Affiliation: Scuola Normale Superiore

Contribution: Oral

Title: GA-NIFS: A cosmic journey into AGN outflows at z~3-6 with JWST NIRSpec

Abstract: The period between z~3-6 (cosmic high-noon), when the Universe was younger than 2 Gyr, is a crucial transitional phase in galaxy evolution as galaxies undergo rapid and deep transformations, leading to cosmic noon (z~1-3), the peak of star formation and AGN activities. A key ingredient in this phase is expected to be AGN feedback, shaping star formation and the growth of galaxies through energetic radiation and fast gas outflows. Little is known so far about the impact of AGN feedback at these redshifts, but this is changing thanks to JWST. I will present our study of AGN outflows at z~3-6 from GOODS-S and COSMOS fields, the largest spatially resolved sample to date, exploiting new JWST NIRSpec IFU observations as part of the GA-NIFS GTO survey. We mapped the rest-frame optical ionised gas emission lines ([OIII], Hα…) at sub-kpc scales and spectrally isolated the broad wings tracing fast outflows from the gas at rest in the galaxy. We inferred the integrated and spatially resolved outflow properties (velocity, mass outflow rate, energetics) and compared them with those of the galaxy (stellar mass, star formation rate) and AGN (e.g. luminosity). We thus checked whether the outflows can significantly affect star formation in the host galaxy. Finally, we compared their properties with those of other AGN outflows at different redshifts, AGN luminosities, etc… from literature.

This contribution can be found here (pdf).