Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · 2021
MNRAS 505, 3054-3069 (2021)
Scientific summary
Hubble imaging and STIS spectroscopy are combined with Chandra imaging and supporting optical spectroscopy to compare the [O III] morphology and kinematics of two nearby type 2 quasars. The multiwavelength view tests how nuclear X-ray emission couples to spatially resolved ionized outflows.
Key results
Dynamical models reproduce the observed [O III] velocities within approximately 500 pc through radiative acceleration of dusty gas. The more extended high-velocity gas in Mrk 34 is difficult to explain through direct radiative acceleration alone and may require an additional mechanism.
If the X-ray-emitting gas produces the observed dynamical effects, the models indicate that it has sufficient kinetic-energy density to disturb [O III]-emitting gas at approximately 1.8 kpc and sufficient energy to entrain high-velocity clouds at approximately 1.2 kpc in Mrk 34. The X-ray-gas kinematics are inferred rather than independently measured.
Assuming that the X-ray-emitting gas follows the radial mass distribution adopted for the [O III]-emitting gas, its inferred peak kinetic luminosity is 2.1⁺⁶·³₋₁·⁶% of the bolometric luminosity of Mrk 34. This is approximately 50 times the value derived for the [O III]-emitting gas and falls within the 0.5%-5% feedback-efficiency range considered in the paper.
The modeled X-ray-emitting gas reproduces the integrated Ne IX flux and approximately follows the radial Chandra emission, although the central-bin flux is overpredicted. The predicted [Fe X] λ6375 flux distribution agrees with the available optical measurements, while [Si X] 1.43 μm is identified as a potential infrared footprint of the highly ionized gas.
