We study molecular outflows in a sample of 45 local galaxies, both star forming and AGN, primarily by using CO data from the ALMA archive and from the literature. For a subsample we also compare the molecular outflow with the ionized and neutral atomic phases. We infer an empirical analytical function relating the outflow rate simultaneously to the SFR, L AGN , and galaxy stellar mass; this relation is much tighter than the relations with the individual quantities. The outflow kinetic power shows a larger scatter than in previous, more biased studies, spanning from 0.1 to 5 per cent of L AGN , while the momentum rate ranges from 1 to 30 times L AGN /c, indicating that these outflows can be both energy-driven, but with a broad range of coupling efficiencies with the ISM, and radiation pressure-driven. For about 10 per cent of the objects the outflow energetics significantly exceed the maximum theoretical values; we interpret these as "fossil outflows" resulting from activity of a past strong AGN, which has now faded. We estimate that, in the stellar mass range probed here (> 10 10 M ), less than 5 per cent of the outflowing gas escapes the galaxy. The molecular gas depletion time associated with the outflow can be as short as a few million years in powerful AGN, however, the total gas (H 2 +HI) depletion times are much longer. Altogether, our findings suggest that even AGN-driven outflows might be relatively ineffective in clearing galaxies of their entire gas content, although they are likely capable of clearing and quenching the central region.

We study the ionization and kinematics of the ionized gas in the nuclear region of the barred Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 5643 using MUSE integral field observations in the framework of the MAGNUM (Measuring Active Galactic Nuclei Under MUSE Microscope) survey. The data were used to identify regions with different ionization conditions and to map the gas density and the dust extinction. We find evidence for a double sided ionization cone, possibly collimated by a dusty structure surrounding the nucleus. At the center of the ionization cone, outflowing ionized gas is revealed as a blueshifted, asymmetric wing of the [OIII] emission line, up to projected velocity v 10 ∼ −450 km s −1 . The outflow is also seen as a diffuse, low luminosity radio and X-ray jet, with similar extension. The outflowing material points in the direction of two clumps characterized by prominent line emission with spectra typical of HII regions, located at the edge of the dust lane of the bar. We propose that the star formation in the clumps is due to 'positive feedback' induced by gas compression by the nuclear outflow, providing the first candidate for outflow induced star formation in a Seyfert-like radio quiet AGN. This suggests that positive feedback may be a relevant mechanism in shaping the black hole-host galaxy coevolution.

We investigated the interstellar medium (ISM) properties of the disc and outflowing gas in the central regions of nine nearby Seyfert galaxies, all characterised by prominent conical or biconical outflows. These objects are part of the Measuring Active Galactic Nuclei Under MUSE Microscope (MAGNUM) survey, which aims to probe their physical conditions and ionisation mechanism by exploiting the unprecedented sensitivity of the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE), combined with its spatial and spectral coverage. Specifically, we studied the different properties of the gas in the disc and in the outflow with spatially and kinematically resolved maps by dividing the strongest emission lines in velocity bins. We associated the core of the lines with the disc, consistent with the stellar velocity, and the redshifted and the blueshifted wings with the outflow. We measured the reddening, density, ionisation parameter, and dominant ionisation source of the emitting gas for both components in each galaxy. We find that the outflowing gas is characterised by higher values of density and ionisation parameter than the disc, which presents a higher dust extinction. Moreover, we distinguish high-and low-ionisation regions across the portion of spatially resolved narrow-line region (NLR) traced by the outflowing gas. The high-ionisation regions characterised by the lowest [N ii]/Hα and [S ii]/Hα line ratios generally trace the innermost parts along the axis of the emitting cones where the [S iii]/[S ii] line ratio is enhanced, while the low-ionisation regions follow the cone edges and/or the regions perpendicular to the axis of the outflows, also characterised by a higher [O iii] velocity dispersion. A possible scenario to explain these features relies on the presence of two distinct populations of line emitting clouds: one is optically thin to the radiation and is characterised by the highest excitation, while the other is optically thick and is impinged by a filtered, and thus harder, radiation field which generates strong low-excitation lines. The highest values of [N ii]/Hα and [S ii]/Hα line ratios may be due to shocks and/or a hard filtered radiation field from the active galactic nucleus.

Context. Ionized outflows, revealed by broad asymmetric wings of the [O iii] λ5007 line, are commonly observed in active galactic nuclei (AGN) but the low intrinsic spatial resolution of the observations has generally prevented a detailed characterization of their properties. The MAGNUM survey aims at overcoming these limitations by focusing on the nearest AGN, including NGC 1365, a nearby Seyfert galaxy (D ∼ 17 Mpc), hosting a low-luminosity active nucleus (L bol ∼ 2 × 10 43 erg s −1 ). Aims. We want to obtain a detailed picture of the ionized gas in the central ∼5 kpc of NGC 1365 in terms of physical properties, kinematics, and ionization mechanisms. We also aim to characterize the warm ionized outflow as a function of distance from the nucleus and its relation with the nuclear X-ray wind. Methods. We employed optical integral-field spectroscopic observations from VLT/MUSE to investigate the warm ionized gas and Chandra ACIS-S X-ray data for the hot highly-ionized phase. We obtained flux, kinematic, and diagnostic maps of the optical emission lines, which we used to disentangle outflows from gravitational motions in the disk and measure the gas properties down to a spatial resolution of ∼70 pc. We then performed imaging spectroscopy on Chandra ACIS-S data guided by the matching with MUSE maps. Results. The [O iii] emission mostly traces a kpc-scale biconical outflow ionized by the AGN having velocities up to ∼200 km s −1 . Hα emission traces instead star formation in a circumnuclear ring and along the bar, where we detect non-circular streaming gas motions. Soft X-rays are predominantly due to thermal emission from the star-forming regions, but we manage to isolate the AGN photoionized component which nicely matches the [O iii] emission. The mass outflow rate of the extended ionized outflow is similar to that of the nuclear X-ray wind and then decreases with radius, implying that the outflow either slows down or that the AGN activity has recently increased. However, the hard X-ray emission from the circumnuclear ring suggests that star formation might in principle contribute to the outflow. The integrated mass outflow rate, kinetic energy rate, and outflow velocity are broadly consistent with the typical relations observed in more luminous AGN.

Context. Outflows accelerated by active galactic nuclei (AGN) are commonly observed in the form of coherent, mildly collimated high-velocity gas directed along the AGN ionisation cones and kinetically powerful (≳1044 − 45 erg s−1) jets. Recent works found that outflows can also be accelerated by low-power (≲1044 erg s−1) jets, and the most recent cosmological simulations indicate that these are the dominant source of feedback on sub-kiloparsec scales, but little is known about their effect on the galaxy host. Aims. We study the relation between radio jets and the distribution and kinematics of the ionised gas in IC 5063, NGC 5643, NGC 1068, and NGC 1386 as part of our survey of nearby Seyfert galaxies called Measuring Active Galactic Nuclei Under MUSE Microscope (MAGNUM). All these objects host a small-scale (≲1 kpc) low-power (≲1044 erg s−1) radio jet that has small inclinations (≲45°) with respect to the galaxy disc. Methods. We employed seeing-limited optical integral field spectroscopic observations from the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) at the Very Large Telescope to obtain flux, kinematic, and excitation maps of the extended ionised gas. We compared these maps with archival radio images and in one case, with Chandra X-ray observations. Results. We detect a strong (up to ≳800–1000 km s−1) and extended (≳1 kpc) emission-line velocity spread perpendicular to the direction of the AGN ionisation cones and jets in all four targets. The gas excitation in this region of line-width enhancement is entirely compatible with shock ionisation. These broad and symmetric line profiles are not associated with a single coherent velocity of the gas. A ‘classical’ outflow component with net blueshifted and redshifted motions is also present, but is directed along the ionisation cones and jets. Conclusions. We interpret the observed phenomenon as due to the action of the jets perturbing the gas in the galaxy disc. These intense and extended velocity spreads perpendicular to AGN jets and cones are indeed currently only observed in galaxies hosting a low-power jet whose inclination is sufficiently low with respect to the galaxy disc to impact on and strongly affect its material. In line with cosmological simulations, our results demonstrate that low-power jets are indeed capable of affecting the host galaxy.

Context. Sources at the brightest end of the quasi-stellar object (QSO) luminosity function, during the peak epoch in the history of star formation and black hole accretion (z ∼ 2−4, often referred to as “Cosmic noon”) are privileged sites to study the cycle of feeding & feedback processes in massive galaxies. Aims. We aim to perform the first systematic study of cold gas properties in the most luminous QSOs, by characterising their host-galaxies and environment. These targets exhibit indeed widespread evidence of outflows at nuclear and galactic scales. Methods. We analyse ALMA, NOEMA and JVLA observations of the far-infrared continuum, CO and [CII] emission lines in eight QSOs (bolometric luminosity LBol ≳ 3 × 1047 erg s−1) from the WISE-SDSS selected hyper-luminous (WISSH) QSOs sample at z ∼ 2.4−4.7. Results. We report a 100% emission line detection rate and a 80% detection rate in continuum emission, and we find CO emission to be consistent with the steepest CO ladders observed so far. Sub-millimetre data reveal presence of (one or more) bright companion galaxies around ∼80% of WISSH QSOs, at projected distances of ∼6−130 kpc. We observe a variety of sizes for the molecular gas reservoirs (∼1.7−10 kpc), mostly associated with rotating disks with disturbed kinematics. WISSH QSOs typically show lower CO luminosity and higher star formation efficiency than infrared matched, z ∼ 0−3 main-sequence galaxies, implying that, given the observed SFR ∼170−1100 M⊙ yr−1, molecular gas is converted into stars in ≲50 Myr. Most targets show extreme dynamical to black-hole mass ratios Mdyn/MBH ∼ 3−10, two orders of magnitude smaller than local relations. The molecular gas fraction in the host-galaxies of WISSH is lower by a factor of ∼10−100 than in star forming galaxies with similar M*. Conclusions. Our analysis reveals that hyper-luminous QSOs at Cosmic noon undergo an intense growth phase of both the central super-massive black hole and of the host-galaxy. These systems pinpoint the high-density sites where giant galaxies assemble, where we show that mergers play a major role in the build-up of the final host-galaxy mass. We suggest that the observed low molecular gas fraction and short depletion timescale are due to AGN feedback, whose presence is indicated by fast AGN-driven ionised outflows in all our targets.

Galactic outflows are known to consist of several gas phases, however, the connection between these phases has been investigated little and only in a few objects. In this paper, we analyse MUSE/VLT data of 26 local (U)LIRGs and study their ionized and neutral atomic phases. We also include objects from the literature to obtain a sample of 31 galaxies with spatially resolved multi-phase outflow information. We find that the ionized phase of the outflows has on average an electron density three times higher than the disc (ne, disc ∼ 145 cm−3 versus ne, outflow ∼ 500 cm−3), suggesting that cloud compression in the outflow is more important than cloud dissipation. We find that the difference in extinction between outflow and disc correlates with the outflow gas mass. Together with the analysis of the outflow velocities, this suggests that at least some of the outflows are associated with the ejection of dusty clouds from the disc. This may support models where radiation pressure on dust contributes to driving galactic outflows. The presence of dust in outflows is relevant for potential formation of molecules inside them. We combine our data with millimetre data to investigate the molecular phase. We find that the molecular phase accounts for more than 60 ${{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of the total mass outflow rate in most objects and this fraction is higher in AGN-dominated systems. The neutral atomic phase contributes of the order of 10 ${{\ \rm per\ cent}}$, while the ionized phase is negligible. The ionized-to-molecular mass outflow rate declines slightly with AGN luminosity, although with a large scatter.

We used MUSE adaptive optics data in narrow field mode to study the properties of the ionised gas in MR 2251−178 and PG 1126−041, two nearby (z ≃ 0.06) bright quasars (QSOs) hosting sub-pc scale ultra-fast outflows (UFOs) detected in the X-ray band. We decomposed the optical emission from diffuse gas into a low- and a high-velocity components. The former is characterised by a clean, regular velocity field and a low (∼80 km s−1) velocity dispersion. It traces regularly rotating gas in PG 1126−041, while in MR 2251−178 it is possibly associated with tidal debris from a recent merger or flyby. The other component is found to be extended up to a few kpc from the nuclei, and shows a high (∼800 km s−1) velocity dispersion and a blue-shifted mean velocity, as is expected from outflows driven by active galactic nuclei (AGN). We estimate mass outflow rates up to a few M⊙ yr−1 and kinetic efficiencies LKIN/LBOL between 1−4 × 10−4, in line with those of galaxies hosting AGN of similar luminosities. The momentum rates of these ionised outflows are comparable to those measured for the UFOs at sub-pc scales, which is consistent with a momentum-driven wind propagation. Pure energy-driven winds are excluded unless about 100× additional momentum is locked in massive molecular winds. In comparing the outflow properties of our sources with those of a small sample of well-studied QSOs hosting UFOs from the literature, we find that winds seem to systematically lie either in a momentum-driven or an energy-driven regime, indicating that these two theoretical models bracket the physics of AGN-driven winds very well.