Quasar-mode Feedback in Nearby Type 1 Quasars: Ubiquitous Kiloparsec-scale Outflows and Correlations with Black Hole Properties

Rupke, David S. N.; Gültekin, Kayhan; Veilleux, Sylvain

The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 850, Issue 1, article id. 40, 30 pp. (2017).

The prevalence and properties of kiloparsec-scale outflows in nearby Type 1 quasars have been the subject of little previous attention. This work presents Gemini integral field spectroscopy of 10 Type 1 radio-quiet quasars at z< 0.3. The excellent image quality, coupled with a new technique to remove the point-spread function using spectral information, allows the fitting of the underlying host on a spaxel-by-spaxel basis. Fits to stars, line-emitting gas, and interstellar absorption show that 100% of the sample hosts warm ionized and/or cool neutral outflows with spatially averaged velocities (< {v}98 % > equiv < v+2σ > ) of 200-1300 {km} {{{s}}}-1 and peak velocities (maximum {v}98 % ) of 500-2600 {km} {{{s}}}-1. These minor-axis outflows are powered primarily by the central active galactic nucleus, reach scales of 3-12 kpc, and often fill the field of view. Including molecular data and Type 2 quasar measurements, nearby quasars show a wide range in mass outflow rates ({dM}/{dt}=1 to > 1000 {M}⊙ {{yr}}-1) and momentum boosts [(c {dp}/{dt})/{L}{AGN}=0.01{--}20]. After extending the mass scale to Seyferts, dM/dt and dE/dt correlate with black hole mass ({dM}/{dt}∼ {M}{BH}0.7+/- 0.3 and {dE}/{dt}∼ {M}{BH}1.3+/- 0.5). Thus, the most massive black holes in the local universe power the most massive and energetic quasar-mode winds.

This is a work of serious astrophysics full of serious stuff.