The interplay between active galactic nucleus photoionization, radio jet, and star formation in the z ∼ 3.5 radio galaxy 4C +03.24
Abstract
High-redshift radio galaxies (HzRGs) are among the most powerful radio sources, and are associated with the most massive galaxies and dense environments at redshifts z ≳ 1. They are ideal laboratories for studying how active galactic nucleus (AGN) events can shape the evolution of galaxies, as intense radiation, jets, and star formation can be observed simultaneously in these galaxies. We present JWST/NIRSpec integral field spectroscopy (∼ 1.6 kpc spatial resolution) of the 4C +03.24 system, a powerful HzRG at z ∼ 3.5 with a bolometric luminosity of ∼ 1047.6 erg s−1. We identified kinematically disturbed regions in the warm (∼ 104 K) ionized gas by decomposing the emission-line spectra into multiple Gaussian components, which is crucial to avoid overestimating the outflow properties. The outflow power peaks at ∼ 2 kpc away from the nucleus, with a corresponding low kinetic coupling efficiency of ∼ 8−5+7 × 10−3 %. A combined analysis of the rest-frame optical and ultraviolet (from VLT/MUSE and HST imaging) continua revealed an extended emission (spanning ∼ 14 kpc), which we interpret as partially tracing star-forming regions. With a clearly delineated bipolar morphology, we show that the AGN photoionization dominates the ionization of the interstellar medium along the radio jet axis. The [C II]λ158μm emission gap in this region might be direct evidence of negative AGN feedback. We also discuss a possible scenario where 4C +03.24 could be situated in an overdense environment experiencing multiple galaxy interactions and the possibility of jet-induced star-formation.
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BibTeX
@misc{oliveira2026interplay,
title = {{The interplay between active galactic nucleus photoionization, radio jet, and star formation in the z $\sim$ 3.5 radio galaxy 4C +03.24}},
author = {Bruno Dall'Agnol de Oliveira and Dominika Wylezalek and Pranav Kukreti and Wuji Wang and Rogério Riffel and Rogemar A. Riffel and Andrey Vayner and Caroline Bertemes and Julian T. Groth and David S. N. Rupke and Carlos De Breuck and Joël Vernet},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.22859},
eprint = {2609.22859},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.22859},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The interplay between active galactic nucleus photoionization, radio jet, and star formation in the z ∼ 3.5 radio galaxy 4C +03.24
AU - Bruno Dall'Agnol de Oliveira
AU - Dominika Wylezalek
AU - Pranav Kukreti
AU - Wuji Wang
AU - Rogério Riffel
AU - Rogemar A. Riffel
AU - Andrey Vayner
AU - Caroline Bertemes
AU - Julian T. Groth
AU - David S. N. Rupke
AU - Carlos De Breuck
AU - Joël Vernet
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/29
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.22859
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.22859
AB - High-redshift radio galaxies (HzRGs) are among the most powerful radio sources, and are associated with the most massive galaxies and dense environments at redshifts z ≳ 1. They are ideal laboratories for studying how active galactic nucleus (AGN) events can shape the evolution of galaxies, as intense radiation, jets, and star formation can be observed simultaneously in these galaxies. We present JWST/NIRSpec integral field spectroscopy (∼ 1.6 kpc spatial resolution) of the 4C +03.24 system, a powerful HzRG at z ∼ 3.5 with a bolometric luminosity of ∼ 10^47.6 erg s^−1. We identified kinematically disturbed regions in the warm (∼ 10^4 K) ionized gas by decomposing the emission-line spectra into multiple Gaussian components, which is crucial to avoid overestimating the outflow properties. The outflow power peaks at ∼ 2 kpc away from the nucleus, with a corresponding low kinetic coupling efficiency of ∼ 8_−5^+7 × 10^−3 %. A combined analysis of the rest-frame optical and ultraviolet (from VLT/MUSE and HST imaging) continua revealed an extended emission (spanning ∼ 14 kpc), which we interpret as partially tracing star-forming regions. With a clearly delineated bipolar morphology, we show that the AGN photoionization dominates the ionization of the interstellar medium along the radio jet axis. The [C II]λ158μm emission gap in this region might be direct evidence of negative AGN feedback. We also discuss a possible scenario where 4C +03.24 could be situated in an overdense environment experiencing multiple galaxy interactions and the possibility of jet-induced star-formation.
ER -