ASTRODEBATA / Iván Ezequiel López: Chasing Quiet Beasts: AGN feedback in the low luminosity regime

Chasing Quiet Beasts: AGN feedback in the low luminosity regime

Iván Ezequiel López
University of Bologna, Italy

The steep faint-end slope of the AGN luminosity function suggests that low-luminosity AGN (LLAGN, Lx<10^42 erg/s) are more common across all redshifts than previously thought, as black holes can spend up to 95% of their lifetimes in low-accretion phases. However, LLAGN are often excluded from AGN surveys and cosmological simulations, leaving their population and feedback mechanisms poorly understood. Low-power jets in LLAGN can displace dust, inflate radio bubbles, and drive outflows, playing a potentially significant yet underexplored role in feedback processes. Additionally, winds from radiatively inefficient accretion flows may suppress star formation.

To address these issues, we approach the problem from two angles: a) developing a Cigale SED fitting module tailored for LLAGN (Lopez+24), and b) conducting a detailed analysis of feedback processes in M58, a local LLAGN (Ogle, Lopez+24). The new Cigale module allows for efficient modeling of LLAGN physics, enabling constraints on the LLAGN census without relying on mid-luminosity extrapolations. M58 exemplifies the impact of low-power jets in the bulge of a massive spiral galaxy. We will also present new JWST data highlighting the warm molecular phase of M58, which aids in understanding these interactions. Similar H2 emissions in other local LLAGN suggest that such feedback may be more prevalent than previously anticipated.