Nuclear Activity in Galaxies: a 3D Perspective from the Nucleus to the Outskirts

    General
    Description

    This project consists of two main research lines. First, the study of quasar-driven outflows in luminous and nearby obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN) and the impact that they have on their massive host galaxies (AGN feedback). To do so, we have been granted time with the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC) in the optical and near-infrared ranges, with JWST in the mid-infrared, with ALMA in the sub-mm/mm regime and with VLT at radio frequencies. The group is also devoted to obtain and exploit observing time with the JWST and ALMA as part of the GATOS consortium (Galactic Activity, Torus and Outflow Survey) with the aim of characterizing nuclear obscuration and the gas flow cycle in local AGN. Second, the application of integral field spectroscopy to the study of extended objects (active and star forming galaxies) to investigate the triggering of both phenomena. We also contribute to the development of new instruments and data analysis procedures related to 3D observing techniques. In particular, we participate in the development of HARMONI, the first-light high-spatial resolution integral field spectrograph for the ESO Extremely Large Telescope.

    Principal investigator
    Project staff

     

    1. The total budget awarded to this project through external funding sources totals 2.370.500 euros. This only includes projects starting in or after 2020. In 2024 we managed to get a new Juan de La Cierva contract for the group, granted to Marina Bianchin.
    2. Publication of four works from the QSOFEED project (Bessiere et al. 2024; Holden et al. 2024; Speranza et al. 2024). The ultimate goal is to understand the impact of AGN feedback on galaxies.
    3. Giovanna Speranza defended her Ph.D thesis, entitled "Incidence and energetics of AGN winds in the local universe", in February 2024 (Speranza et al. 2021, 2022, 2024). Within the BID4BESt project, another seven papers led by Ph.D students have been published during 2024, in which C. Ramos Almeida participates.
    4. As part of the QSOFEED project we obtained time with ALMA in Cycle 11, as well as with VLT (PI: A. Audibert), and the data from the JWST cycle 2 program 3655 have been observed (PI: C. Ramos Almeida). The GATOS collaboration obtained two successful JWST proposals in cycle 3 (4972 and 5017).
    5. As part of the GATOS collaboration, ten papers have been published, with from one to four members as co-authors.
    6. A new collaboration has been established with ESO to explore the applicability of the technique developed within this project for estimating the outer scale of turbulence in IFS observations corrected with adaptive optics, with MUSE-AO data acquired for analysis in 2025.

    Related publications

    Uncovering the host galaxy of the γ-ray-emitting narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy FBQS J1644+2619 2017MNRAS.469L..11D
    The complex, dusty narrow-line region of NGC 4388: gas-jet interactions, outflows and extinction revealed by near-IR spectroscopy 2017MNRAS.465..906R
    Hints on the Gradual Resizing of the Torus in AGNs through Decomposition of Spitzer/IRS Spectra 2017ApJ...841...37G
    Survival of the Obscuring Torus in the Most Powerful Active Galactic Nuclei 2017ApJ...841L..18M
    The dusty tori of nearby QSOs as constrained by high-resolution mid-IR observations 2017MNRAS.468....2M
    Young stellar populations in type II quasars: timing the onset of star formation and nuclear activity 2017MNRAS.466.3887B
    Kinematic Clues to Bar Evolution for Galaxies in the Local Universe: Why the Fastest Rotating Bars are Rotating Most Slowly 2017ApJ...835..279F
    Stellar kinematics across the Hubble sequence in the CALIFA survey: general properties and aperture corrections 2017A&A...597A..48F
    Infrared polarimetry of Mrk 231: scattering off hot dust grains in the central core 2017MNRAS.464.1762L
    VLT FORS2 optical imaging and spectroscopy of nine luminous type 2 AGN at 0.3 < z < 0.6 - I. Ionized gas nebulae 2015MNRAS.454.4452H
    A deep look at the nuclear region of UGC 5101 through high angular resolution mid-IR data with GTC/CanariCam 2015MNRAS.454.3577M
    Sub-arcsec mid-IR observations of NGC 1614: Nuclear star formation or an intrinsically X-ray weak AGN? 2015MNRAS.454.3679P
    Tracing kinematic (mis)alignments in CALIFA merging galaxies. Stellar and ionized gas kinematic orientations at every merger stage 2015A&A...582A..21B
    Deconstructing the narrow-line region of the nearest obscured quasar 2015MNRAS.454..439V
    Near-infrared polarimetric adaptive optics observations of NGC 1068: a torus created by a hydromagnetic outflow wind 2015MNRAS.452.1902L
    Central star formation and metallicity in CALIFA interacting galaxies 2015A&A...579A..45B
    Comparative internal kinematics of the H II regions in interacting and isolated galaxies: implications for massive star formation modes 2015MNRAS.451.1307Z
    Nuclear obscuration in LINERs. Clues from Spitzer/IRS spectra on the Compton thickness and the existence of the dusty torus 2015A&A...578A..74G
    The stellar spectral features of nearby galaxies in the near infrared: tracers of thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch stars? 2015MNRAS.450.3069R
    CALIFA, the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area survey. III. Second public data release 2015A&A...576A.135G
    Resolving the AGN and Host Emission in the Mid-infrared using a Model-independent Spectral Decomposition 2015ApJ...803..109H
    The Differences in the Torus Geometry between Hidden and Non-hidden Broad Line Active Galactic Nuclei 2015ApJ...803...57I
    Bar pattern speeds in CALIFA galaxies. I. Fast bars across the Hubble sequence 2015A&A...576A.102A
    The Nuclear Near-Infrared Spectral Properties of Nearby Galaxies 2015ApJS..217...13M
    The nuclear and extended infrared emission of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 2992 and the interacting system Arp 245 2015MNRAS.449.1309G
    BUBBLY: a method for detecting and characterizing interstellar bubbles using Fabry-Perot spectroscopy 2015MNRAS.447.3840C
    Mass constraints to Sco X-1 from Bowen fluorescence and deep near-infrared spectroscopy 2015MNRAS.449L...1M
    3D kinematics of the near-IR HH 223 outflow in L723 2015MNRAS.447.2588L
    Ionized gas kinematics of galaxies in the CALIFA survey. I. Velocity fields, kinematic parameters of the dominant component, and presence of kinematically distinct gaseous systems 2015A&A...573A..59G
    Differences between CO- and calcium triplet-derived velocity dispersions in spiral galaxies: evidence for central star formation? 2015MNRAS.446.2823R
    Nearby supernova host galaxies from the CALIFA Survey. I. Sample, data analysis, and correlation to star-forming regions 2014A&A...572A..38G
    Near- to mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopy of two buried AGNs of the nearby merging galaxy NGC 6240 with Subaru/IRCS+AO and GTC/CanariCam 2014PASJ...66...93M
    The dust masses of powerful radio galaxies: clues to the triggering of their activity 2014MNRAS.445L..51T
    Extended warm gas in the ULIRG Mrk273: Galactic outflows and tidal debris 2014A&A...571A..57R
    A mid-infrared view of the inner parsecs of the Seyfert galaxy Mrk 1066 using CanariCam/GTC 2014MNRAS.445.1130R
    Two physical regimes for the giant H II regions and giant molecular clouds in the Antennae galaxies 2014MNRAS.445.1412Z
    CALIFA: a diameter-selected sample for an integral field spectroscopy galaxy survey 2014A&A...569A...1W
    Polarized Mid-infrared Synchrotron Emission in the Core of Cygnus A 2014ApJ...793...81L
    Molecular line emission in NGC 1068 imaged with ALMA. I. An AGN-driven outflow in the dense molecular gas 2014A&A...567A.125G
    The Mice at play in the CALIFA survey. A case study of a gas-rich major merger between first passage and coalescence 2014A&A...567A.132W