GATOS – XI. Excess dust heating in the narrow-line regions of nearby AGN revealed with JWST /MIRI
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT We present James Webb Space Telescope/Mid-Infrared Instrument imaging of eight nearby active galactic nuclei (AGN) from the GATOS (Galactic Activity, Torus, and Outflow Survey) survey to investigate the physical conditions of extended dust in their narrow-line regions (NLRs). In four galaxies (ESO 428–G14, NGC 4388, NGC 3081, and NGC 5728), we detect spatially resolved dust structures extending ${\sim}$100–200 pc along the NLR. In these systems, we find a strong link between the morphology of the dust, the radio ejecta, and the coronal [Si vi] emission, implying that dust carries imprints of the processes shaping the NLR. Using spatially resolved spectral energy distributions, we show that dust in the NLR has systematically steeper slopes than star-forming clumps. This dust emits at temperatures in the range $150 \text{-} 220\, \rm K$, at a distance of $\sim$150 pc from the nucleus. Using simple models, we show that, even under optimistic assumptions of grain size and AGN luminosity, the excess mid-infrared emission cannot be explained by AGN illumination alone. We interpret this excess heating as in situ. We show that shocks with velocities $v_{\rm shock} \sim 200 \text{-} 400 \, \rm km \, s^{-1}$ in dense gas can close this gap, and in some cases even account for the total observed emission. This, combined with multiple lines of evidence for shocks in these regions, supports a scenario in which shocks not only coexist with dust but may be playing a key role in heating it. Our findings reveal shocks may be an important and previously overlooked driver of extended dust emission in the central hundreds of parsecs in AGN.
Authors: Houda Haidar, David J Rosario, Ismael García-Bernete, Almudena Alonso-Herrero, Anelise Audibert, Steph Campbell, Chris M Harrison, Tiago Costa, Laura Hermosa Muñoz, Françoise Combes, Dimitra Rigopoulou, Claudio Ricci, Cristina Ramos Almeida, Enrica Bellocchi, Peter Boorman, Andrew Bunker, Richard Davies, Daniel Delaney, Tanio Díaz Santos, Federico Esposito, Victoria A Fawcett, Poshak Gandhi, Santiago García-Burillo, Omaira González-Martín, Erin K S Hicks, Sebastian F Hönig, Alvaro Labiano, Nancy A Levenson, Enrique Lopez-Rodriguez, Chris Packham, Miguel Pereira-Santaella, Rogemar A Riffel, Alberto Rodríguez Ardila, John Schneider, T Taro Shimizu, Marko Stalevski, Montserrat Villar Martín, Martin Ward, Lulu Zhang, Gillian Leeds, Fergus R Donnan
Institutions: Newcastle University, Centro de Astrobiología, Universidad de La Laguna, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Collège de France, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Observatoire de Paris, Sorbonne Université, University of Oxford, University of Geneva, Universidad Diego Portales, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, California Institute of Technology, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Anchorage, European University Cyprus, FORTH Institute of Astrophysics, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Spanish National Observatory, University of Southampton, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, The University of Texas at San Antonio, European Space Astronomy Centre, Space Telescope Science Institute, University of South Carolina, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Física Fundamental, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, National Observatory, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísica, Ghent University, Astronomical Observatory, Durham University, University of California San Diego
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,046
Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Albert Ellis Institute, Entomological Society of America, Comunidad de Madrid, Space Telescope Science Institute, Government of the United Kingdom, UK Research and Innovation, Neotropical Grassland Conservancy, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Leverhulme Trust, Newcastle University, European Commission, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Science and Technology Facilities Council, European Regional Development Fund, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico, NextGenerationEU
Awards: G1044684712, G1105844351, G1140085148, G121809054, G1272900390, EXTREME SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE ACCRETION, G141904890, G143639328, G1455481585, G1458934781, G1496818916, G1531022822, G1561925909, G1622782223, G1629335119, G1709507649, G1771858488, G1799927510, G1855990336, G1864822484, G1938719665, G2121557134, G2144673021, G2181301144, G2309174360, G2351152971, Astrophysics at Oxford 2022 -2025, G2520038448, G2552752023, G2585926585, G2659502616, G2660406951, G2674430119, G2706153888, G2742172260, G279363373, G2850699330, G2974594408, G2974678343, G3077267224, G3110389281, G318412399, G3279881951, G3318483614, G3355798522, G3435725083, G3452655474, G3465966230, G3480869486, G3518538256, G3983401309, G4008337681, G4016446957, G4040266229, G410571670, G4113727855, G4161023950, G4212894969, G4214778150, G42156463, G4260473451, G430777504, G4408147216, G4421352234, G4442677895, G4476781803, G451917667, G4526231891, Towards dynamical black hole masses at cosmic noon, G4712990390, G4719436119, G4728539003, Trois essais théoriques: 1. Equité sociale et structure industrielle. 2. Intermédiation sur les marchés de prospection. 3. Volatilité et information., G488842982, G491712853, G498124819, G4993905653, G5080475149, G5180915604, G5195188938, G5316219713, G5380678141, G5404395142, G5421974903, G5441971315, G5480708011, G5512314486, G5539308778, G5635532810, G5677826004, G5697459966, G5745870703, G5779771523, G5789749164, G5852004334, G5967599077, G6115201310, G6172609085, G624877701, Astrophysics at Oxford 2019-2022, G6520718613, G6574345672, Dust in the Wind: insights into the supermassive black hole - galaxy connection with the James Webb Space Telescope, G6640210566, G6750601693, G6856376706, Excellence in Galaxies - Twinning the IAC, G7084143925, G7318524309, G7391727506, G7431231035, G7434936867, G745419941, G7613957102, G7673667233, G7804586450, G7805626310, G7817462066, G7863371703, G7935691682, G7947009717, G8053898782, G8083530641, G8118709007, G8306598084, G8347645112, G846842501, G8497050386, G8587556379, G863151887, CENTRO DE ASTROFISICA Y TECNOLOGIAS AFINES (CATA), G8884978077, G888587854, G8920660035, G897484643, G929308097, G99296377
OpenAlex ID: W7124842017