arXiv subjects

José Henrique Costa-Souza

Publications and source records attributed to José Henrique Costa-Souza.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Blowing star formation away in AGN hosts (BAH) -- V: The Feeding-Feedback Cycle in local AGNs as revealed by their stellar populations

We present a spatially resolved analysis of the stellar populations in the inner kiloparsec of NGC 3884, 3C 293, and CGCG 012-070. Using near-infrared spectroscopy, we reconstruct their star formation histories (SFHs) by comparing the M13, XSL, and FSPS stellar population synthesis models. The stellar light is dominated by intermediate-age to old populations (t >= 1 Gyr) with super-solar metallicities (Z >= 1 Z_sun). All models clearly indicate recent star formation (rejuvenation) in these AGN hosts, with young to intermediate-age populations contributing significantly in the nuclear regions. The SFHs from M13 and XSL broadly agree in showing coexisting old and young components, whereas FSPS favours a larger fraction of very young (t < 50 Myr) stars. Moreover, XSL- and FSPS-based SFHs are generally more irregular and "bumpy," while M13 yields smoother, more continuous SFHs. In NGC 3884 and 3C 293, stars with 0.2 < t <= 0.7 Gyr form a ring-like structure around the nucleus. The nuclear spectra further require non-stellar components: a featureless power-law continuum (FC) and hot dust emission (HD). In 3C 293, the FC component appears in two spatially separated regions, possibly indicating a dual active galactic nucleus, though a heavily reddened starburst origin for the secondary component cannot be excluded. Nearly all fits show a central drop in stellar metallicity, consistent with inflow of metal-poor gas that fuels recent accretion and AGN activity. Radial profiles show that HD and FC contributions decrease with radius, while younger stellar populations become more prominent outward. Together, these results support a feeding-feedback scenario in which gas inflows trigger circumnuclear star formation and, via stellar mass loss, help sustain ongoing AGN activity. .

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arXiv2026

Jet-driven shocks and turbulence in radio-loud Active Galactic Nuclei observed with JWST MIRI/MRS

Jet-cloud interactions are a key manifestation of Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) feedback on nuclear scales, distinct from the large-scale radio-mode feedback that suppresses gas cooling in galaxy halos. On these smaller scales, radio jets can inject energy and momentum into the interstellar medium (ISM), shaping the physical and kinematic properties of the nuclear and circumnuclear regions of galaxies. Using JWST MIRI/MRS observations of seven nearby radio-loud AGN (3C293, 3C305, Centaurus A, Cygnus A, IC5063, NGC1052, and M87), we investigate jet-driven turbulence in both the warm molecular and ionized gas phases. By combining spatially resolved H$_2$/PAH flux ratios with diagnostic line ratios of the ionized gas, we constrain the dominant H$_2$ excitation processes and assess the impact of radio jet--ISM interactions on the multiphase gas. We find that radio jets drive enhanced turbulence in both molecular and ionized (traced by [FeII], [NeII] and [NeIII] lines) gas, not only along but also perpendicular to the jet axis, indicating that jet--ISM interactions extend beyond the collimated jet channel and affect the nuclear environment. Strong correlations between the H$_2$/PAH ratio, the H$_2$ excitation temperature, and shock-sensitive ionized-gas tracers indicate that jet-driven shocks dominate the excitation of the H$_2$ rotational lines in most sources. These results indicate that radio jets are a key driver of multiphase ISM kinematics and excitation in nearby radio-loud galaxies.

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arXiv2025

Blowing star formation away in AGN Hosts (BAH) -- IV: Feeding and feedback in 3C 293 observed with JWST NIRSpec

We use JWST/NIRSpec observations of the radio galaxy 3C 293 to map the emission, extinction, and kinematics of hot molecular and ionized gas, as well as stellar kinematics, within the inner ~ 2 kpc. The stellar velocity field is well described by a rotating disk model, with its kinematical center offset by ~ 0.5 arcsec from the continuum peak. The hot molecular gas is traced by the H$_2$2.12$μ$m emission line, and the ionized gas by [Fe II]1.64$μ$m and Pa$α$. The gas presents three main kinematic components: a rotating disk seen as a narrow component ($σ$ ~ 100 kms$^{-1}$); a blueshifted broad outflow ($σ$ ~ 250 kms$^{-1}$); and a fast ionized outflow as a very broad component ($σ$ ~ 640 kms$^{-1}$). Extinction maps reveal high A$_V$ values, up to ~ 35, spatially coincident with dust lanes seen in optical images. In addition to the disk and outflows components, inflows along the dust lanes are detected in H$_2$ gas, with a mass inflow rate of $\dot{M}_{in}$ ~ 4 x 10$^{-4}$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$, which is lower than the AGN accretion rate. For the outflows, we derive peak mass-outflow rates of 0.08 $\pm$ 0.02 M$_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$ (molecular) and 6.5 $\pm$ 1.7 M$_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$ (ionized). The outflow, driven by the radio jet, has a kinetic power of 5.7% of the jet power - enough to suppress star formation. Our results highlight 3C 293's turbulent post-merger history and JWST's unique capability to probe dust-obscured AGN.

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arXiv2025

Impact of AGN and nuclear star formation on the ISM turbulence of galaxies: Insights from JWST/MIRI spectroscopy

Active galactic nuclei (AGN), star formation (SF), and galaxy interactions can drive turbulence in the gas of the ISM, which in turn plays a role in the SF within galaxies. The impact on molecular gas is of particular importance, as it serves as the primary fuel for SF. Our goal is to investigate the origin of turbulence and the emission of molecular gas, as well as low- and intermediate-ionization gas, in the inner few kpc of both AGN hosts and SF galaxies. We use JWST MIRI/MRS observations of a sample consisting of 54 galaxies at z<0.1. We present fluxes of the H2 S(5)6.9091, [Ar II]6.9853, [FeII]5.3403, and [Ar III]8.9914 lines, along with velocity dispersion from W80. For galaxies with coronal emission, [Mg V]5.6098 is also included. Line ratios are compared to photoionization and shock models to explore the origin of the gas emission. AGNs exhibit broader emission lines than SFGs, with the largest velocity dispersions observed in radio-strong (RS) AGNs. H2 gas is less turbulent compared to ionized gas, while coronal gas presents higher velocity dispersions. The W80 values for the ionized gas exhibits a decrease from the nucleus out to radii of approximately 0.5--1 kpc, followed by an outward increase up to 2-3 kpc. In contrast, the H2 line widths generally display increasing profiles with distance from the center. Correlations W80 and line ratios such as H2 S(5)/[ArII] and [FeII]/[ArII] indicate that the most turbulent gas is associated with shocks, enhancing H2 and [FeII] emissions. We speculate that these shocked gas regions are produced by AGN outflows and jet-cloud interactions in AGN-dominated sources, while in SFGs, they may be created by stellar winds and mergers. This shock-induced gas heating may be an important mechanism of AGN (or stellar) feedback, preventing the gas from cooling and forming new stars.

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arXiv2025

Blowing Star Formation Away in AGN Hosts (BAH) -- III. Serendipitous discovery of a $z\sim2.9$ star-forming galaxy lensed by the galactic bulge of CGCG 012-070 using JWST NIRSpec

We report the detection of a gravitationally lensed galaxy by the nearby spiral galaxy CGCG 012-070 ($z = 0.048$) using Integral Field Unit (IFU) observations with the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) instrument on board the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The lensed galaxy is identified through the flux distributions of emission lines in the rest-frame optical, consistent with a source located at a redshift of $z\sim2.89$. The system is detected in [O III]$λ\lambda4959,5007$, H$β$, and H$α$ emission lines, exhibiting line ratios typical of a star-forming galaxy. The emission-line flux distributions reveal three distinct components, which are modeled using an elliptical power-law (EPL) mass profile for the lens galaxy. This model provides a good characterization of the source and reveals a disturbed star-forming morphology consistent with those of galaxies at cosmic noon. This serendipitous discovery of a rare low-redshift strong lens highlights the critical role of IFU observations in expanding the lens census and advancing our understanding of galaxy mass profiles and evolution.

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arXiv2025

Blowing star formation away in AGN Hosts (BAH) -- II. Investigating the origin of the H2 emission excess in nearby galaxies with JWST MIRI

We use James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) medium-resolution spectrometer (MRS) observations of 3C 293 (UGC 8782), CGCG 012-070 and NGC 3884 to investigate the origin of the H$_2$ emission. These three nearby Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) hosts are known to present H$_2$ emission excess relative to star-forming galaxies, as traced by the H$_2$ S(3)/PAH$_{\rm 11.3μm}$ line ratio. We define the kinematically disturbed region (KDR) by the AGN and the virially dominated region (VDR) based on the H$_2$ line widths, using the $W{\rm 80}$ parameter. From the correlations between $W{\rm 80}$ and H$_2$ S(3)/PAH${\rm 11.3μm}$, as well as the higher H$2$ S(5)/H$2$ S(3) and [Fe II]${\rm 5.34 μm}$/PAH${\rm 11.3μm}$ ratios and flatter power-law temperature distributions observed in the KDR, we conclude that the H$_2$ emission in the KDR is primarily driven by shock-heated gas. For 3C 293, the KDR is co-spatial with the radio core, indicating that the origin of the shocks is the interaction of the radio jet with the interstellar medium, which is also responsible for the observed molecular and ionized gas outflows in this source. The other galaxies are weak radio sources; however, due to the lack of high-resolution radio images, we cannot rule out low-power jets as the origin of the shock-heated H$_2$. Our results indicate that the excess H$_2$ emission excess is associated to shock heating of the gas, generated by outflows or by the interaction of the radio jet with the ambient gas.

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