AGN on the Beach

Feedback (circumnuclear and galactic scales)

Quasar winds modify the distribution of cold molecular gas and young stellar populations in the central kiloparsec of galaxies

Cristina Ramos Almeida

 Tu, 12:40 ! Livein  Palazzo Santa Chiarafor  15min

Different modes of AGN feedback are now considered key processes in the evolution of massive galaxies by regulating black hole and galaxy growth. Indeed, a wealth of observational evidence demonstrates that feedback from supermassive black holes impacts the galaxies and the halos they inhabit on a wide range of scales: from the central parsecs to hundreds of kpc. What we are still far from understanding is how AGN feedback couples with the host galaxy, which is what ultimately determines its efficiency. The aim of our project is to answer this question by quantifying the impact of multi-phase quasar-driven outflows and jets on the nuclear regions of galaxies, which have the same dynamical timescales as AGN activity and the outflows and jets that it drives. I will present recent results based on high angular resolution data from cutting-edge telescopes including Keck, Gemini, and ALMA. We do not find evidence for a significant impact of quasar-driven winds/jets on the total molecular gas reservoirs and star formation rates, but they are undoubtedly modifying the distribution of cold molecular gas and young stellar populations (ages < 100 Myr) in the central kpc of the galaxies.

 Overview  Program