Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · 2021
MNRAS 500, 1491-1504 (2021)
![Continuum-subtracted Hubble [O III] image with the elliptical annuli used to measure the radial physical properties of the ionized gas.](/images/publications/hubble-space-telescope-observations-of-o-iii-emission-in-nearbyqso2s-physical-pr/hero-first-oiii-morphology.webp)
Scientific summary
Hubble imaging and spatially resolved spectroscopy, combined with photoionization modeling, characterize the radial distribution and energetics of ionized outflows in 12 nearby luminous type 2 quasars. The study tests how strongly the [O III]-emitting phase can affect gas from nuclear to kiloparsec scales.
Key results
The nominal total ionized outflow masses range from 4.6 × 10³ to 3.4 × 10⁷ M⊙. Peak mass-outflow rates range from 9.3 × 10⁻³ to 10.3 M⊙ yr⁻¹ and occur approximately 100-1260 pc from the supermassive black hole.
The maximum kinetic luminosities range from 3.4 × 10⁻⁸ to 4.9 × 10⁻⁴ of the AGN bolometric luminosity, below the 0.5%-5% range adopted by the feedback-efficiency criteria considered in the paper.
Mrk 34 has the strongest and most extended ionized outflow in the sample, but its measured peak outflow rate remains approximately ten times below the value required to reach the minimum feedback-efficiency criterion considered in the paper.
SDSS J115245.66+101623.8, 2MASX J13003807+5454367, and B2 1435+30 contain extended [O III]-emitting gas despite weak, comparatively compact outflows. The paper considers recent changes in AGN luminosity and differences in host-galaxy mass distributions as possible explanations; the observations do not distinguish between them.
Connected research series
Three studies build a common observational picture of how ionized gas, hot X-ray winds, and circumnuclear clearing may be connected across luminous quasars.
Resolved [O III] gas masses, outflow rates, and energetics for the 12 type 2 quasars.
More extended but less massive [O III] regions motivate a later, more cleared phase.
Chandra and Hubble observations connect hot-wind coupling to a proposed clearing sequence.
Proposed physical context
Interpretive framework. This sequence connects measurements across different quasars; it does not trace individual systems evolving with time.
