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1. NOEMA Detection of Circumnuclear Molecular Gas in X-Ray Weak Dual Active Galactic Nuclei: No Evidence for Heavy Obscuration

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acaaf9  

   Hou, Meicun ; Li, Zhiyuan ; Liu, Xin ; Li, Zongnan ; Li, Ruancun ; Wang, Ran ; Wang, Jing ; Ho, Luis C. ( January 2023 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   Dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs), which are the manifestation of two actively accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs) hosted by a pair of merging galaxies, are a unique laboratory for studying the physics of SMBH feeding and feedback during an indispensable stage of galaxy evolution. In this work, we present NOEMA CO(2–1) observations of seven kiloparsec-scale dual-AGN candidates drawn from a recent Chandra survey of low redshift, optically classified AGN pairs. These systems are selected because they show unexpectedly low 2–10 keV X-ray luminosities for their small physical separations signifying an intermediate-to-late stage of merger. Circumnuclear molecular gas traced by the CO(2–1) emission is significantly detected in six of the seven pairs and 10 of the 14 nuclei, with an estimated mass ranging between (0.2–21) × 10⁹M_⊙. The primary nuclei, i.e., the ones with the higher stellar velocity dispersion, tend to have a higher molecular gas mass than the secondary. Most CO-detected nuclei show a compact morphology, with a velocity field consistent with a kiloparsec-scale rotating structure. The inferred hydrogen column densities range between 5 × 10²¹–2 × 10²³cm⁻², but mostly at a few times 10²²cm⁻², in broad agreement with those derived from X-ray spectral analysis. Together with the relativelymore »weak mid-infrared emission, the moderate column density argues against the prevalence of heavily obscured, intrinsically luminous AGNs in these seven systems, but favors a feedback scenario in which AGN activity triggered by a recent pericentric passage of the galaxy pair can expel circumnuclear gas and suppress further SMBH accretion.

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2. On the Kinematics of Cold, Metal-enriched Galactic Fountain Flows in Nearby Star-forming Galaxies

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac7b88  

   Rubin, Kate H. R. ; Juarez, Christian ; Cooksey, Kathy L. ; Werk, Jessica K. ; Prochaska, J. Xavier ; O’Meara, John M. ; Burchett, Joseph N. ; Rickards Vaught, Ryan J. ; Kulkarni, Varsha P. ; Straka, Lorrie A. ( September 2022 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We use medium-resolution Keck/Echellette Spectrograph and Imager spectroscopy of bright quasars to study cool gas traced by Caiiλλ3934, 3969 and Naiλλ5891, 5897 absorption in the interstellar/circumgalactic media of 21 foreground star-forming galaxies at redshifts 0.03 <z< 0.20 with stellar masses 7.4 ≤ logM_*/M_⊙≤ 10.6. The quasar–galaxy pairs were drawn from a unique sample of Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasar spectra with intervening nebular emission, and thus have exceptionally close impact parameters (R_⊥< 13 kpc). The strength of this line emission implies that the galaxies’ star formation rates (SFRs) span a broad range, with several lying well above the star-forming sequence. We use Voigt profile modeling to derive column densities and component velocities for each absorber, finding that column densitiesN(Caii) > 10^12.5cm⁻²(N(Nai) > 10^12.0cm⁻²) occur with an incidencef_C(Caii) = 0.63^+0.10_−0.11(f_C(Nai) = 0.57^+0.10_−0.11). We find no evidence for a dependence off_Cor the rest-frame equivalent widthsW_r(CaiiK) orW_r(Nai5891) onR_⊥orM_*. Instead,W_r(CaiiK) is correlated with local SFR at >3σsignificance, suggesting that Caiitraces star formation-driven outflows. While most of the absorbers have velocities within ±50 km s⁻¹of the host redshift, their velocity widths (characterized by Δv₉₀) are universally 30–177 km s⁻¹larger than that implied by tilted-ring modeling of the velocities of interstellar material. These kinematics mustmore »trace galactic fountain flows and demonstrate that they persist atR_⊥> 5 kpc. Finally, we assess the relationship between dust reddening andW_r(CaiiK) (W_r(Nai5891)), finding that 33% (24%) of the absorbers are inconsistent with the best-fit Milky WayE(B−V)-W_rrelations at >3σsignificance.

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3. The CGM ² Survey: Circumgalactic O vi from Dwarf to Massive Star-forming Galaxies

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac450c  

   Tchernyshyov, Kirill ; Werk, Jessica K. ; Wilde, Matthew C. ; Prochaska, J. Xavier ; Tripp, Todd M. ; Burchett, Joseph N. ; Bordoloi, Rongmon ; Howk, J. Christopher ; Lehner, Nicolas ; O’Meara, John M. ; et al ( March 2022 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We combine 126 new galaxy-Oviabsorber pairs from the CGM²survey with 123 pairs drawn from the literature to examine the simultaneous dependence of the column density of Oviabsorbers (N_OVI) on galaxy stellar mass, star-formation rate, and impact parameter. The combined sample consists of 249 galaxy-Oviabsorber pairs coveringz= 0–0.6, with host galaxy stellar massesM_*= 10^7.8–10^11.2M_⊙and galaxy-absorber impact parametersR_⊥= 0–400 proper kiloparsecs. In this work, we focus on the variation ofN_OVIwith galaxy mass and impact parameter among the star-forming galaxies in the sample. We find that the averageN_OVIwithin one virial radius of a star-forming galaxy is greatest for star-forming galaxies withM_*= 10^9.2–10¹⁰M_⊙. Star-forming galaxies withM_*between 10⁸and 10^11.2M_⊙can explain most Ovisystems with column densities greater than 10^13.5cm⁻². Sixty percent of the Ovimass associated with a star-forming galaxy is found within one virial radius, and 35% is found between one and two virial radii. In general, we find that some departure from hydrostatic equilibrium in the CGM is necessary to reproduce the observed Oviamount, galaxy mass dependence, and extent. Our measurements serve as a test set for CGM models over a broad range of host galaxy masses.
4. The BPT Diagram in Cosmological Galaxy Formation Simulations: Understanding the Physics Driving Offsets at High Redshift

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac43b8  

   Garg, Prerak ; Narayanan, Desika ; Byler, Nell ; Sanders, Ryan L. ; Shapley, Alice E. ; Strom, Allison L. ; Davé, Romeel ; Hirschmann, Michaela ; Lovell, Christopher C. ; Otter, Justin ; et al ( February 2022 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   The Baldwin, Philips, & Terlevich diagram of [Oiii]/Hβversus [Nii]/Hα(hereafter N2-BPT) has long been used as a tool for classifying galaxies based on the dominant source of ionizing radiation. Recent observations have demonstrated that galaxies atz∼ 2 reside offset from local galaxies in the N2-BPT space. In this paper, we conduct a series of controlled numerical experiments to understand the potential physical processes driving this offset. We model nebular line emission in a large sample of galaxies, taken from thesimbacosmological hydrodynamic galaxy formation simulation, using thecloudyphotoionization code to compute the nebular line luminosities from Hiiregions. We find that the observed shift toward higher [Oiii]/Hβand [Nii]/Hαvalues at high redshift arises from sample selection: when we consider only the most massive galaxiesM_*∼ 10^10–11M_⊙, the offset naturally appears, due to their high metallicities. We predict that deeper observations that probe lower-mass galaxies will reveal galaxies that lie on a locus comparable toz∼ 0 observations. Even when accounting for samples-selection effects, we find that there is a subtle mismatch between simulations and observations. To resolve this discrepancy, we investigate the impact of varying ionization parameters, Hiiregion densities, gas-phase abundance patterns, and increasing radiation field hardness on N2-BPT diagrams. We find that either decreasing themore »ionization parameter or increasing the N/O ratio of galaxies at fixed O/H can move galaxies along a self-similar arc in N2-BPT space that is occupied by high-redshift galaxies.

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5. Testing the Radio-selection Method of Dual Active Galactic Nuclei in the Stripe 82 Field

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acb646  

   Gross, Arran C. ; Fu, Hai ; Myers, A. D. ; Djorgovski, S. G. ; Steffen, Joshua L. ; Wrobel, J. M. ( March 2023 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We test the merger-induced dual active galactic nuclei (dAGNs) paradigm using a sample of 35 radio galaxy pairs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82 field. Using Keck optical spectroscopy, we confirm 21 pairs have consistent redshifts, constituting kinematic pairs; the remaining 14 pairs are line-of-sight projections. We classify the optical spectral signatures via emission line ratios, equivalent widths, and excess of radio power above star formation predicted outputs. We find six galaxies are classified as LINERs and seven are AGN/starburst composites. Most of the LINERs are retired galaxies, while the composites likely have AGN contribution. All of the kinematic pairs exhibit radio power more than 10× above the level expected from just star formation, suggestive of a radio AGN contribution. We also analyze high-resolution (0.″3) imaging at 6 GHz from the NSF’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array for 17 of the kinematic pairs. We find six pairs (two new, four previously known) host two separate radio cores, confirming their status as dAGNs. The remaining 11 pairs contain single AGNs, with most exhibiting prominent jets/lobes overlapping their companion. Our final census indicates a dAGN duty cycle slightly higher than predictions of purely stochastic fueling, although a largermore »sample (potentially culled from VLASS) is needed to fully address the dAGN fraction. We conclude that while dAGNs in the Stripe 82 field are rare, the merger process plays some role in their triggering and it facilitates low to moderate levels of accretion.

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