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Creators/Authors contains: "Jahnke, K"

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  1. Context. The interaction between active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and their host galaxies is scarcely resolved. Narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies are believed to represent AGN at early stages of their evolution and to allow one to observe feeding and feedback processes at high black hole accretion rates. Aims. We aim to constrain the properties of the ionised gas outflow in Mrk 1044, a nearby super-Eddington accreting NLS1. Based on the outflow energetics and the associated timescales, we estimate the outflow’s future impact on the ongoing host galaxy star formation on different spatial scales. Methods. We applied a spectroastrometric analysis to observations of Mrk 1044’s nucleus obtained with the adaptive-optics-assisted narrow field mode of the VLT/MUSE instrument. This allowed us to map two ionised gas outflows traced by [O  III ], which have velocities of −560 ± 20 km s −1 and −144 ± 5 km s −1 . Furthermore, we used an archival spectrum from the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on HST to identify two Ly- α absorbing components that escape from the centre with approximately twice the velocity of the ionised gas components. Results. Both [O  III ] outflows are spatially unresolved and located close to the AGN (< 1 pc). They have gas densities higher than 10 5 cm −3 , which implies that the BPT diagnostic cannot be used to constrain the underlying ionisation mechanism. We explore whether an expanding shell model can describe the velocity structure of Mrk 1044’s multi-phase outflow. In the ionised gas emission, an additional outflowing component, which is spatially resolved, is present. It has a velocity of −211 ± 22 km s −1 and a projected size of 4.6 ± 0.6 pc. Our kinematic analysis suggests that significant turbulence is present in the interstellar medium around the nucleus, which may lead to a condensation rain, potentially explaining the efficient feeding of Mrk 1044’s AGN. Within the innermost 0.5″ (160 pc), we detect modest star formation hidden by the beam-smeared emission from the outflow. Conclusions. We estimate that the multi-phase outflow was launched < 10 4 yr ago. Together with the star formation in the vicinity of the nucleus, this suggests that Mrk 1044’s AGN phase started only recently. The outflow carries enough mass and energy to impact the host galaxy star formation on different spatial scales, highlighting the complexity of the AGN feeding and feedback cycle in its early stages. 
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  2. Context. The host galaxy conditions for rapid supermassive black hole growth are poorly understood. Narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies often exhibit high accretion rates and are hypothesized to be prototypes of active galactic nuclei (AGN) at an early stage of their evolution. Aims. We present adaptive optics (AO) assisted VLT MUSE NFM observations of Mrk 1044, the nearest super-Eddington accreting NLS1. Together with archival MUSE WFM data, we aim to understand the host galaxy processes that drive Mrk 1044’s black hole accretion. Methods. We extracted the faint stellar continuum emission from the AGN-deblended host and performed spatially resolved emission line diagnostics with an unprecedented resolution. Combining both MUSE WFM and NFM-AO observations, we used a kinematic model of a thin rotating disk to trace the stellar and ionized gas motion from 10 kpc galaxy scales down to ∼30 pc around the nucleus. Results. Mrk 1044’s stellar kinematics follow circular rotation, whereas the ionized gas shows tenuous spiral features in the center. We resolve a compact star-forming circumnuclear ellipse (CNE) that has a semi-minor axis of 306 pc. Within this CNE, the gas is metal-rich and its line ratios are entirely consistent with excitation by star formation. With an integrated star formation rate of 0.19 ± 0.05  M ⊙  yr −1 , the CNE contributes 27% of the galaxy-wide star formation. Conclusions. We conclude that Mrk 1044’s nuclear activity has not yet affected the circumnuclear star formation. Thus, Mrk 1044 is consistent with the idea that NLS1s are young AGN. A simple mass budget consideration suggests that the circumnuclear star formation and AGN phase are connected and the patterns in the ionized gas velocity field are a signature of the ongoing AGN feeding. 
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  3. We report the discovery of a complete Einstein ring around the elliptical galaxy NGC 6505, atz = 0.042. This is the first strong gravitational lens discovered inEuclidand the first in an NGC object from any survey. The combination of the low redshift of the lens galaxy, the brightness of the source galaxy (IE = 18.1 lensed,IE = 21.3 unlensed), and the completeness of the ring make this an exceptionally rare strong lens, unidentified until its observation byEuclid. We present deep imaging data of the lens from theEuclidVisible Camera (VIS) and Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP) instruments, as well as resolved spectroscopy from theKeckCosmic Web Imager (KCWI). TheEuclidimaging in particular presents one of the highest signal-to-noise ratio optical/near-infrared observations of a strong gravitational lens to date. From the KCWI data we measure a source redshift ofz = 0.406. Using data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) we measure a velocity dispersion for the lens galaxy ofσ = 303 ± 15 km s−1. We model the lens galaxy light in detail, revealing angular structure that varies inside the Einstein ring. After subtracting this light model from the VIS observation, we model the strongly lensed images, finding an Einstein radius of 2.″5, corresponding to 2.1 kpc at the redshift of the lens. This is small compared to the effective radius of the galaxy,Reff ∼ 12.″3. Combining the strong lensing measurements with analysis of the spectroscopic data we estimate a dark matter fraction inside the Einstein radius offDM = (11.1−3.5+5.4)% and a stellar initial mass-function (IMF) mismatch parameter ofαIMF = 1.26−0.08+0.05, indicating a heavier-than-Chabrier IMF in the centre of the galaxy. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available February 1, 2026