The role of radio AGN feedback in massive galaxies at z = 4 - 6
Abstract
The evolution in the mass accretion rate and density of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) shows that the SMBHs in today's most massive galaxies formed in a relatively short time after the Big Bang. This biased growth of massive galaxies and SMBHs requires rapid accretion in the early Universe, coupled with a strong influence of SMBH activity on the hosts through powerful radio jets and radiation-driven winds. Luminous radio galaxies offer ideal laboratories for studying both modes of AGN 'feedback' and where the AGN does not outshine its host galaxy (unlike for quasars). With the NIRSpec/IFU it is now possible for the first time to spatially resolve the impact of AGN radio jets on their host galaxies in the rest-frame optical at z > 4.
We will target the rest-frame optical emission of two of the most distant, prototypical radio galaxies, TN J1338- 1942 (z=4.11) and TGSS J1530+1049 (z=5.72). We will spatially resolve the ionization state, kinematics and metallicity of the gas to constrain how AGN with large-scale radio jets inject energy and modify star-formation in the presence of infall and AGN- and starburst-driven winds. The data will also constrain the stellar populations, delineate the host galaxy morphologies, and detect broad emission lines in scattered light to derive black hole masses. Both objects will be observed with NIRCam in GTO to study their larger Mpc-scale environments. Together these programs will allow us to derive a complete picture of the evolution of some of the most massive and powerful radio AGN known in the early universe, from their energetic cores to their wider cosmic environments.- Publication:
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JWST Proposal. Cycle 1
- Pub Date:
- March 2021
- Bibcode:
- 2021jwst.prop.1964O