What Drives the Bimodal Distribution of Eddington-Scaled Radio Luminosity in Nearby Early-Type Galaxies?

Abstract

{Early-type galaxies host low-luminosity active galactic nuclei, traced by radio emission spanning parsec- to kiloparsec scales.} {We investigate the Eddington-scaled radio luminosity distribution of 117 nearby early-type galaxies to test for bimodality and assess the role of host-galaxy properties, extending results from a 62-galaxy sample \cite{Wojtowicz2023}.} {We compile galaxies with directly measured black hole masses and 1.4,GHz and 3,GHz flux densities. Statistical tests assess bimodality, while VLASS imaging, host-galaxy kinematics, and central stellar structure characterize radio-dim and -bright sources.} {Using the 117-galaxy sample, we confirm that $L_{1.4,\mathrm{GHz}}/L_{\mathrm{Edd}}$ is bimodal, with an antimode at $\approx -8.6$, which disappears when black hole masses are inferred from the $M_{\mathrm{BH}}$-${\sigma }_{\star }$ relation. Radio-bright galaxies host resolved jets, while radio-dim systems show compact nuclear emission often exceeding that expected from star formation (FIR-radio correlation). Radio-bright galaxies are mainly slow rotators with depleted cores; radio-dim galaxies are predominantly fast rotators.} {Nearby early-type galaxies show a clear bimodality in Eddington-scaled radio luminosity, separating compact, radio-dim nuclei from extended, radio-bright systems. The dichotomy correlates with host-galaxy kinematics and central structure, indicating that sustained jet production depends primarily on galaxy assembly history and feeding mode rather than black hole mass or accretion rate alone. Radio-dim emission likely reflects intermittent, stochastic delivery of magnetized gas, plausibly via tidal disruption of giant-branch stars near the SMBH.}

arXiv commentsubmitted to A&A

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