Integral Field Spectroscopy of Fast Outflows in Dwarf Galaxies with AGNs

Abstract

Feedback likely plays a vital role in the formation of dwarf galaxies. While stellar processes have long been considered the main source of feedback, recent studies have revealed tantalizing signs of active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback in dwarf galaxies. In this paper, we report the results from an integral field spectroscopic study of a sample of eight dwarf galaxies with known AGNs and suspected outflows. Outflows are detected in seven of them. The outflows are fast, with 50th-percentile (median) velocity of up to ∼240 km s −1 and 80th-percentile line width reaching ∼1200 km s −1 , in clear contrast with the more quiescent kinematics of the host gas and stellar components. The outflows are generally spatially extended on a scale of several hundred parsecs to a few kiloparsecs, although our data do not clearly resolve the outflows in three targets. The outflows appear to be primarily photoionized by the AGN rather than shocks or young, massive stars. The kinematics and energetics of these outflows suggest that they are primarily driven by the AGN, although the star formation activity in these objects may also contribute to the energy input. A small but nonnegligible portion of the outflowing material likely escapes the main body of the host galaxy and contributes to the enrichment of the circumgalactic medium. Overall, the impact of these outflows on their host galaxies is similar to those taking place in the more luminous AGNs in the low-redshift universe.