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High molecular gas content and star formation rates in local galaxies that host quasars, outflows and jets

Jarvis, M.E.; Harrison, C.M.; Mainieri, V.; Rivera, G. Calistro; Jethwa, P.; Zhang, Z-Y.; Alexander, D.M.; Circosta, C.; Costa, T.; De Breuck, C.; Kakkad, D.; Kharb, P.; Lansbury, G.B.; Thomson, A.P.

High molecular gas content and star formation rates in local galaxies that host quasars, outflows and jets Thumbnail


Authors

M.E. Jarvis

C.M. Harrison

V. Mainieri

G. Calistro Rivera

P. Jethwa

Z-Y. Zhang

C. Circosta

T. Costa

C. De Breuck

D. Kakkad

P. Kharb

G.B. Lansbury

A.P. Thomson



Abstract

We use a sample of powerful z≈0.1 type 2 quasars (‘obscured’; log [LAGN/erg s−1]≳45), which host kiloparsec-scale ionized outflows and jets, to identify possible signatures of AGN feedback on the total molecular gas reservoirs of their host galaxies. Specifically, we present Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX) observations of the CO(2–1) transition for nine sources and the CO(6–5) for a subset of three. We find that the majority of our sample reside in starburst galaxies (average specific star formation rates of 1.7 Gyr−1), with the seven CO-detected quasars also having large molecular gas reservoirs (average Mgas=1.3× 1010 M⊙), even though we had no pre-selection on the star formation or molecular gas properties. Despite the presence of quasars and outflows, we find that the molecular gas fractions (Mgas/M⋆=0.1–1.2) and depletion times (Mgas/SFR=0.16–0.95 Gyr) are consistent with those expected for the overall galaxy population with matched stellar masses and specific star formation rates. Furthermore, for at least two of the three targets with the required measurements, the CO(6–5)/CO(2–1) emission-line ratios are consistent with star formation dominating the CO excitation over this range of transitions. The targets in our study represent a gas-rich phase of galaxy evolution with simultaneously high levels of star formation and nuclear activity; furthermore, the jets and outflows do not have an immediate appreciable impact on the global molecular gas reservoirs.

Citation

Jarvis, M., Harrison, C., Mainieri, V., Rivera, G. C., Jethwa, P., Zhang, Z., …Thomson, A. (2020). High molecular gas content and star formation rates in local galaxies that host quasars, outflows and jets. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 498(2), 1560-1575. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa2196

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 17, 2020
Online Publication Date Sep 9, 2020
Publication Date 2020-10
Deposit Date Sep 10, 2020
Publicly Available Date Sep 18, 2020
Journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Print ISSN 0035-8711
Electronic ISSN 1365-2966
Publisher Royal Astronomical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 498
Issue 2
Pages 1560-1575
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa2196

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Copyright Statement
This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. ©: 2020 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.





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