NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2012B-0117
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2012B-0117 |
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PI: David Rupke, Rhodes College, drupke@gmail.com
Address: 2000 N. Parkway, Memphis, TN, 38104, USA
CoI: Sylvain Veilleux, University of Maryland
Title: QSO Feedback in Action: The AGN Threshold
Abstract:
We have recently discovered the first unambiguous evidence for QSO-mode
feedback in galaxy mergers. Massive outflows of gas that quench star
formation and regulate black hole growth in merging systems had been
predicted by theory but not yet observed. GMOS/IFU observations of six nearby
mergers reveal massive, wide-angle, kiloparsec-scale outflows with velocities
exceeding 1000 km/s when the AGN luminosity exceeds the canonical QSO
threshold. We propose to better pin down the luminosity threshold at which
the AGN begins to dominate the outflow dynamics by using the GMOS IFU to
observe the neutral and warm ionized phases of winds on large scales. We will
compare our results to data from an extensive multiwavelength campaign of QSO
winds. Through observations of QSO feedback, we can inform prescriptions of
such feedback in numerical simulations, enabling theorists to greatly improve
estimates of their effects in mergers.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, Arizona 85726, Phone: (520) 318-8000, Fax: (520) 318-8360
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2012B-0117 |
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