Testing the blast-wave AGN feedback scenario in MCG-03-58-007

Abstract

We report the first Atacama large millimeter/submillimeter array observations of MCG-03-58-007, a local ($z=0.03236\pm 0.00002$, this work) AGN ($L_{AGN}\sim 10^{45}\mathrm{erg}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$), hosting a powerful X-ray ultra-fast ($v=0.1c$) outflow (UFO). The CO(1-0) line emission is observed across $\sim 18$kpc scales with a resolution of $\sim 1\mathrm{kpc}$. About 78\% of the CO(1-0) luminosity traces a galaxy-size rotating disk. However, after subtracting the emission due to such rotating disk, we detect with a S/N=20 a residual emission in the central $\sim 4$kpc. Such residuals may trace a low velocity ($v_{LOS}=170\mathrm{km}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$) outflow. We compare the momentum rate and kinetic power of such putative molecular outflow with that of the X-ray UFO and find ${\dot{P}}_{out}/{\dot{P}}_{UFO}=0.3\pm 0.2$ and ${\dot{E}}_{mol}/{\dot{E}}_{UFO}\sim 4\cdot 10^{-3}$. This result is at odds with the energy-conserving scenario suggested by the large momentum boosts measured in some other molecular outflows. An alternative interpretation of the residual CO emission would be a compact rotating structure, distinct from the main disk, which would be a factor of $\sim 10-100$ more extended and massive than typical circumnuclear disks revealed in Seyferts. However, in both scenarios, our results rule out the hypothesis of a momentum-boosted molecular outflow in this AGN, despite the presence of a powerful X-ray UFO. [Abridged]

Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 13 pages, 11 figures