Ionised AGN outflows in the Goldfish galaxy: The illuminating and interacting red quasar eFEDSJ091157.4+014327 at z ∼ 0.6

¹ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia ‘Augusto Righi’, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, Via Gobetti 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy
e-mail: blessing.musiimenta2@unibo.it
² INAF-Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio, Via Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy
³ Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam, An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam, Germany
⁴ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Calle Vía Láctea s/n, 38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
⁵ Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La, Laguna, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
⁶ Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Cra. de Ajalvir Km. 4, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
⁷ Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstraße 1, 85748 Garching bei München, Germany
⁸ Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, National Observatory of Athens, V. Paulou and I. Metaxa, Athens 11532, Greece
⁹ Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
¹⁰ SISSA, Via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy
¹¹ School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Highfield, SO17 1BJ, Southampton, UK
¹² Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 11F Astronomy-Mathematics Building, AS/NTU, No.1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
¹³ Research centre for Space and Cosmic Evolution, Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-8577, Japan
¹⁴ National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan

Received: 19 January 2024
Accepted: 1 May 2024

Abstract

Context. Evolutionary models suggest that the initial growth phases of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and their central supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are dust-enshrouded and characterised by jet or wind outflows that should gradually clear the interstellar medium (ISM) in the host by heating and/or expelling the surrounding gas. eFEDSJ091157.4+014327 (z ∼ 0.6) was selected from X-ray samples of eROSITA (extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array) for its characteristics: red colours, X-ray obscuration (N_H = 2.7 × 10²² cm⁻²) and luminous (L_X = 6.5 × 10⁴⁴ erg s⁻¹), similar to those expected in quasars with outflows. It hosts an ionised outflow as revealed by a broad [O III]λ5007 Å emission line in the SDSS integrated spectrum. For a proper characterisation of the outflow properties and their effects, we need spatially resolved information.

Aims. We aim to explore the environment around the red quasar, morphology of the [O III] gas and characterise the kinematics, mass outflow rates and energetics within the system.

Methods. We used spatially resolved spectroscopic data from Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) with an average seeing of 0.6″ to construct flux, velocity and velocity dispersion maps. Thanks to the spatially resolved [O III]λ5007 Å emission detected, we provide insights into the morphology and kinematics of the ionised gas and better estimates of the outflow properties.

Results. We find that the quasar is embedded in an interacting and merging system with three other galaxies ∼50 kpc from its nucleus. Spatially resolved kinematics reveal that the quasar has extended ionised outflows of up to 9.2_−0.4^+1.2 kpc with positive and negative velocities up to 1000 km s⁻¹ and −1200 km s⁻¹, respectively. The velocity dispersion (W₈₀) ranges from 600–1800 km s⁻¹. We associate the presence of high-velocity components with the outflow. The total mass outflow rate is estimated to be ∼10 M_⊙ yr⁻¹, a factor of ∼3–7 higher than the previous findings for the same target and kinetic power of 2 × 10⁴² erg s⁻¹. Considering different AGN bolometric luminosities, the kinetic coupling efficiencies range from 0.01%–0.03% and the momentum boosts are ∼0.2.

Conclusions. The kinetic coupling efficiency values are low, which indicates that the ionised outflow is not energetically relevant. These values don’t align with the theoretical predictions of both radiation-pressure-driven outflows and energy-conserving mechanisms. However, note that our results are based only on the ionised phase while theoretical predictions are multi-phase. Moreover, the mass loading factor of ∼5 is an indication that these outflows are more likely AGN-driven than star formation-driven.