The Astrophysical Journal (Jan 2025)
The JWST View of Cygnus A: Jet-driven Coronal Outflow with a Twist
- Patrick M. Ogle,
- B. Sebastian,
- A. Aravindan,
- M. McDonald,
- G. Canalizo,
- M. L. N. Ashby,
- M. Azadi,
- R. Antonucci,
- P. Barthel,
- S. Baum,
- M. Birkinshaw,
- C. Carilli,
- M. Chiaberge,
- C. Duggal,
- K. Gebhardt,
- S. Hyman,
- J. Kuraszkiewicz,
- E. Lopez-Rodriguez,
- A. M. Medling,
- G. Miley,
- O. Omoruyi,
- C. O’Dea,
- D. Perley,
- R. A. Perley,
- E. Perlman,
- V. Reynaldi,
- M. Singha,
- W. Sparks,
- G. Tremblay,
- B. J. Wilkes,
- S. P. Willner,
- D. M. Worrall
Affiliations
- Patrick M. Ogle
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]
- B. Sebastian
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]
- A. Aravindan
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Riverside, CA 92521, USA
- M. McDonald
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Riverside, CA 92521, USA
- G. Canalizo
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Riverside, CA 92521, USA
- M. L. N. Ashby
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics—Harvard & Smithsonian , Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- M. Azadi
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics—Harvard & Smithsonian , Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- R. Antonucci
- Physics Department, University of California , Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9530, USA
- P. Barthel
- ORCiD
- Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen , P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
- S. Baum
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manitoba , Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada; Center for Space Plasma & Aeronomic Research, University of Alabama in Huntsville , Huntsville, AL 35899, USA
- M. Birkinshaw
- ORCiD
- HH Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol , Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL, UK
- C. Carilli
- ORCiD
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory , P.O. Box O, Socorro, NM 87801, USA
- M. Chiaberge
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute for the European Space Agency (ESA) , ESA Office, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD, USA; The William H. Miller III Department of Physics & Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD, USA
- C. Duggal
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manitoba , Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
- K. Gebhardt
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway Boulevard, Austin, TX 78712, USA
- S. Hyman
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- J. Kuraszkiewicz
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics—Harvard & Smithsonian , Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- E. Lopez-Rodriguez
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of South Carolina , Columbia, SC 29208, USA; Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics & Cosmology (KIPAC), Stanford University , Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- A. M. Medling
- ORCiD
- Ritter Astrophysical Research Center and Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Toledo , Toledo, OH 43606, USA
- G. Miley
- ORCiD
- Leiden Observatory, University of Leiden , P.O. Box 9513, Leiden, 2300 RA, The Netherlands
- O. Omoruyi
- Center for Astrophysics—Harvard & Smithsonian , Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- C. O’Dea
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manitoba , Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada; Center for Space Plasma & Aeronomic Research, University of Alabama in Huntsville , Huntsville, AL 35899, USA
- D. Perley
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University , IC2, Liverpool Science Park, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK
- R. A. Perley
- ORCiD
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory , P.O. Box O, Socorro, NM 87801, USA
- E. Perlman
- ORCiD
- Aerospace, Physics and Space Sciences Department, Florida Institute of Technology ,150 W. University Boulevard, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA
- V. Reynaldi
- ORCiD
- Instituto de Astrofisica de la Plata (CONICET–UNLP) , Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900, La Plata, Argentina; Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata , Argentina
- M. Singha
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- W. Sparks
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]; SETI Institute , 339 N Bernado Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
- G. Tremblay
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics—Harvard & Smithsonian , Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- B. J. Wilkes
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics—Harvard & Smithsonian , Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; HH Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol , Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL, UK
- S. P. Willner
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics—Harvard & Smithsonian , Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- D. M. Worrall
- ORCiD
- HH Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol , Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL, UK
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb71a
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 983,
no. 2
p. 98
Abstract
We present first results from James Webb Space Telescope Near-Infrared Spectrograph, Mid-Infrared Instrument, and Keck Cosmic Webb Imager integral field spectroscopy of the powerful but highly obscured host galaxy of the jetted radio source Cygnus A. We detect 169 infrared emission lines at 1.7–27 μ m and explore the kinematics and physical properties of the extended narrow-line region (NLR) in unprecedented detail. The density-stratified NLR appears to be shaped by the initial blow-out and ongoing interaction of the radio jet with the interstellar medium, creating a multiphase bicone with a layered structure composed of molecular and ionized gas. The NLR spectrum, with strong coronal emission at kiloparsec scale, is well modeled by active galactic nucleus photoionization. We find evidence that the NLR is rotating around the radio axis, perhaps mediated by magnetic fields and driven by angular momentum transfer from the radio jet. The overall velocity field of the NLR is well described by 250 km s ^−1 outflow along biconical spiral flow lines, combining both rotation and outflow signatures. There is particularly bright [Fe ii ] λ 1.644 μ m emission from a dense, high-velocity dispersion, photoionized clump of clouds found near the projected radio axis. Outflows of 600–2000 km s ^−1 are found in bullets and streamers of ionized gas that may be ablated by the radio jet from these clouds, driving a local outflow rate of 40 M _⊙ yr ^−1 .
Keywords
