Speaker
Description
Outflows play a central role in AGN feedback, transporting mass and energy from the nucleus into the host galaxy on a wide range of spatial scales. Theoretical models predict that sub-relativistic Ultra Fast Outflows (UFOs), once they collide with the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM), decelerate and decrease in ionization state, potentially giving rise to large-scale, multi-phase outflows detectable in the optical and molecular gas regimes.
The Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxy, IRAS 17020+4544, provides a rare nearby laboratory to examine this process in action. It hosts a complex X-ray UFO, a powerful cold molecular outflow spatially resolved in CO with NOEMA, and a low-power radio jet likely driving shocks into the surrounding ISM.
In this work, we analyze new seeing-limited optical IFS data obtained with MEGARA/GTC in both low- (R ≈ 6000; LR) and medium-resolution (R ≈ 12 000; MR) modes. We model the Hα and [O III] λ5007 emission lines using multi-Gaussian fitting to characterize the kinematics of the ionized gas, particularly the outflowing component, derive its energetics, and compare them with those of the X-ray and molecular phases.
Our results support a scenario in which the multi-phase outflow in IRAS 17020+4544 is AGN-driven and broadly `energy-conserving' across its highly ionized, warm ionized, and molecular components, indicating efficient coupling of AGN energy to the host galaxy’s ISM. The molecular outflow emerges as the dominant phase, while the ionized component contributes less to the overall mass budget and feedback efficiency.
