Jet-Driven Outflow in a Radio-Quiet AGN
 

Dr. Mainak Singha
Post Doctoral Research Associate
The Catholic University of America
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Wed, January 31, 2024 - 4:00 PM

mainak_singha_photo.jpegThe role of collimated radio jets in accreting supermassive black holes/active galactic nuclei (AGN) and their impact on host galaxy evolution is a persistent question in modern astronomy. While only 10% of AGN exhibit collimated relativistic radio jets (radio-loud AGN), the majority, constituting 90%, known as radio-quiet AGN, provoke significant debate regarding the existence of radio jets. In this talk, I will present a multi-wavelength observation of the nearby (redshift, z ~ 0.04) radio-quiet AGN HE 0040-1105. Our method integrates datasets from instruments, including MUSE at the Very Large Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3, Very Large Array, and the European VLBI Network (EVN). Our goal is to understand ionization conditions, gas kinematics, and radio emission across scales from host galaxy dimensions to the central few parsecs. We've identified an unresolved ionized gas outflow within the central 500 parsecs, locally dominating interstellar medium (ISM) conditions. Our EVN observation reveals a faint radio jet on a scale of less than 100 parsecs, spatially coinciding with the ionized gas outflow. Additionally, the radio source in this object exhibits variability over approximately 20 years. In conclusion, I will address whether this compact jet contributes to launching the observed outflow in this AGN.

Refreshments served at 3:45 PM

If you have any questions about the Colloquium Series  or would like to make a donation please contact the Physics Department, cua-physics@cua.edu or (202) 319-5315.