Abstract

Invited Talk - Splinter SMBHs

Wednesday, 23 September 2020, 11:15   (virtual room K)

Resolving the impact of black hole feedback in distant quasars with JWST

Dominika Wylezalek
University of Heidelberg

It is well established that AGN take an active part in shaping the way the Universe looks. In particular, AGN feedback is a key ingredient in galaxy formation models and is now widely considered to be one of the main drivers in regulating the growth and assembly of massive galaxies. In many objects ionised gas winds are indeed directly detected on kpc scales, encompassing the entire galaxy. From these observations, it appears increasingly clear that it is indeed red, obscured quasars at 2 < z < 3.5, which are sign-posts for the most active ‘blow-out’ phase of quasar feedback. Several quasar populations have been identified in the last years (red quasars, ERQs, high redshift radio galaxies) that are promising candidates for observing this blow-out phase in action. However, constraining the power and reach of such feedback processes exerted by black holes onto their hosts and the circumgalactic medium (CGM) remains a major unresolved issue in modern extragalactic astrophysics. The James Webb Space Telescope will revolutionize our understanding of black hole-galaxy co-evolution by allowing us to probe the stellar, gas, and dust components of nearby and distant galaxies, spatially and spectrally. I will introduce our accepted Early Release Science Program "Q3D" (PI: Wylezalek) which will make use of the unprecedented infrared sensitivity, spatial resolution, and spectral coverage of the JWST IFUs. I will describe how JWST can be used to study distant galaxies in 3D and introduce how we will study the impact of three carefully selected luminous quasars on their hosts. Our program will provide a scientific dataset of broad interest serving as a pathfinder for JWST science investigations in IFU mode and will provide guidance for future programs with the ELT.