Circumnuclear molecular disks: role in AGN fueling and feedback - Francoise Combes

Francoise Combes (Observatory of Paris)

Circumnuclear molecular disks: role in AGN fueling and feedback

The gas inflows directly fueling AGN are now traceable with current high-resolution observations with ALMA and NOEMA.

Dynamical mechanisms are essential to exchange angular momentum and drive the gas to the super-massive black hole.

While at 100pc scale, the gas is sometimes stalled in nuclear rings, recent observations reaching ~10pc scale (or 50mas),

inside the sphere of influence of the black hole, may bring smoking gun evidence of fueling, within a randomly oriented nuclear molecular disk.

Observations of AGN feedback will be presented, together with the suspected responsible mechanisms. Molecular outflows are frequently

detected in active galaxies, and the ALMA and NOEMA resolution gives clues to their origin, either radiative of kinetic AGN mode, or starburst.

When driven by AGN with near escape velocity, these outflows are therefore a clear way to moderate or suppress star formation.