A precessing molecular jet signaling an obscured, growing supermassive black hole in NGC 1377?

• With high resolution (0."25 × 0."18) ALMA CO 3-2 (345 GHz) observations of the nearby (D = 21 Mpc, 1" = 102 pc), extremely radio-quiet galaxy NGC 1377, we have discovered a high-velocity, very collimated nuclear outflow which we interpret as a molecular jet with a projected length of ± 150 pc. The launch region is unresolved and lies inside a radius r 40% of the flux in NGC 1377 and may be a slower, wide-angle molecular outflow which is partially entrained by the molecular jet. We discuss the driving mechanism of the molecular jet and suggest that it is either powered by a (faint) radio jet or by an accretion disk-wind similar to those found towards protostars. It seems unlikely that a massive jet could have been driven out by the current level of nuclear activity which should then have undergone rapid quenching. The light jet would only have expelled 10% of the inner gas and may facilitate nuclear activity instead of suppressing it. The nucleus of NGC 1377 harbours intense embedded activity and we detect emission from vibrationally excited HCN J = 4-3?2 = 1f which is consistent with hot gas and dust. We find large columns of H2 in the centre of NGC 1377 which may be a sign of a high rate of recent gas infall. The dynamical age ofthe molecular jet is short (

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Galaxies: jets

Galaxies: individual: NGC 1377

Galaxies: active

ISM: molecules

Galaxies: ISM

Galaxies: evolution

Publication and Content Type

art (subject category)

ref (subject category)