Common Excitation Patterns of Star Formation, Active Galactic Nuclei, and Shocks in Seyfert Galaxies
Abstract
The growth of galaxies and their central supermassive black holes is closely connected, yet the net effect of active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback on host-galaxy star formation remains uncertain. AGN may enhance, suppress, or have little measurable impact on star formation, but distinguishing among these outcomes requires separating star-formation and AGN photoionization from shock excitation, which is expected in AGN-driven outflows but has been difficult to isolate. Here we apply a recently developed theoretical three-dimensional diagnostic diagram, designed to separate star formation, AGN, and shock excitation, to VLT/MUSE IFU observations of nine nearby (z < 0.026) Type 2 Seyfert galaxies. We find a common excitation pattern across the sample: star-forming rings or arcs at projected radii of r~0.8-6 kpc, AGN-photoionized bicones extending to kpc scales, central fast-shock-dominated regions that often extend perpendicular to the AGN bicone, and pure-shock- dominated regions surrounding the central fast shocks and appearing locally within the star-forming rings. Deep Chandra X-ray morphology independently supports this decomposition. The circumnuclear star-forming rings are consistent with bar-driven resonances, although positive AGN feedback may also contribute. The central fast shocks are broadly consistent with AGN jet-ISM interactions, while AGN wind-ISM interactions may also play an important role in galaxies with low-power jets. These results establish central shocks as a common feature of Seyfert galaxies and demonstrate the importance of accounting for shock excitation in AGN feedback studies.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{zhu2026common,
title = {{Common Excitation Patterns of Star Formation, Active Galactic Nuclei, and Shocks in Seyfert Galaxies}},
author = {Peixin Zhu and Lisa J. Kewley and Dominika Ł. Król and Giuseppina Fabbiano and Lars Hernquist and Ralph S. Sutherland and Anna Trindade Falcão and Martin Elvis and Riccardo Middei},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.15913},
eprint = {2609.15913},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.15913},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Common Excitation Patterns of Star Formation, Active Galactic Nuclei, and Shocks in Seyfert Galaxies
AU - Peixin Zhu
AU - Lisa J. Kewley
AU - Dominika Ł. Król
AU - Giuseppina Fabbiano
AU - Lars Hernquist
AU - Ralph S. Sutherland
AU - Anna Trindade Falcão
AU - Martin Elvis
AU - Riccardo Middei
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/14
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.15913
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.15913
AB - The growth of galaxies and their central supermassive black holes is closely connected, yet the net effect of active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback on host-galaxy star formation remains uncertain. AGN may enhance, suppress, or have little measurable impact on star formation, but distinguishing among these outcomes requires separating star-formation and AGN photoionization from shock excitation, which is expected in AGN-driven outflows but has been difficult to isolate. Here we apply a recently developed theoretical three-dimensional diagnostic diagram, designed to separate star formation, AGN, and shock excitation, to VLT/MUSE IFU observations of nine nearby (z < 0.026) Type 2 Seyfert galaxies. We find a common excitation pattern across the sample: star-forming rings or arcs at projected radii of r~0.8-6 kpc, AGN-photoionized bicones extending to kpc scales, central fast-shock-dominated regions that often extend perpendicular to the AGN bicone, and pure-shock- dominated regions surrounding the central fast shocks and appearing locally within the star-forming rings. Deep Chandra X-ray morphology independently supports this decomposition. The circumnuclear star-forming rings are consistent with bar-driven resonances, although positive AGN feedback may also contribute. The central fast shocks are broadly consistent with AGN jet-ISM interactions, while AGN wind-ISM interactions may also play an important role in galaxies with low-power jets. These results establish central shocks as a common feature of Seyfert galaxies and demonstrate the importance of accounting for shock excitation in AGN feedback studies.
ER -