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arXiv · 2411.08958

Gas dynamics in an AGN-host galaxy at $z\simeq2.6$: regular rotation, non-circular motions, and mass models

Lingrui Lin·Federico Lelli·Carlos De Breuck·Allison Man·Zhi-Yu Zhang·Paola Santini·Antonino Marasco·Marco Castellano·Nicole Nesvadba·Thomas G. Bisbas·Hao-Tse Huang·Matthew Lehnert
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Abstract

The gas dynamics of galaxies provide critical insights into the evolution of both baryons and dark matter (DM) across cosmic time. In this context, galaxies at cosmic noon -- the period characterized by the most intense star formation and black hole activities -- are particularly significant. In this work, we present an analysis of the gas dynamics of PKS 0529-549: a galaxy at $z\simeq2.6$, hosting a radio-loud active galactic nucleus (AGN). We use new ALMA observations of the [CI] (2-1) line at a spatial resolution of 0.18$''$ ($\sim$1.5 kpc). We find that (1) the molecular gas forms a rotation-supported disk with $V_{\rm rot}/\sigma_{\rm v}=6\pm3$ and displays a flat rotation curve out to 3.3 kpc; (2) there are several non-circular components including a kinematically anomalous structure near the galaxy center, a gas tail to the South-West, and possibly a second weaker tail to the East; (3) dynamical estimates of gas and stellar masses from fitting the rotation curve are inconsistent with photometric estimates using standard gas conversion factors and stellar population models, respectively; these discrepancies may be due to systematic uncertainties in the photometric masses, in the dynamical masses, or in the case a more massive radio-loud AGN-host galaxy is hidden behind the gas-rich [CI] emitting starburst galaxy along the line of sight. Our work shows that in-depth investigations of 3D line cubes are crucial for revealing the complexity of gas dynamics in high-$z$ galaxies, in which regular rotation may coexist with non-circular motions and possibly tidal structures.

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Lingrui Lin, Federico Lelli, Carlos De Breuck, Allison Man, Zhi-Yu Zhang, Paola Santini, Antonino Marasco, Marco Castellano, Nicole Nesvadba, Thomas G. Bisbas, Hao-Tse Huang, Matthew Lehnert. 2024-11-13. Gas dynamics in an AGN-host galaxy at $z\simeq2.6$: regular rotation, non-circular motions, and mass models. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361%2F202450814

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