Blowing Star Formation Away in Active Galactic Nuclei Hosts. I. Observation of Warm Molecular Outflows with JWST MIRI

Abstract We use the James Webb Space Telescope Mid-Infrared Instrument medium-resolution spectrometer observations of the radio-loud active galactic nucleus (AGN) host UGC 8782 to map the warm molecular and ionized gas kinematics. The data reveal spatially resolved outflows in the inner 2 kpc, seen in low ionization (traced by the [Ar ii ] 6.99 μ m emission) and in warm molecular gas (traced by the H 2 rotational transitions). We find a maximum mass-outflow rate of 4.90 ± 2.04 M ⊙ yr −1 at ∼900 pc from the nucleus for the warm outflow (198 K ≤ T ≤ 1000 K) and estimate an outflow rate of up to 1.22 ± 0.51 M ⊙ yr −1 for the hotter gas phase ( T > 1000 K). These outflows can clear the entire nuclear reservoir of warm molecular gas in about 1 Myr. The derived kinetic power of the molecular outflows leads to coupling efficiencies of 2%–5% of the AGN luminosity, way above the minimum expected for the AGN feedback to be effective in quenching the star formation.