We study a series of X-ray-bright, rapidly-evolving active-region coronal jets outside the leading sunspot of AR 12259, using Hinode/XRT, SDO/AIA and HMI, and IRIS data. The detailed evolution of such rapidly evolving "violent" jets remained a mystery after our previous investigation of active region jets , Paper 1). The jets we investigate here erupt from three localized subregions, each containing a rapidly evolving (positive) minority-polarity magnetic-flux patch bathed in a (majority) negative-polarity magnetic-flux background. At least several of the jets begin with eruptions of what appear to be thin (thickness < ∼ 2 ′′ ) miniature-filament (minifilament) "strands" from a magnetic neutral line where magnetic flux cancelation is ongoing, consistent with the magnetic configuration presented for coronal-hole jets in Sterling et al. (2015). Some jets strands are difficult/impossible to detect, perhaps due to, e.g. their thinness, obscuration by surrounding bright or dark features, or the absence of erupting cool-material minifilaments in those jets. Tracing in detail the flux evolution in one of the subregions, we find bursts of strong jetting occurring only during times of strong flux cancelation. Averaged over seven jetting episodes, the cancelation rate was ∼1.5×1019 Mx hr −1 . An average flux of ∼5×10 18 Mx canceled prior to each episode, arguably building up ∼10 28 -10 29 ergs of free magnetic energy per jet. From these and previous observations, we infer that flux cancelation is the fundamental process responsible for the pre-eruption buildup and triggering of at least many jets in active regions, quiet regions, and coronal holes.

Outflows of ionized gas driven by active galactic nuclei (AGN) may significantly impact the evolution of their host galaxies. However, determining the energetics of these outflows is difficult with spatially unresolved observations that are subject to strong global selection effects. We present part of an ongoing study using Hubble Space Telescope and Apache Point Observatory spectroscopy and imaging to derive spatially resolved mass outflow rates and energetics for narrow-line region outflows in nearby AGN that are based on multi-component photoionization models to account for spatial variations in gas ionization, density, abundances, and dust content. This expanded analysis adds Mrk 3, Mrk 78, and NGC 1068, doubling our earlier sample. We find that the outflows contain total ionized gas masses of M ≈ 105.5–107.5 M ⊙ and reach peak velocities of v ≈ 800–2000 km s−1. The outflows reach maximum mass outflow rates of yr−1 and encompass total kinetic energies of E ≈ 1054–1056 erg. The outflows extend to radial distances of r ≈ 0.1–3 kpc from the nucleus, with the gas masses, outflow energetics, and radial extents positively correlated with AGN luminosity. The outflow rates are consistent with in situ ionization and acceleration where gas is radiatively driven at multiple radii. These radial variations indicate that spatially resolved observations are essential for localizing AGN feedback and determining the most accurate outflow parameters.

We explore the kinematics of the stars, ionized gas, and warm molecular gas in the Seyfert 2 galaxy Mrk 3 (UGC 3426) on nuclear and galactic scales with Gemini Near-Infrared Field Spectrograph observations, previous Hubble Space Telescope data, and new long-slit spectra from the Apache Point Observatory (APO) 3.5 m telescope. The APO spectra are consistent with our previous suggestion that a galactic-scale gas/dust disk at P.A. = 129°, offset from the major axis of the host S0 galaxy at P.A. = 28°, is responsible for the orientation of the extended narrow-line region. The disk is fed by an H i tidal stream from a gas-rich spiral galaxy (UGC 3422) ∼100 kpc to the NW of Mrk 3 and is ionized by the active galactic nucleus (AGN) to a distance of at least ∼20″ (∼5.4 kpc) from the central supermassive black hole (SMBH). The kinematics within at least 320 pc of the SMBH are dominated by outflows with radial (line-of-sight) velocities up to 1500 km s−1 in the ionized gas and 500 km s−1 in the warm molecular gas, consistent with in situ heating, ionization, and acceleration of ambient gas to produce the narrow-line region outflows. There is a disk of ionized and warm molecular gas within ∼400 pc of the SMBH that has reoriented close to the stellar major axis but is counterrotating, consistent with claims of external fueling of AGNs in S0 galaxies.

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) can launch outflows of ionized gas that may influence galaxy evolution, and quantifying their full impact requires spatially resolved measurements of the gas masses, velocities, and radial extents. We previously reported these quantities for the ionized narrow-line region outflows in six low-redshift AGN, where the gas velocities and extents were determined from Hubble Space Telescope long-slit spectroscopy. However, calculating the gas masses required multicomponent photoionization models to account for radial variations in the gas densities, which span ∼6 orders of magnitude. To simplify this method for larger samples with less spectral coverage, we compare these gas masses with those calculated from techniques in the literature. First, we use a recombination equation with three different estimates for the radial density profiles. These include constant densities, those derived from [S ii], and power-law profiles based on constant values of the ionization parameter (U). Second, we use single-component photoionization models with power-law density profiles based on constant U, and allow U to vary with radius based on the [O iii]/Hβ ratios. We find that assuming a constant density of n H = 102 cm−3 overestimates the gas masses for all six outflows, particularly at small radii where the outflow rates peak. The use of [S ii] marginally matches the total gas masses, but also overestimates at small radii. Overall, single-component photoionization models where U varies with radius are able to best match the gas mass and outflow rate profiles when there are insufficient emission lines to construct detailed models.

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