Ionized gas outflows in the interacting radio galaxy 4C +29.30

Abstract

We investigate the ionized gas excitation and kinematics in the inner 4.3 × 6.2 kpc2 of the merger radio galaxy 4C +29.30. Using optical integral field spectroscopy with the Gemini North Telescope, we find signatures of gas outflows, including high blueshifts of up to ∼−650 km s−1 observed in a region ∼1″ south of the nucleus, which also presents high velocity dispersion (∼250 km s−1). A possible redshifted counterpart is observed north from the nucleus. We propose that these regions correspond to a bipolar outflow possibly due to the interaction of the radio jet with the ambient gas. We estimate a total ionized gas mass outflow rate of $\[{\dot M_{out}} = 18.1\begin{array}{c} + 8.2\\ - 5.3\end{array}{\kern 1pt} {\kern 1pt} \]$ with a kinetic power of $\[\dot E = 5.8\begin{array}{c} + 7.6\\ - 2.9\end{array} \times {10^{42}}{\kern 1pt} {\kern 1pt} \]$ , which represents $\[3.9\begin{array}{c} + 5.1\\ - 1.5\end{array}\% \]$ of the AGN bolometric luminosity. These values are higher than usually observed in nearby active galaxies and could imply a significant impact of the outflows on the evolution of the host galaxy.