Quantifying Ionized AGN Feedback: Simple Kinematics but Large Masses in Ionized Outflows

Ionized outflows are routinely observed in local active galactic nuclei and are widely regarded as a primary channel through which AGN feedback operates, yet their quantitative impact remains poorly constrained. We present new results from the analysis of a sample of nearby AGN observed with MUSE/VLT, revealing a common and unexpectedly simple kinematic structure in their ionized outflows. Despite the apparent complexity of the observed velocity fields, the outflows are consistently described by a biconical geometry with a radially varying velocity law: the radial velocity is approximately constant out to ∼1 kpc and then undergoes a clear acceleration, increasing by more than a factor of two. This behaviour is ubiquitous across the sample and largely independent of AGN or host-galaxy properties. These results are enabled by MOKA3D, a new forward-modelling framework that self-consistently accounts for the intrinsic clumpiness and flux distribution of the emitting gas, showing that much of the observed kinematic complexity arises from inhomogeneous emission rather than from multiple dynamical components. By combining MOKA3D with the photoionization framework HOMERUN, we obtain robust measurements of outflow masses. Applied to joint MUSE and JWST/MIRI observations of NGC 1068, this approach reveals an ionized outflow that is significantly more massive and energetic than previously inferred, with properties comparable to those of molecular outflows. These results demonstrate that ionized outflows can play a major role in AGN feedback on kiloparsec scales and highlight the need for self-consistent kinematic and physical modelling to quantify their impact.