Quasar feedback revealed by giant molecular outflows
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 1 July 2010
- journal article
- letter
- Published by EDP Sciences in Astronomy & Astrophysics
- Vol. 518, L155
- https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201015164
Abstract
In the standard scenario for galaxy evolution young star-forming galaxies transform into red bulge-dominated spheroids, where star formation has been quenched. To explain this transformation, a strong negative feedback generated by accretion onto a central super-massive black hole is often invoked. The depletion of gas resulting from quasar-driven outflows should eventually stop star-formation across the host galaxy and lead the black hole to “suicide” by starvation. Direct observational evidence for a major quasar feedback onto the host galaxy is still missing, because outflows previously observed in quasars are generally associated with the ionized component of the gas, which only accounts for a minor fraction of the total gas content, and typically occurrs in the central regions. We used the IRAM PdB Interferometer to observe the CO(1-0) transition in Mrk 231, the closest quasar known. Thanks to the wide band we detected broad wings of the CO line, with velocities of up to 750 km s-1 and spatially resolved on the kpc scale. These broad CO wings trace a giant molecular outflow of about 700 /year, far larger than the ongoing star-formation rate (~200 /year) observed in the host galaxy. This wind will totally expel the cold gas reservoir in Mrk 231 in about 107 yrs, therefore halting the star-formation activity on the same timescale. The inferred kinetic energy in the molecular outflow is ~1.2 × 1044 erg/s, corresponding to a few percent of the AGN bolometric luminosity, which is very close to the fraction expected by models ascribing quasar feedback to highly supersonic shocks generated by radiatively accelerated nuclear winds. Instead, the contribution by the SNe associated with the starburst fall short by several orders of magnitude to account for the kinetic energy observed in the outflow. The direct observational evidence for quasar feedback reported here provides solid support to the scenarios ascribing the observed properties of local massive galaxies to quasar-induced large-scale winds.Keywords
Other Versions
This publication has 40 references indexed in Scilit:
- DISTANCE TO MULTIPLE KINEMATIC COMPONENTS OF QUASAR OUTFLOWS: VERY LARGE TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS OF QSO 2359-1241 AND SDSS J0318-0600The Astrophysical Journal, 2010
- Breaking the hierarchy of galaxy formationMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2006
- Energy input from quasars regulates the growth and activity of black holes and their host galaxiesNature, 2005
- The Nuclear Gas Dynamics and Star Formation of Markarian 231The Astrophysical Journal, 2004
- Nearly 5000 Distant Early‐Type Galaxies in COMBO‐17: A Red Sequence and Its Evolution sincez ∼ 1The Astrophysical Journal, 2004
- The XMM-Newton and BeppoSAX view of the Ultra Luminous Infrared Galaxy MKN 231Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2004
- Mass Loss from the Nuclei of Active GalaxiesAnnual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2003
- A Subkiloparsec Disk in Markarian 231The Astronomical Journal, 1998
- High-Resolution CO Observations of the Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxy Markarian 231The Astrophysical Journal, 1996
- The optical properties of IR-selected and MG II broad absorption line quasarsThe Astrophysical Journal, 1992