Inefficient jet-induced star formation in Centaurus A; Can shocks regulate star formation in the northern filaments?
The influence of AGN and radio jets on galaxy evolution remains poorly understood. While AGN feedback is often invoked as a regulation mechanism for star formation, some radio galaxies show evidence of recent star formation along their radio jet. This suggests that the jets can drive positive feedback. Located at 3.8 Mpc, Centaurus A is a testbed to study the so-called ”jet-induced star formation” in its northern filaments, at the interaction of the jet with a HI shell. Although the molecular gas reservoir is important, star formation is very inefficient as compared to disc-like environments. This suggests that the energy injected by the jet acts positively in the formation of molecular gas from the HI shell, but is too strong for star formation to be efficient. MUSE observations revealed that the optical emission associated with the filaments is likely excited by shocks. I will thus present the results of our study of the shock properties at the scale of the molecular clouds. This analysis is based on a multi-wavelength campaign: (1) various molecular lines with APEX and ALMA, (2) the ionised gas with MUSE, and (3) KMOS observations of the warm H2 at 2.12 microns.