We present optical and near-IR Integral Field Unit (IFU) and ALMA band 6 observations of the nearby dual Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) Mrk 463. At a distance of 210 Mpc, and a nuclear separation of ∼4 kpc, Mrk 463 is an excellent laboratory to study the gas dynamics, star formation processes and supermassive black hole (SMBH) accretion in a late-stage gas-rich major galaxy merger. The IFU observations reveal a complex morphology, including tidal tails, starforming clumps, and emission line regions. The optical data, which map the full extent of the merger, show evidence for a biconical outflow and material outflowing at >600 km s −1 , both associated with the Mrk 463E nucleus, together with large scale gradients likely related to the ongoing galaxy merger. We further find an emission line region ∼11 kpc south of Mrk 463E that is consistent with being photoionized by an AGN. Compared to the current AGN luminosity, the energy budget of the cloud implies a luminosity drop in Mrk 463E by a factor 3-20 over the last 40,000 years. The ALMA observations of 12 CO(2-1) and adjacent 1 mm continuum reveal the presence of ∼10 9 M in molecular gas in the system. The molecular gas shows velocity gradients of ∼800 km/s and ∼400 km/s around the Mrk 463E and 463W nuclei, respectively. We conclude that in this system the infall of ∼100s M /yr of molecular gas is in rough balance with the removal of ionized gas by a biconical outflow being fueled by a relatively small, <0.01% of accretion onto each SMBH.
NGC 3393, a nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy with nuclear radio jets, large-scale and nuclear bars, and a posited secondary super massive black hole, provides an interesting laboratory to test the physics of inflows and outflows. Here we present and analyse the molecular gas (ALMA observations of CO J:2-1 emission over a field of view (FOV) of 45 × 45 , at 0. 56 (143 pc) spatial and 5 km/s spectral resolution), ionised gas and stars (GEMINI-GMOS/IFU; over a FOV of 4 × 5 , at 0. 62 (159 pc) spatial and 23 km/s spectral resolution) in NGC 3393. The ionised gas emission, detected over the complete GEMINI-GMOS FOV, has three identifiable kinematic components. A narrow (σ < 115 km/s) component present in the complete FOV, which is consistent with rotation in the galaxy disk. A broad (σ > 115 km/s) redshifted component, detected near the NE and SW radio lobes; which we interpret as a radio jet driven outflow. And a broad (σ > 115 km/s) blueshifted component that shows high velocities in a region perpendicular to the radio jet axis; we interpret this as an equatorial outflow. The CO J:2-1 emission is detected in spiral arms on 5 − 20 scales, and in two disturbed circumnuclear regions. The molecular kinematics in the spiral arms can be explained by rotation. The highly disturbed kinematics of the inner region can be explained by perturbations induced by the nuclear bar and interactions with the large scale bar. We find no evidence for, but cannot strongly rule out, the presence of the posited secondary black hole.
We present the molecular gas morphology and kinematics of seven nearby Seyfert galaxies obtained from our 230 GHz ALMA observations. The CO J=2-1 kinematics within the inner ∼ 30 ( 9 kpc) reveals rotation patterns that have been explored using the Bertola rotation model and a modified version of the Kinemetry package. The latter algorithm reveals various deviations from pure circular rotation in the inner kiloparsec of all seven galaxies, including kinematic twists, decoupled and counter-rotating cores. A comparison of the global molecular gas and stellar kinematics show overall agreement in the position angle of the major axis and the systemic velocity, but larger discrepancies in the disc inclination. The residual maps obtained with both the methods shows the presence of non-circular motions in most of the galaxies. Despite its importance, a detailed interpretation of the physics responsible for noncircular motions will be discussed in a forthcoming work.
We present two-dimensional stellar and gaseous kinematics of the inner 0.7 × 1.2 kpc 2 of the Seyfert 1.5 galaxy ESO 362-G18, derived from optical (4092-7338 Å) spectra obtained with the GMOS integral field spectrograph on the Gemini South telescope at a spatial resolution of ≈170 pc and spectral resolution of 36 km s −1 . ESO 362-G18 is a strongly perturbed galaxy of morphological type Sa or S0/a, with a minor merger approaching along the NE direction. Previous studies have shown that the [O iii] emission shows a fan-shaped extension of ≈ 10 to the SE. We detect the [O iii] doublet, [N ii] and Hα emission lines throughout our FOV. The stellar kinematics is dominated by circular motions in the galaxy plane, with a kinematic position angle of ≈137 • and is centred approximately on the continuum peak. The gas kinematics is also dominated by rotation, with kinematic position angles ranging from 122 • to 139 • , projected velocity amplitudes of the order of 100 km s −1 , and a mean velocity dispersion of 100 km s −1 . A double-Gaussian fit to the [O iii]λ5007 and Hα lines, which have the highest signal to noise ratios of the emission lines, reveal two kinematic components: (1) a component at lower radial velocities which we interpret as gas rotating in the galactic disk; and (2) a component with line of sight (LOS) velocities 100-250 km s −1 higher than the systemic velocity, interpreted as originating in the outflowing gas within the AGN ionization cone. We estimate a mass outflow rate of 7.4 × 10 −2 M yr −1 in the SE ionization cone (this rate doubles if we assume a biconical configuration), and a mass accretion rate on the supermassive black hole (SMBH) of 2.2 × 10 −2 M yr −1 . The total ionized gas mass within ∼84 pc of the nucleus is 3.3 × 10 5 M ; infall velocities of ∼34 km s −1 in this gas would be required to feed both the outflow and SMBH accretion.
Context. Tracing nuclear inflows and outflows in AGNs, determining the mass of gas involved in these, and their impact on the host galaxy and nuclear black hole, requires 3-D imaging studies of both the ionized and molecular gas. Aims. We aim to map the distribution and kinematics of molecular and ionized gas in a sample of active galaxies, to quantify the nuclear inflows and outflows. Here, we analyze the nuclear kinematics of NGC 1566 via ALMA observations of the CO J:2-1 emission at 24 pc spatial and ∼2.6 km s −1 spectral resolution, and Gemini-GMOS/IFU observations of ionized gas emission lines and stellar absorption lines at similar spatial resolution, and 123 km s −1 of intrinsic spectral resolution. Methods. The morphology and kinematics of stellar, molecular (CO) and ionized ([N ii]) emission lines are compared to the expectations from rotation, outflows, and streaming inflows. Results. While both ionized and molecular gas show rotation signatures, there are significant non-circular motions in the innermost 200 pc and along spiral arms in the central kpc (CO). The nucleus shows a double-peaked CO profile (Full Width at Zero Intensity of 200 km s −1 ), and prominent (∼80 km s −1 ) blue and redshifted lobes are found along the minor axis in the inner arcseconds. Perturbations by the large-scale bar can qualitatively explain all features in the observed velocity field. We thus favour the presence of a molecular outflow in the disk with true velocities of ∼180 km s −1 in the nucleus and decelerating to 0 by ∼72 pc. The implied molecular outflow rate is 5.6 [M yr −1 ], with this gas accumulating in the nuclear 2 arms. The ionized gas kinematics support an interpretation of a similar, but more spherical, outflow in the inner 100 pc, with no signs of deceleration. There is some evidence of streaming inflows of ∼50 km s −1 along specific spiral arms, and the estimated molecular mass inflow rate, ∼ 0.1 [M yr −1 ], is significantly larger than the SMBH accretion rate (ṁ = 4.8 × 10 −5 [M yr −1 ]).
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