Star formation efficiency and AGN feedback in narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies with fast X-ray nuclear winds

Abstract

We present the first systematic study of the molecular gas and star formation efficiency in a sample of ten narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies selected to have X-ray Ultra Fast Outflows and, therefore, to potentially show AGN feedback effects. CO observations were obtained with the IRAM 30m telescope in six galaxies and from the literature for four galaxies. We derived the stellar mass, star formation rate, AGN and FIR dust luminosities by fitting the multi-band spectral energy distributions with the CIGALE code. Most of the galaxies in our sample lie above the main sequence (MS) and the molecular depletion time is one to two orders of magnitude shorter than the one typically measured in local star-forming galaxies. Moreover, we found a promising correlation between the star formation efficiency and the Eddington ratio, as well as a tentative correlation with the AGN luminosity. The role played by the AGN activity in the regulation of star formation within the host galaxies of our sample remains uncertain (little or no effect? positive feedback?). Nevertheless, we can conclude that quenching by the AGN activity is minor and that star formation will likely stop in a short time due to gas exhaustion by the current starburst episode.

The Role of Active Galactic Nucleus Winds in Galaxy Formation: Connecting AGN Outflows at Low Redshifts to the Formation/Evolution of Their Host Galaxies

“…It seems now clear that outflows (OFs) are ubiquitous in active galactic nuclei (AGN; Woo et al 2016;Fiore et al 2017;Cresci & Maiolino 2018;Torres-Papaqui et al 2020). However, what role these OFs play in the evolution of the AGN host galaxies is still an open question, as multifrequency observations are difficult to interpret when following one unifying model (Harrison et al 2018;Smirnova-Pinchukova et al 2022;Harrison et al 2023;Speranza et al 2024) and evidence of feedback is either negative (Chen et al 2019;Shimizu et al 2019;Shin et al 2019;Torres-Papaqui et al 2020;Ruschel-Dutra et al 2021;Molina et al 2022;Tripodi et al 2022;Kakkad et al 2023) or ambiguous (Fluetsch et al 2019;Scholtz et al 2020;Wylezalek et al 2020;Luo et al 2021;Tamhane et al 2022;Kharb & Silpa 2023;Kim et al 2023;Salomé et al 2023;Veilleux et al 2023).…”