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arXiv · 2604.06305

Wild is the wind from low-luminosity AGN: a jet-driven gas bubble blowing out a massive CO-dark outflow in ESO 420-G13

J. A. Fernández-Ontiveros·L. Spinoglio·M. Pereira-Santaella·A. Hernán-Caballero·E. Hatziminaoglou·E. Pérez-Montero·J. M. Vílchez·B. Pérez-Díaz·R. Amorín·M. A. Malkan·K. M. Dasyra
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Abstract

We present JWST/MIRI mid-infrared integral field spectroscopy combined with ALMA CO(2-1) observations of the post-starburst galaxy ESO 420-G13, hosting a low-luminosity AGN. The unprecedented spatial and spectral resolution of MIRI enables a detailed study of the molecular and ionised gas kinematics, excitation, and energetics in the nuclear kiloparsec, revealing the impact of AGN feedback in a system with modest radiative output. Despite its faint radio and X-ray emission ($L_{2-10keV} \sim 10^{40}$ erg/s), ESO 420-G13 exhibits powerful kinetic feedback in the form of massive molecular and ionised gas outflows, with a total kinetic power of $\sim 1.5 \times 10^{41}$ erg/s. This corresponds to a jet-ISM coupling efficiency of ~3.8%, within the range observed in more powerful AGN. The feedback is driven by a previously undetected compact jet, traced by collimated coronal-line and extended X-ray emission to >870 pc from the nucleus. The interaction is strongest ~370 pc north of the nucleus, where a fast ionised gas stream emerges perpendicular to the jet axis, coinciding with a bend in the jet direction. Enhanced velocity dispersion in warm H2 surrounds this gas stream, consistent with an expanding molecular bubble. Massive molecular outflows are detected at its edges; the blueshifted outflow is devoid of CO emission, likely due to CO destruction in shocks or by cosmic rays from the jet-ISM interaction. About 5% of the central molecular reservoir has already been expelled, and the remaining gas is turbulent and warm, suggesting an ongoing phase of AGN-driven feedback in this post-starburst galaxy. Our results highlight the enormous potential of mid-IR imaging spectroscopy to uncover jet-driven feedback in low-luminosity AGN. Without the spatially resolved MIRI diagnostics, the kinetic power of the AGN in ESO 420-G13 and its role in shaping the host galaxy ISM would have remained hidden.

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J. A. Fernández-Ontiveros, L. Spinoglio, M. Pereira-Santaella, A. Hernán-Caballero, E. Hatziminaoglou, E. Pérez-Montero, J. M. Vílchez, B. Pérez-Díaz, R. Amorín, M. A. Malkan, K. M. Dasyra. 2026-04-07. Wild is the wind from low-luminosity AGN: a jet-driven gas bubble blowing out a massive CO-dark outflow in ESO 420-G13. https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.06305

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