Tracing the extreme interplay between radio jets and the ISM in IC 5063

Abstract

We report the discovery with the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX) of an outflow of molecular gas in the radio-loud Seyfert galaxy IC 5063 (z = 0.0110). In addition to the emission of the large-scale CO disk, a prominent blueshifted wing is observed in the CO(2-1) spectrum. IC 5063 represents one of the best cases of a fast jet-driven H I (and ionized gas) outflow, which is located at the site of a radio-bright feature about 0.5 kpc from the nucleus. It is possible that the blueshifted part of the molecular gas is associated with this outflow and is accelerated by the interaction with the radio jet. The outflow of molecular gas is characterized by an H2 mass of the outflowing component of between 2.25 ± 0.70 × 107M ⊙ and 1.29 ± 0.40 × 10 8M⊙ and a mass outflow rate between 22 and 129 M⊙ yr-1 depending on the assumption for αX and assuming a luminosity ratio L′CO(2-1)/L′CO(1-0) = 1. This confirms that this may indeed be the dominant component in outflows driven by the nuclear activity as also found in other objects. However, this high mass outflow rate cannot easily be supported for a long time, suggesting that the gas outflow in IC 5063 happens in bursts and is in a particularly strong phase at present. Owing to its proximity, IC 5063 serves as an excellent laboratory for understanding the impact of radio jets on the gas-rich inter-stellar medium. © ESO, 2013.