X-Ray High-Resolution Spectroscopy Reveals Feedback in a Seyfert Galaxy From an Ultra-Fast Wind With Complex Ionization and Velocity Structure

Abstract

Winds outflowing from Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) may carry significant amount of mass and energy out to their host galaxies. In this paper we report the detection of a sub-relativistic outflow observed in the Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy IRAS17020+4544 as a series of absorption lines corresponding to at least 5 absorption components with an unprecedented wide range of associated column densities and ionization levels and velocities in the range of 23,000-33,000 km/s, detected at X-ray high spectral resolution (E/∆E∼1000) with the ESA's observatory XMM-Newton. The charge states of the material constituting the wind clearly indicate a range of low to moderate ionization states in the outflowing gas and column densities significantly lower than observed in highly ionized ultra fast outflows. We estimate that at least one of the outflow components may carry sufficient energy to substantially suppress star formation, and heat the gas in the host galaxy. IRAS17020+4544 provides therefore an interesting example of feedback by a moderately luminous AGN hosted in a spiral galaxy, a case barely envisaged in most evolution models, which often predict that feedback processes take place in massive elliptical galaxies hosting luminous quasars in a post merger phase.

The Variable Fast Soft X-Ray Wind in PG 1211+143

“…Likewise, the outflow in IRAS 17020+4544 also exhibits a wide range in ionization, especially in the O K-shell band, with significant lowionization absorption occurring from the inner shell lines of O III-VI, with higher-ionization absorption from O VII-VIII also being present. Longinotti et al (2015) discussed the fast but low-ionization absorption as arising from either a clumpy wind or the immediate postshock gas following interaction of a faster (more ionized) wind component with circumnuclear gas (see King 2010). The observed outflow velocity is also similar to PG 1211+143, with possible multiple velocity components Figure 10.…”

“…Examples of fast soft X-ray outflows in other AGNs include the luminous nearby quasar PDS 456 (Reeves et al , 2016; the NLS1s IRAS 17020+4544 (Longinotti et al 2015), IRAS 13224+3809 (Parker et al 2017;Pinto et al 2017b), and Ark 564 (Gupta et al 2013); and the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 590 (Gupta et al 2015).…”

“…Of these AGNs, the NLS1 IRAS 17020+4544 (Longinotti et al 2015) may bear the closest resemblance to PG 1211+143, in terms of the complexity of the soft X-ray outflow. PG 1211 +143 shows clear contributions from both low-and highionization zones of the fast soft X-ray absorber, covering two orders of magnitude in ionization, where the imprint of the outflow ranges from the low-ionization Fe M-shell UTA to H-like absorption from N, O, and Ne.…”

NuSTAR View of the Black Hole Wind in the Galaxy Merger IRAS F11119+3257

“…Often, the implied velocity is very high, up to the mildly relativistic values of v out ;0.1 c for the so-called ultra-fast outflows (UFOs; e.g., Tombesi et al 2010Tombesi et al , 2011Tombesi et al , 2014Tombesi et al , 2015Gofford et al 2013;Longinotti et al 2015;Nardini et al 2015;Parker et al 2017). These winds are observable at sub-parsec scales from the central black hole, consistently with an accretion disk interpretation, and they seem to be powerful enough to have a substantial effect on the host galaxy environment (e.g., Tombesi et al 2012, Wagner et al 2013Gofford et al 2015;Nardini et al 2015).…”

Hubble Space Telescope observations of BALQSO Ton 34 reveal a connection between the broad-line region and the BAL outflow

“…The recently discovered X-ray ultra-fast outflow winds (X-ray detected winds with outflow velocities larger than 10,000 km s −1 ) also have high enough mass and kinetic outflow rates in order to produce feedback (e.g. Gupta et al 2015, 2013b, Tombesi et al 2015, Longinotti et al 2015. However, the role of AGN winds in galaxy evolution has not yet been proven.…”