Revolutionizing Our Understanding of AGN Feedback and its Importance to Galaxy Evolution in the Era of the Next Generation Very Large Array

Abstract

Energetic feedback by Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) plays an important evolutionary role in the regulation of star formation (SF) on galactic scales. However, the effects of this feedback as a function of redshift and galaxy properties such as mass, environment and cold gas content remain poorly understood. The broad frequency coverage (1 to 116 GHz), high sensitivity (up to ten times higher than the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array), and superb angular resolution (maximum baselines of at least a few hundred km) of the proposed next generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) are uniquely poised to revolutionize our understanding of AGNs and their role in galaxy evolution. Here, we provide an overview of the science related to AGN feedback that will be possible in the ngVLA era and present new continuum ngVLA imaging simulations of resolved radio jets spanning a wide range of intrinsic extents. We also consider key computational challenges and discuss exciting opportunities for multi-wavelength synergy with other next-generation instruments, such as the Square Kilometer Array and the James Webb Space Telescope. The unique combination of high-resolution, large collecting area, and wide frequency range will enable significant advancements in our understanding of the effects of jet-driven feedback on sub-galactic scales, particularly for sources with extents of a few pc to a few kpc such as young and/or lower-power radio AGNs, AGNs hosted by low-mass galaxies, radio jets that are interacting strongly with the interstellar medium of the host galaxy, and AGNs at high redshift.

Quasars That Have Transitioned from Radio-quiet to Radio-loud on Decadal Timescales Revealed by VLASS and FIRST

“…Bona fide candidates for new jet activity have also been identified (Mooley et al 2016;Kunert-Bajraszewska et al 2020), suggesting that short-lived, intermittent AGN jet activity recurring on timescales of ∼10 4 -10 5 yr could be common, consistent with predictions (e.g., Reynolds & Begelman 1997;Czerny et al 2009). Compact radio AGNs with subgalactic extents residing in gasrich host galaxies, especially those at redshifts of 1z  3, are an important, yet still poorly studied, class of objects for understanding the role of jet−interstellar medium (ISM) feedback in influencing galaxy growth and evolution (Mukherjee et al 2016;Nyland et al 2018;Jarvis et al 2019). Specifically, the prevalence of radio AGN variability driven by different intrinsic effects, as well as the magnitude and impact feedback from subgalactic jets on SMBH−galaxy coevolution, remains uncertain.…”

High-resolution VLA observations of FR0 radio galaxies: the properties and nature of compact radio sources

“…The combination of high-resolution, large collecting area, and wide frequency range of the new generation of radio telescopes (e.g., SKA, ngVLA, LOFAR) will enable to satisfy the increasing interest in low-power radio sources (Nyland et al 2018), and, consequently, in FR 0s (Whittam et al 2017). The advent of larger radio surveys will give the opportunity to study the pc-scale emission of FR 0s and test whether their jets have smaller bulk jet speed than the other FR classes on firmer statistical grounds, by expanding the size of the observed sample with high quality radio observations.…”

The quest for dual and binary supermassive black holes: A multi-messenger view

“…The ngVLA (Murphy, 2018) would greatly expand the instantaneous frequency range , the field of view, and the resolution of the array (with baselines at least 300 km). The ngVLA will be capable of probing active massive black holes and their feedback below 10 6 M (Nyland et al, 2018), entering a very interesting regime for dual-AGN activity studies. ASKAP (Johnston et al, 2007) and MeerKAT (Norris et al, 2011) are SKA precursors employing different technologies, but both are very fast survey machines (Table 2).…”