Wild is the wind from low-luminosity AGN: a jet-driven gas bubble blowing out a massive CO-dark outflow in ESO 420-G13
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| Natura: | Preprint |
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2026
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| author | Fernández-Ontiveros, J. A. Spinoglio, L. Pereira-Santaella, M. Hernán-Caballero, A. Hatziminaoglou, E. Pérez-Montero, E. Vílchez, J. M. Pérez-Díaz, B. Amorín, R. Malkan, M. A. Dasyra, K. M. |
| author_facet | Fernández-Ontiveros, J. A. Spinoglio, L. Pereira-Santaella, M. Hernán-Caballero, A. Hatziminaoglou, E. Pérez-Montero, E. Vílchez, J. M. Pérez-Díaz, B. Amorín, R. Malkan, M. A. Dasyra, K. M. |
| contents | We present JWST/MIRI mid-infrared integral field spectroscopy combined with ALMA CO(2-1) observations of the post-starburst galaxy ESO 420-G13, hosting a low-luminosity AGN. The unprecedented spatial and spectral resolution of MIRI enables a detailed study of the molecular and ionised gas kinematics, excitation, and energetics in the nuclear kiloparsec, revealing the impact of AGN feedback in a system with modest radiative output. Despite its faint radio and X-ray emission ($L_{2-10keV} \sim 10^{40}$ erg/s), ESO 420-G13 exhibits powerful kinetic feedback in the form of massive molecular and ionised gas outflows, with a total kinetic power of $\sim 1.5 \times 10^{41}$ erg/s. This corresponds to a jet-ISM coupling efficiency of ~3.8%, within the range observed in more powerful AGN. The feedback is driven by a previously undetected compact jet, traced by collimated coronal-line and extended X-ray emission to >870 pc from the nucleus. The interaction is strongest ~370 pc north of the nucleus, where a fast ionised gas stream emerges perpendicular to the jet axis, coinciding with a bend in the jet direction. Enhanced velocity dispersion in warm H2 surrounds this gas stream, consistent with an expanding molecular bubble. Massive molecular outflows are detected at its edges; the blueshifted outflow is devoid of CO emission, likely due to CO destruction in shocks or by cosmic rays from the jet-ISM interaction. About 5% of the central molecular reservoir has already been expelled, and the remaining gas is turbulent and warm, suggesting an ongoing phase of AGN-driven feedback in this post-starburst galaxy. Our results highlight the enormous potential of mid-IR imaging spectroscopy to uncover jet-driven feedback in low-luminosity AGN. Without the spatially resolved MIRI diagnostics, the kinetic power of the AGN in ESO 420-G13 and its role in shaping the host galaxy ISM would have remained hidden. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_06305 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Wild is the wind from low-luminosity AGN: a jet-driven gas bubble blowing out a massive CO-dark outflow in ESO 420-G13 Fernández-Ontiveros, J. A. Spinoglio, L. Pereira-Santaella, M. Hernán-Caballero, A. Hatziminaoglou, E. Pérez-Montero, E. Vílchez, J. M. Pérez-Díaz, B. Amorín, R. Malkan, M. A. Dasyra, K. M. Astrophysics of Galaxies We present JWST/MIRI mid-infrared integral field spectroscopy combined with ALMA CO(2-1) observations of the post-starburst galaxy ESO 420-G13, hosting a low-luminosity AGN. The unprecedented spatial and spectral resolution of MIRI enables a detailed study of the molecular and ionised gas kinematics, excitation, and energetics in the nuclear kiloparsec, revealing the impact of AGN feedback in a system with modest radiative output. Despite its faint radio and X-ray emission ($L_{2-10keV} \sim 10^{40}$ erg/s), ESO 420-G13 exhibits powerful kinetic feedback in the form of massive molecular and ionised gas outflows, with a total kinetic power of $\sim 1.5 \times 10^{41}$ erg/s. This corresponds to a jet-ISM coupling efficiency of ~3.8%, within the range observed in more powerful AGN. The feedback is driven by a previously undetected compact jet, traced by collimated coronal-line and extended X-ray emission to >870 pc from the nucleus. The interaction is strongest ~370 pc north of the nucleus, where a fast ionised gas stream emerges perpendicular to the jet axis, coinciding with a bend in the jet direction. Enhanced velocity dispersion in warm H2 surrounds this gas stream, consistent with an expanding molecular bubble. Massive molecular outflows are detected at its edges; the blueshifted outflow is devoid of CO emission, likely due to CO destruction in shocks or by cosmic rays from the jet-ISM interaction. About 5% of the central molecular reservoir has already been expelled, and the remaining gas is turbulent and warm, suggesting an ongoing phase of AGN-driven feedback in this post-starburst galaxy. Our results highlight the enormous potential of mid-IR imaging spectroscopy to uncover jet-driven feedback in low-luminosity AGN. Without the spatially resolved MIRI diagnostics, the kinetic power of the AGN in ESO 420-G13 and its role in shaping the host galaxy ISM would have remained hidden. |
| title | Wild is the wind from low-luminosity AGN: a jet-driven gas bubble blowing out a massive CO-dark outflow in ESO 420-G13 |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.06305 |