Proyecto de Investigación: Excellence in Galaxies - Twinning the IAC
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GATOS – XI. Excess dust heating in the narrow-line regions of nearby AGN revealed with JWST/MIRI
(Blackwell Publishing, 2026-01-26) Haidar, Houda; Rosario, David J.; García Bernete, Ismael; Alonso-Herrero, Almudena; Audibert, Anelise; Campbell, Steph; Harrison, Chris; Costa, Tiago; Hermosa Muñoz, Laura; Combes, Francoise; Rigopoulou, Dimitra; Ricci, Claudio; Ramos Almeida, Cristina; Bellocchi, Enrica; Boorman, Peter; Bunker, Andrew; Davies, Richard; Delaney, Daniel; Díaz Santos, Tanio; Esposito, Federico; Fawcett, Victoria; Gandhi, Poshak; García-Burillo, Santiago; González Martín, Omaira; Hicks, Erin K. S.; Hönig, Sebastian; Labiano, Alvaro; Levenson, Nancy A.; Lopez-Rodriguez, Enrique; Packham, Christopher; Pereira Santaella, Miguel; Riffel, Rogemar A.; Rodríguez Ardila, Alberto; Schneider, John; Thomas Shimizu, Taro; Stalevski, Marko ; Villar Martín, Montserrat; Ward, Martin J.; Zhang, Lulu; Leeds, Gillian; Donnan, Fergus; European Commission (EC); Comunidad de Madrid; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN); Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF); Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT); Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia; Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI); European Research Council (ERC); UK Research and Innovation (UKRI); Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq); Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES); Foundation of Rio Grande do Sul State for Research Support (FAPERGS)
We present James Webb Space Telescope/Mid-Infrared Instrument imaging of eight nearby active galactic nuclei (AGN) from the GATOS (Galactic Activity, Torus, and Outflow Survey) survey to investigate the physical conditions of extended dust in their narrow-line regions (NLRs). In four galaxies (ESO 428–G14, NGC 4388, NGC 3081, and NGC 5728), we detect spatially resolved dust structures extending ∼100–200 pc along the NLR. In these systems, we find a strong link between the morphology of the dust, the radio ejecta, and the coronal [Sivi] emission, implying that dust carries imprints of the processes shaping the NLR. Using spatially resolved spectral energy distributions, we show that dust in the NLR has systematically steeper slopes than star-forming clumps. This dust emits at temperatures in the range $150 \text{-} 220\, \rm K$, at a distance of ∼150 pc from the nucleus. Using simple models, we show that, even under optimistic assumptions of grain size and AGN luminosity, the excess mid-infrared emission cannot be explained by AGN illumination alone. We interpret this excess heating as in situ. We show that shocks with velocities v ∼ 200 - 400 km s in dense gas can close this gap, and in some cases even account for the total observed emission. This, combined with multiple lines of evidence for shocks in these regions, supports a scenario in which shocks not only coexist with dust but may be playing a key role in heating it. Our findings reveal shocks may be an important and previously overlooked driver of extended dust emission in the central hundreds of parsecs in AGN.
GATOS: Distinct Feedback Modes in AGN Central Regions Revealed by Spatially Resolved JWST Spectroscopy
(IOP Publishing, 2026-08-20) Zhang, Lulu; Packham, Christopher; Hicks, Erin K. S.; García Bernete, Ismael; Alonso-Herrero, Almudena; Davies, R. I.; Ward, Martin J.; Delaney, Daniel; Izumi, Takuma; Rigopoulou, Dimitra; Ramos Almeida, Cristina; González Martín, Omaira; Riffel, Rogemar A.; Ricci, Claudio; Villar Martín, Montserrat; Combes, Francoise; Pereira Santaella, Miguel; Hönig, Sebastian; Bunker, Andrew; Boorman, Peter; Bellocchi, Enrica; Levenson, Nancy A.; García-Burillo, Santiago; Donnan, Fergus; Audibert, Anelise; Fuller, Lindsay; Díaz Santos, Tanio; Rosario, David J.; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS); Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq); Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES); Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI); Comunidad de Madrid; European Commission (EC); Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
This Letter presents JWST MIRI/Medium-Resolution Spectrometer (MRS) observations of the central r ≈ 40–240 pc regions of five active galactic nuclei (AGN) spanning a wide range of luminosities (log Lbol/erg s−1 ≈ 39.8–43.8). Combining multiphase diagnostics from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), molecular hydrogen (H2), and ionized gas at spatial scales of ∼4–24 pc, this study presents a spatially resolved investigation into the effects of the two distinct AGN feedback modes—radiative and kinetic—on the surrounding medium. The results indicate that these two feedback modes, associated with AGN irradiation and shock processing, respectively, collectively drive the relative suppression of PAH emission in the nuclear regions of the targets studied here. Moreover, the coexistence of these two AGN feedback modes, especially the shock processing associated with either jets or outflows, in the central regions of AGN naturally explains both the bimodal distribution of PAH band ratios observed in the targets studied here and the seemingly disparate results reported in the literature. Although based on a limited sample, these findings provide new insights into calibrating star formation rates from PAH emission in AGN and, more importantly, lay the groundwork for a practical framework to diagnose and quantify AGN feedback in the JWST era.
