Capturing dual AGN activity and kiloparsec-scale outflows in IRAS 20210+1121

The most standard scenario for the evolution of massive galaxies across cosmic time assumes a correspondence based on the interplay between active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback, which injects large amounts of energy into the host environment, and galaxy mergers, with their ability to trigger massive star formation events and accretion onto supermassive black holes. Interacting systems hosting AGN are useful laboratories for obtaining key insights into both phenomena. In this context, we present an analysis of the optical spectral properties of IRAS 20210+1121 (I20210), a merging system at z  =  0.056. According to X-ray data, this object comprises two interacting galaxies, each hosting an obscured AGN. The optical spectra confirm the presence of AGN features in both galaxies. In particular, we are able to provide a Seyfert classification for I20210 North. The spectrum of I20120 South shows broad blueshifted components associated with the most intense emission lines that indicate the presence of an ionized outflow, for which we derive a maximum velocity of ∼2000 km s-1, an extension of ∼2 kpc, and a mass rate of ∼0.6  M⊙ yr-1. We also report the existence of an ionized nebular component with v  ∼  1000 km s-1 at ∼6.5 kpc southwards of I20210 South, which can be interpreted as disrupted gas ejected from the host galaxy by the action of the outflow. I20120 therefore exhibits a double obscured AGN, with one of them showing evidence of ongoing events for AGN-powered outflows. Future spatially resolved spectroscopy will allow for an accurate mapping of the gas kinematics in this AGN pair and evaluate the impact of the outflow on both the interstellar medium and the galaxy environment

SUPER VII. morphology and kinematics of H α emission in AGN host galaxies at cosmic noon using SINFONI

We present spatially resolved H α properties of 21 type 1 AGN host galaxies at z ∼ 2 derived from the SUPER survey. These targets were observed with the adaptive optics capabilities of the SINFONI spectrograph, a near-infrared integral field spectrograph, that provided a median spatial resolution of 0.3 arcsec (∼2 kpc). We model the H α emission line profile in each pixel to investigate whether it traces gas in the narrow line region or if it is associated with star formation. To do this, we first investigate the presence of resolved H α emission after subtracting the AGN PSF. We find extended H α emission in 16 out of the 21 type 1 AGN host galaxies (76 per cent). Based on the BPT diagnostics, optical line flux ratios and line widths (FWHM), we show that the H α emission in five galaxies is ionized by the AGN (30 per cent), in four galaxies by star formation (25 per cent) and for the rest (45 per cent), the ionization source is unconstrained. Two galaxies show extended H α FWHM >600 km s−1, which is interpreted as a part of an AGN-driven outflow. Morphological and kinematic maps of H α emission in targets with sufficient signal-to-noise ratio suggest the presence of rotationally supported discs in six galaxies and possible presence of companions in four galaxies. In two galaxies, we find an anticorrelation between the locations of extended H α emission and [O III]-based ionized outflows, indicating possible negative feedback at play. However, in the majority of galaxies, we do not find evidence of outflows impacting H α-based star formation

SUPER VII. morphology and kinematics of H alpha emission in AGN host galaxies at cosmic noon using SINFONI

We present spatially resolved H α properties of 21 type 1 AGN host galaxies at z ∼ 2 derived from the SUPER survey. These targets were observed with the adaptive optics capabilities of the SINFONI spectrograph, a near-infrared integral field spectrograph, that provided a median spatial resolution of 0.3 arcsec (∼2 kpc). We model the H α emission line profile in each pixel to investigate whether it traces gas in the narrow line region or if it is associated with star formation. To do this, we first investigate the presence of resolved H α emission after subtracting the AGN PSF. We find extended H α emission in 16 out of the 21 type 1 AGN host galaxies (76 per cent). Based on the BPT diagnostics, optical line flux ratios and line widths (FWHM), we show that the H α emission in five galaxies is ionized by the AGN (30 per cent), in four galaxies by star formation (25 per cent) and for the rest (45 per cent), the ionization source is unconstrained. Two galaxies show extended H α FWHM >600 km s−1, which is interpreted as a part of an AGN-driven outflow. Morphological and kinematic maps of H α emission in targets with sufficient signal-to-noise ratio suggest the presence of rotationally supported discs in six galaxies and possible presence of companions in four galaxies. In two galaxies, we find an anticorrelation between the locations of extended H α emission and [O iii]-based ionized outflows, indicating possible negative feedback at play. However, in the majority of galaxies, we do not find evidence of outflows impacting H α-based star formation

I.Toward an unbiased study of ionized outflows in z similar to 2 active galactic nuclei: survey overview and sample characterization

Theoretical models of galaxy formation suggest that the presence of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) is required to regulate the growth of its host galaxy through feedback mechanisms, produced by, for example, AGN-driven outflows. Although many observational studies have revealed that such outflows are common both at low and high redshift, a comprehensive picture is still missing. In particular, the peak epoch of galaxy assembly (1 <  z <  3) has been poorly explored so far, and current observations in this redshift range are mostly limited to targets with high chances to be in an outflowing phase. This paper introduces SUPER (a SINFONI Survey for Unveiling the Physics and Effect of Radiative feedback), an ongoing ESO’s VLT/SINFONI Large Programme. SUPER will perform the first systematic investigation of ionized outflows in a sizeable and blindly-selected sample of 39 X-ray AGN at z ∼ 2, which reaches high spatial resolutions (∼2 kpc) thanks to the adaptive optics-assisted IFS observations. The outflow morphology and star formation in the host galaxy will be mapped through the broad component of [O III]λ5007 and the narrow component of Hα emission lines. The main aim of our survey is to infer the impact of outflows on the on-going star formation and to link the outflow properties to a number of AGN and host galaxy properties. We describe here the survey characteristics and goals, as well as the selection of the target sample. Moreover, we present a full characterization of its multi-wavelength properties: we measure, via spectral energy distribution fitting of UV-to-FIR photometry, stellar masses (4 × 10^{9} -2 x 10^{11} M_{⊙}), star formation rates (25 − 680 M_{⊙} yr^{-1}) and AGN bolometric luminosities (2 × 10^{44} - 8 x 10^{47} erg s^{-1}), along with obscuring column densities (up to 2 × 10^{24} cm^{-2}) and luminosities in the hard 2 − 10 keV band (2 × 10^{43} - 6 x 10^{45} erg s^{-1}) derived through X-ray spectral analysis. Finally, we classify our AGN as jetted or non-jetted according to their radio and FIR emission

BAT AGN spectroscopic survey, XIX : type 1 versus type 2 AGN dichotomy from the point of view of ionized outflows

We present a detailed study of ionized outflows in a large sample of similar to 650 hard X-ray-detected active galactic neuclei (AGNs). Using optical spectroscopy from the BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey (BASS), we are able to reveal the faint wings of the [OIII] emission lines associated with outflows covering, for the first time, an unexplored range of low AGN bolometric luminosity at low redshift (z similar to 0.05). We test if and how the incidence and velocity of ionized outflow is related to AGN physical parameters: black hole mass (M-BH), gas column density (N-H), Eddington ratio (lambda(Edd)), [OIII], X-ray, and bolometric luminosities. We find a higher occurrence of ionized outflows in type 1.9 (55 per cent) and type 1 AGNs (46 per cent) with respect to type 2 AGNs (24 per cent). While outflows in type 2 AGNs are evenly balanced between blue and red velocity offsets with respect to the [OIII] narrow component, they are almost exclusively blueshifted in type 1 and type 1.9 AGNs. We observe a significant dependence between the outflow occurrence and accretion rate, which becomes relevant at high Eddington ratios [log(lambda(Edd)) greater than or similar to -1.7]. We interpret such behaviour in the framework of covering factor-Eddington ratio dependence. We do not find strong trends of the outflow maximum velocity with AGN physical parameters, as an increase with bolometric luminosity can be only identified when including samples of AGNs at high luminosity and high redshift taken from literature

SUPER: III. Broad line region properties of AGNs at z ∼2

Aims. The SINFONI survey for Unveiling the Physics and Effect of Radiative feedback (SUPER) was designed to conduct a blind search for AGN-driven outflows on X-ray-selected AGNs at redshift z∼2 with high (∼2 kpc) spatial resolution, and to correlate them with the properties of their host galaxy and central black hole. The main aims of this paper are: (a) to derive reliable estimates for the masses of the black holes and accretion rates for the Type-1 AGNs in this survey; and (b) to characterise the properties of the AGN-driven winds in the broad line region (BLR). Methods. We analysed rest-frame optical and UV spectra of 21 Type-1 AGNs. We used Hα, Hβ, and MgII line profiles to estimate the masses of the black holes. We used the blueshift of the CIV line profile to trace the presence of winds in the BLR. Results. We find that the Hα and Hβ line widths are strongly correlated, as is the line continuum luminosity at 5100 Å with Hα line luminosity, resulting in a well-defined correlation between black hole masses estimated from Hα and Hβ. Using these lines, we estimate that the black hole masses for our objects are in the range Log (MBH/M·) = 8.4-10.8 and are accreting at λEdd = 0.04-1.3. Furthermore, we confirm the well-known finding that the CIV line width does not correlate with the Balmer lines and the peak of the line profile is blueshifted with respect to the [OIII]-based systemic redshift. These findings support the idea that the CIV line is tracing outflowing gas in the BLR for which we estimated velocities up to ∼4700 km s-1. We confirm the strong dependence of the BLR wind velocity on the UV-to-X-ray continuum slope, the bolometric luminosity, and Eddington ratio. We infer BLR mass outflow rates in the range 0.005-3 M· yr-1, revealing a correlation with the bolometric luminosity consistent with that observed for ionised winds in the narrow line region (NLR), and X-ray winds detected in local AGNs, and kinetic power ∼10-7-10-4 × LBol. The coupling efficiencies predicted by AGN-feedback models are much higher than the values reported for the BLR winds in the SUPER sample; although it should be noted that only a fraction of the energy injected by the AGN into the surrounding medium is expected to become kinetic power in the outflow. Finally, we find an anti-correlation between the equivalent width of the [OIII] line and the CIV velocity shift, and a positive correlation between this latter parameter and [OIII] outflow velocity. These findings, for the first time in an unbiased sample of AGNs at z∼2, support a scenario where BLR winds are connected to galaxy-scale detected outflows, and are therefore capable of affecting the gas in the NLR located at kiloparsec scale distances

BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey – XIX. Type 1 versus type 2 AGN dichotomy from the point of view of ionized outflows

We present a detailed study of ionized outflows in a large sample of ∼650 hard X-ray-detected active galactic neuclei (AGNs). Using optical spectroscopy from the BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey (BASS), we are able to reveal the faint wings of the [O III] emission lines associated with outflows covering, for the first time, an unexplored range of low AGN bolometric luminosity at low redshift (z ∼0.05). We test if and how the incidence and velocity of ionized outflow is related to AGN physical parameters: black hole mass (⁠M_(BH)⁠), gas column density (⁠N_H⁠), Eddington ratio (⁠λ_(Edd)⁠), [O III], X-ray, and bolometric luminosities. We find a higher occurrence of ionized outflows in type 1.9 (55 per cent) and type 1 AGNs (46 per cent) with respect to type 2 AGNs (24 per cent). While outflows in type 2 AGNs are evenly balanced between blue and red velocity offsets with respect to the [O III] narrow component, they are almost exclusively blueshifted in type 1 and type 1.9 AGNs. We observe a significant dependence between the outflow occurrence and accretion rate, which becomes relevant at high Eddington ratios [log(⁠λ_(Edd)⁠) ≳ −1.7]. We interpret such behaviour in the framework of covering factor-Eddington ratio dependence. We do not find strong trends of the outflow maximum velocity with AGN physical parameters, as an increase with bolometric luminosity can be only identified when including samples of AGNs at high luminosity and high redshift taken from literature

SUPER III. Broad Line Region properties of AGN at z∼\sim2

The SINFONI survey for Unveiling the Physics and Effect of Radiative feedback (SUPER) was designed to conduct a blind search for AGN-driven outflows on X-ray selected AGN at redshift z$\sim$2 with high ($\sim$2 kpc) spatial resolution, and correlate them to the properties of the host galaxy and central black hole. The main aims of this paper are: a) to derive reliable estimates for the BH mass and accretion rates for the Type-1 AGN in this survey; b) to characterize the properties of the AGN driven winds in the BLR. We analyzed rest-frame optical and UV spectra of 21 Type-1 AGN. We found that the BH masses estimated from H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ lines are in agreement. We estimate BH masses in the range Log(M$\rm_{BH}/M_{\odot}$)=8.4-10.8 and Eddington ratios $\rm\lambda_{Edd}$ =0.04-1.3. We confirm that the CIV line width does not correlate with the Balmer lines and the peak of the line profile is blue-shifted with respect to the [OIII]-based systemic redshift. These findings support the idea that the CIV line is tracing outflowing gas in the BLR, with velocities up to $\sim$4700 km/s. We confirm the strong dependence of the BLR wind velocity with the UV-to-Xray continuum slope, L$\rm_{Bol}$ and $\rm\lambda_{Edd}$. We inferred BLR mass outflow rates in the range 0.005-3 M$_{\odot}$/yr, showing a correlation with the bolometric luminosity consistent with that observed for ionized winds in the NLR and X-ray winds detected in local AGN, and kinetic power $\sim$10$^{[-7:-4]}\times$ L$\rm_{Bol}$. Finally, we found an anti-correlation between the equivalent width of the [OIII] line with respect to the CIV shift, and a positive correlation with [OIII] outflow velocity. These findings, for the first time in an unbiased sample of AGN at z$\sim$2, support a scenario where BLR winds are connected to galaxy scale detected outflows, and are capable of affecting the gas in the NLR located at kpc scale.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&