Composite Bulges – V. Detecting signatures of gas inflows in IFU data: The MUSE view of ionised gas kinematics in nearby galaxies

Abstract Using VLT/MUSE data, we study the ionised-gas kinematics in a mass- and volume-limited (M* ≥ 1010M⊙, D ≤ 20 Mpc) sample of 21 nearby galaxies to identify signatures of extended shocks within their inner kiloparsec, which appear as coherent velocity jumps in kinematic maps. By removing angular momentum, shocks in gas cause inflows, which can trigger nuclear star formation and fuel AGN activity. To identify the signatures of extended shocks, we examine residual velocity fields after subtracting a modelled rotating disc, and we study velocity difference between various gas tracers. Combining our kinematic analysis with BPT ionisation diagnostic maps and dust morphology, we find that 12 of 21 galaxies (~57 % show extended shock signatures with velocity jumps consistent with models of bar-driven shocks. This is likely a lower limit, as three additional galaxies (~14 %) exhibit shocks along bars, potentially reaching the nucleus but obscured by AGN outflows. We trace shock signatures inwards close to the resolution limit, which suggests that shocks may be the prevailing mechanism of inflow in the central kpc of galaxies. The only two unbarred galaxies in our sample are also the only systems with unperturbed kinematics and no shocks, strongly linking the perturbed gas dynamics in centres of galaxies to the presence of bars. All galaxies with inner bars show LINER- or Seyfert-like nuclear emission, whereas galaxies without inner bars exhibit all emission types, indicating that regardless of gas supply, inner bars suppress star formation in galactic nuclei.