Active Galactic Nuclei-driven Metallicity Enrichment in the Interstellar Medium of Mrk 573

Abstract

We present the first spatially resolved at $\sim 20$ pc scale application of AGN-specific metallicity diagnostics for the nearby Compton-thick Seyfert 2 galaxy Mrk 573 ($z=0.017$). We use Hubble Space Telescope narrow-band imaging, MUSE integral-field spectroscopy and apply AGN strong-line metallicity diagnostics based on [O III], [S II], H${\hat{I}}^2$, H$\hat{I}\pm$, and [N II] emission lines. We construct maps of $12+\log$(O/H) for two different metallicity calibrations and two different N/O-O/H scaling relations out to $\sim 1$ kpc and down to $\sim 20$ pc scales. Our analysis reveals metallicity enhancement in AGN-dominated regions, with oxygen abundances reaching up to few times Solar. The metallicity shows a patchy spatial distribution, varying on $\sim 100$ pc scales, appears to trace the high Seyfert/LINER index (SLI) value regions and the VLA 6 cm jet/radio lobe emission. These spatial correspondences and the lack of evidence for star formation in the bicone region suggest that the enrichment originates from metals transported from the nuclear AGN regions by winds, outflows, or jets.

Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters