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Register a new userOutflows from active galactic nuclei: The BLR-NLR metallicity correlation
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The metallicity of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), which can be measured by emission line ratios in their broad and narrow line regions (BLRs and NLRs), provides invaluable information about the physical connection between the different components of AGNs. From the archival databases of the International Ultraviolet Explorer, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we have assembled the largest sample available of AGNs which have adequate spectra in both the optical and ultraviolet bands to measure the narrow line ratio [N II]/H{alpha} and also, in the same objects, the broad-line N V/C IV ratio. These permit the measurement of the metallicities in the NLRs and BLRs in the same objects. We find that neither the BLR nor the NLR metallicity correlate with black hole masses or Eddington ratios, but there is a strong correlation between NLR and BLR metallicities. This metallicity correlation implies that outflows from BLRs carry metal-rich gas to NLRs at characteristic radial distances of ~ 1.0 kiloparsec. This chemical connection provides evidence for a kinetic feedback of the outflows to their hosts. Metals transported into the NLR enhance the cooling of the ISM in this region, leading to local star formation after the AGNs turn to narrow line LINERs. This post-AGN star formation is predicted to be observable as an excess continuum emission from the host galaxies in the near infrared and ultraviolet, which needs to be further explored.
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The co-evolution between supermassive black holes and their environment is most directly traced by the hot atmospheres of dark matter halos. Cooling of the hot atmosphere supplies the central regions with fresh gas, igniting active galactic nuclei (AGN) with long duty cycles. Outflows from the central engine tightly couple with the surrounding gaseous medium and provide the dominant heating source preventing runaway cooling by carving cavities and driving shocks across the medium. The AGN feedback loop is a key feature of all modern galaxy evolution models. Here we review our knowledge of the AGN feedback process in the specific context of galaxy groups. Galaxy groups are uniquely suited to constrain the mechanisms governing the cooling-heating balance. Unlike in more massive halos, the energy supplied by the central AGN to the hot intragroup medium can exceed the gravitational binding energy of halo gas particles. We report on the state-of-the-art in observations of the feedback phenomenon and in theoretical models of the heating-cooling balance in galaxy groups. We also describe how our knowledge of the AGN feedback process impacts on galaxy evolution models and on large-scale baryon distributions. Finally, we discuss how new instrumentation will answer key open questions on the topic.
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are energetic astrophysical sources powered by accretion onto supermassive black holes in galaxies, and present unique observational signatures that cover the full electromagnetic spectrum over more than twenty orders of magnitude in frequency. The rich phenomenology of AGN has resulted in a large number of different flavours in the literature that now comprise a complex and confusing AGN zoo. It is increasingly clear that these classifications are only partially related to intrinsic differences between AGN, and primarily reflect variations in a relatively small number of astrophysical parameters as well the method by which each class of AGN is selected. Taken together, observations in different electromagnetic bands as well as variations over time provide complementary windows on the physics of different sub-structures in the AGN. In this review, we present an overview of AGN multi-wavelength properties with the aim of painting their big picture through observations in each electromagnetic band from radio to gamma-rays as well as AGN variability. We address what we can learn from each observational method, the impact of selection effects, the physics behind the emission at each wavelength, and the potential for future studies. To conclude we use these observations to piece together the basic architecture of AGN, discuss our current understanding of unification models, and highlight some open questions that present opportunities for future observational and theoretical progress.
Outflows from active galactic nuclei (AGN) are one of the fundamental mechanisms by which the central supermassive black hole interacts with its host galaxy. Detected in $ge 50%$ of nearby AGN, these outflows have been found to carry kinetic energy that is a significant fraction of AGN power, and thereby give negative feedback to their host galaxies. To understand the physical processes that regulate them, it is important to have a robust estimate of their physical and dynamical parameters. In this review we summarize our current understanding on the physics of the ionized outflows detected in absorption in the UV and X-ray wavelength bands. We discuss the most relevant observations and our current knowledge and uncertainties in the measurements of the outflow parameters. We also discuss their origin and acceleration mechanisms. The commissioning and concept studies of large telescope missions with high resolution spectrographs in UV/optical and X-rays along with rapid advancements in simulations offer great promise for discoveries in this field over the next decade.
We report on the first phase of our study of cloud irradiation. We study irradiation by means of numerical, two-dimensional time-dependent radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of a cloud irradiated by a strong radiation. We adopt a very simple treatment of the opacity, neglect photoionization and gravity, and instead focus on assessing the role of the type and magnitude of the opacity on the cloud evolution. Our main result is that even relatively dense clouds that are radiatively heated (i.e., with significant absorption opacity) do not move as a whole instead they undergo a very rapid and major evolution in its shape, size and physical properties. In particular, the cloud and its remnants become optical thin within less than one sound crossing time and before they can travel over a significant distance (a distance of a few radii of the initial cloud). We also found that a cloud can be accelerated as a whole under quite extreme conditions, e.g., the opacity must be dominated by scattering. However, the acceleration due to the radiation force is relatively small and unless the cloud is optically thin the cloud quickly changes its size and shape. We discuss implications for the modelling and interpetation broad line regions of active galactic nuclei.
The remarkable progress made in infrared (IR) astronomical instruments over the last 10-15 years has radically changed our vision of the extragalactic IR sky, and overall understanding of galaxy evolution. In particular, this has been the case for the study of active galactic nuclei (AGN), for which IR observations provide a wealth of complementary information that cannot be derived from data in other wavelength regimes. In this review, I summarize the unique contribution that IR astronomy has recently made to our understanding of AGN and their role in galaxy evolution, including both physical studies of AGN at IR wavelengths, and the search for AGN among IR galaxies in general. Finally, I identify and discuss key open issues that it should be possible to address with forthcoming IR telescopes.
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