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Direct Evidence for AGN-Driven Winds in a z = 1.5 Radio Galaxy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 June 2010
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Feedback from AGN is a key component in most current models of galaxy formation and evolution. For the most massive galaxies, heating and removal of gas by the AGN could precipitate an abrupt quenching of star formation during a dramatic blow-out phase. The “smoking gun” for such a scenario would be direct evidence of powerful outflows associated with the jet. I present some preliminary results of a program to look for these in high-z radio galaxies (HzRGs). Recent observations of the z = 1.5 radio galaxy 3C 230 obtained with the NIFS integral-field spectrograph and Altair laser adaptive optics facility on Gemini North are shown. These reveal with unprecedented resolution the complex kinematics of this system in redshifted Hα and [N ii] emission. The bi-polar velocity field is aligned with the jet axis, with a kinematic center associated with the radio core itself, and turbulent edges approaching the galaxy's escape velocity. This suggests a gas mass of roughly 1011M⊙ has been propagating outwards for 107 to 108 years, corresponding to a mass loss of roughly 102–3M⊙ yr−1, based on its velocity and spatial extent. This is in good agreement with the energetics and typical ages of radio jets, and likely heralds the onset of the “red and dead” stage for this HzRG.
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- Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2010