Revolutionizing Our Understanding of AGN Feedback and its Importance to Galaxy Evolution in the Era of the Next Generation Very Large Array
Abstract
Energetic feedback by Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) likely plays an important evolutionary role in the regulation of star formation (SF) on galactic scales. However, the effects of this feedback under different host galaxy conditions and environments remain unknown due to the scarcity of observational examples of this process in action given the limitations of current telescopes. The Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) will serve as a transformational new tool in our understanding of how radio jets affect their surroundings. Current plans for the ngVLA consist of an array of 214 18m antennas with baselines out to 500 km operating over a frequency range of 1-115 GHz. By combining deep, broadband continuum data with measurements of the atomic and/or molecular gas content and kinematics, the ngVLA will quantify the energetic impact of radio jets hosted by gas-rich galaxies as the jets interact with the star-forming gas reservoirs of their hosts. Here, we evaluate the progress in our understanding of AGN feedback and its connection to galaxy evolution that may be accomplished with the unique capabilities of the ngVLA. Our analysis includes simulations of ngVLA observations of redshifted analogs of nearby AGNs with diverse properties, along with examples of opportunities for multiwavelength synergies with current and future next-generation instruments that are currently under development.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #231
- Pub Date:
- January 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AAS...23134228N