ALMA illuminates intricate interplay between supermassive black holes and stellar birth and death in NGC 1068

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, researchers took a deep dive into NGC 1068 (M77), illuminating the intricate interplay between supermassive black holes and the birth and death of stars in the active galactic nucleus.

NGC 1068 lies approximately 51.4 million light-years from Earth, in the direction of the constellation Cetus.

The team, led by Toshiki Saito from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and Taku Nakajima from Nagoya University, Japan, used advanced machine learning to analyze the chemical properties of the active galactic nucleus to decode the physical states they represent.

The researchers found a significant outflow of molecular gas, potentially birthed by a bipolar jet expelled from a supermassive black hole at the galaxy's core. The outflow seems to stem from a shock wave zone where the jet interacts with the galactic disk, subsequently escalating surrounding temperatures.

The team believes that this fervent jet activity near the galactic heart could be hampering the emergence of new stars.

AGNs are active supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies that emit jets and winds. They are the most luminous persistent sources of electromagnetic radiation in the Universe.

To fully understand how this galactic nucleus influences neighbouring interstellar material, especially its role in either fast-tracking or impeding the genesis of new stars, is key to understanding the evolution of a galaxy.

The dense cloaks of gas and dust often shroud the central regions of AGNs, making it challenging for even the most potent telescopes in the optical and infrared wavelength bands. But ALMA's ability to observe longer wavelengths like millimeter and submillimeter waves, allows for an unobstructed gaze into the inner sanctum of the galactic nucleus.

"Initially, observing molecules in the vicinity of such a jet was considered challenging due to their destruction. However, thanks to ALMA's high sensitivity, high resolution, and the PCA technique, we successfully detected the molecular gas outflow associated with the jet and elucidated its chemical properties. This discovery that the supermassive black hole's activity at the galaxy's center hinders its growth is of great significance," said Toshiki Saito.