Gas kinematics in the inner kiloparsec of NGC 1386: bipolar outflows, rotation and…an equatorial outflow!? | Davide Lena (Rochester Institute of Technology)

We are using the GMOS integral field unit on the Gemini telescopes to investigate the kinematics of the circum-nuclear ionized gas in a sample of nearby AGNs spanning a wide range of nuclear hard X-ray luminosity (a proxy for the SBH accretion rate). The study aims at investigating the mechanisms channeling gas (the supermassive black hole fuel) from the inner kiloparsec down to few tens of parsecs from the supermassive black hole. The galaxy NGC 1386 turned out to be one of the most interesting sources: we found that the dominant kinematic components can be explained as a combination of rotation in the large-scale galactic disk and compact outflows along the axis of the AGN “radiation cone”. However, there is also compelling evidence for an equatorial outflow. A new clue to the physical processes operating in AGNs?