ∼0.02, significantly smaller than seen in most PG QSOs but comparable to other Seyfert 1s. These early MIRI mid-infrared IFU data highlight the power of JWST to probe the multiphase interstellar media surrounding actively accreting supermassive black holes.
Author
Lee Armus
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Thomas Lai
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
U. Vivian
University of California at Irvine (UCI)
K. Larson
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
T. Diaz-Santos
European University Cyprus
Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH)
Aaron S. Evans
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
University of Virginia
M. A. Malkan
University of California
Jeffrey A. Rich
Carnegie Observatories
Anne M. Medling
University of Toledo
ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics
David R. Law
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
H. Inami
Hiroshima University
Francisco Muller-Sanchez
University of Memphis
V. Charmandaris
University of Crete
Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH)
European University Cyprus
P. V.D. van der Werf
Leiden University
S. Stierwalt
Occidental College
S. T. Linden
University of Massachusetts
G. Privon
University of Florida
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Loreto Barcos-Munoz
University of Virginia
Christopher C. Hayward
Flatiron Institute
Y. Song
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
University of Virginia
P. Appleton
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Susanne Aalto
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Astronomy and Plasmaphysics
Thomas Bohn
Hiroshima University
T. Boker
European Space Agency (ESA)
Michael J.I. Brown
Monash University
Luke Finnerty
University of California
Justin Howell
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
K. Iwasawa
Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies
University of Barcelona
F. Kemper
Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
J. P. Marshall
Glendale Community College
J. Mazzarella
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Jed McKinney
University of Massachusetts
Eric J. Murphy
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
David Sanders
University of Hawaii
J. A. Surace
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Astrophysical Journal Letters
2041-8205 (ISSN) 2041-8213 (eISSN)
Vol. 942 2 L37Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)
Subatomic Physics
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics
DOI
10.3847/2041-8213/acac66