AGN on the Beach

Feedback (circumnuclear and galactic scales)

The ALMA view of the gas cycle in nearby AGN

Santiago Garcia Burillo

 Tu, 9:45 ! Livein  Palazzo Santa Chiarafor  15min

High-resolution (<10-100pc) images of the distribution and kinematics of molecular gas in the central disks of nearby AGN are key to deciphering the mechanisms regulating the gas cycle of nuclear activity in galaxies. These observations are now accessible for an increasing number of targets thanks to the advent of ALMA. We describe how detailed studies conducted by our group have underlined the potential role of radio jets in launching molecular outflows in a number of AGN (NGC1068, NGC5643, NGC5506, NGC2110 & NGC613). We have also searched for the imprint left by AGN feedback on the radial distribution of molecular gas using ALMA images from >70 close AGN in 3 CO lines obtained by the NUGA, GATOS, WISDOM and LLAMA projects. Using different prescriptions for the distribution of molecular gas we find enhanced nuclear-scale molecular gas deficits in the most extreme AGN. We detect molecular outflows in the sources showing the most extreme nuclear-scale gas deficits. This suggests that AGN feedback can be caught at work more frequently in higher luminosity or higher Eddington ratio sources. We explore avenues to validate this evolutionary scenario using numerical simulations of the feeding and feedback cycle in galaxy disks.

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