Attività del Dipartimento
Colloqui di Fisica Mapping black hole winds, from the event horizon up to galaxy scales Francesco Tombesi 05-06-2018 - 15:00 AULA B - Via Della Vasca Navale 84
Powerful winds driven by active galactic nuclei (AGN) are often invoked to play a fundamental role in the evolution of both supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and their host galaxies, possibly quenching star formation and explaining the tight SMBH-galaxy relations. Additional support for this “quasar-mode” feedback came from new X-ray observations of mildly relativistic disk winds, a.k.a. ultrafast outflows, in some ultra-luminous infrared galaxies and their connection with galactic molecular outflows observed in mm and IR wavebands. In particular, the combination of X-ray (Suzaku, NuSTAR), IR (Herschel), and mm (ALMA) observations of IRAS F11119+3257 allowed us to link the SMBH activity to molecular outflows that may quench star formation. Therefore, synergistic observations in X-ray and other wavebands have the power to map AGN winds from the event horizon up to galaxy scales, providing a promising avenue to study the multi-phase SMBH feeding and feedback. Spectroscopic observations suggest that such SMBH winds may be common in local AGN and quasars. However, their origin and characteristics are still not fully understood. Theoretical models and simulations focused on radiation, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) or a combination of these two processes to investigate the acceleration mechanisms and dynamics of these winds. Revolutionary improvements in these studies are expected from upcoming X-ray space observatories in synergy with other major multi-wavelength/multi-messenger space- and ground-based facilities. |