ReveaLLAGN 2: Exploring the Nuclear Gas and Stellar Kinematics of Nearby LLAGNs with JWST/NIRSpec IFU
Abstract
Low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGN) represent the most common mode of black hole accretion in the local Universe, yet their nuclear structure, stellar and gas kinematics remain poorly constrained at parsec scales. We investigate the nuclear regions of eight nearby representative LLAGN, the ReveaLLAGN sample: M87, M104, M94, M81, NGC1052, NGC4258, NGC5128 and NGC4395. Using JWST/NIRSpec data, we probe the stellar, molecular hydrogen, hydrogen recombination, and high ionisation coronal lines kinematics and their spatial distribution, exploring how detectability and spatial distributions of these lines vary across different Eddington ratios. The stellar LOSV maps reveal a slowly rotating disk in the nuclei of all our targets, characterised by an anti-correlation with the h3 Gauss-Hermite moment. Across the sample, the stellar velocity dispersion rises toward the central black hole. Only in M104 and M94 does the velocity dispersion display a more intricate pattern that departs from a simple disk configuration, indicating the presence of multiple kinematic components in these galaxies. Across the sample, the gas distribution and kinematics exhibit rotation that is frequently decoupled from the stellar rotation, suggesting that the stellar gravitational potential is decoupled from the current accretion state. The gas kinematics are often visually aligned with the radio jet, presenting broader velocity dispersions along the jet direction. Line-ratio maps indicate that the dominant excitation mechanism is photoionisation by the central AGN, with mechanical heating from shocks becoming important only at higher Eddington ratios. Across the sample, we detect coronal lines in all LLAGN when using nuclear-aperture spectra, and we can obtain spatially resolved kinematics only in NGC5128 and NGC4395, the highest Eddington ratio sources.
Related
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- TDCOSMO XXX: Spatially resolved kinematics of the deflectors in time-delay lens systems B1608+656 and SDSSJ1206+4332 from JWST-NIRSpec observation
- Metal-poor Brown Dwarf Kinematics from JWST NIRSpec Spectroscopy
BibTeX
@misc{dumont2026reveallagn,
title = {{ReveaLLAGN 2: Exploring the Nuclear Gas and Stellar Kinematics of Nearby LLAGNs with JWST/NIRSpec IFU}},
author = {Antoine Dumont and Nadine Neumayer and Anil C. Seth and Torsten Böker and Jonelle L. Walsh and Micheal Eracleous and Luis C. Ho and Kameron Goold and David Ohlson and Timothy A. Davis},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2611.05496},
eprint = {2611.05496},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.05496},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - ReveaLLAGN 2: Exploring the Nuclear Gas and Stellar Kinematics of Nearby LLAGNs with JWST/NIRSpec IFU
AU - Antoine Dumont
AU - Nadine Neumayer
AU - Anil C. Seth
AU - Torsten Böker
AU - Jonelle L. Walsh
AU - Micheal Eracleous
AU - Luis C. Ho
AU - Kameron Goold
AU - David Ohlson
AU - Timothy A. Davis
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/03
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2611.05496
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.05496
AB - Low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGN) represent the most common mode of black hole accretion in the local Universe, yet their nuclear structure, stellar and gas kinematics remain poorly constrained at parsec scales. We investigate the nuclear regions of eight nearby representative LLAGN, the ReveaLLAGN sample: M87, M104, M94, M81, NGC1052, NGC4258, NGC5128 and NGC4395. Using JWST/NIRSpec data, we probe the stellar, molecular hydrogen, hydrogen recombination, and high ionisation coronal lines kinematics and their spatial distribution, exploring how detectability and spatial distributions of these lines vary across different Eddington ratios. The stellar LOSV maps reveal a slowly rotating disk in the nuclei of all our targets, characterised by an anti-correlation with the h3 Gauss-Hermite moment. Across the sample, the stellar velocity dispersion rises toward the central black hole. Only in M104 and M94 does the velocity dispersion display a more intricate pattern that departs from a simple disk configuration, indicating the presence of multiple kinematic components in these galaxies. Across the sample, the gas distribution and kinematics exhibit rotation that is frequently decoupled from the stellar rotation, suggesting that the stellar gravitational potential is decoupled from the current accretion state. The gas kinematics are often visually aligned with the radio jet, presenting broader velocity dispersions along the jet direction. Line-ratio maps indicate that the dominant excitation mechanism is photoionisation by the central AGN, with mechanical heating from shocks becoming important only at higher Eddington ratios. Across the sample, we detect coronal lines in all LLAGN when using nuclear-aperture spectra, and we can obtain spatially resolved kinematics only in NGC5128 and NGC4395, the highest Eddington ratio sources.
ER -