Low-power jet-ISM coupling and disk-plane perturbations in the edge-on Seyfert galaxy NGC 4388

arXiv:2609.22436 · astro-ph.GA · Submitted 2026-09-18 · Read on arXiv

astro-ph.GA

Submitted: 2026-09-18

Updated: 2026-09-18

Comments: Submitted to A&A; 15 pages (plus 7 pages of supplementary material), 7 figures (plus 5 in the appendix); Abstract adapted from original

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The gist: Active galactic nuclei (AGN) may regulate galaxy evolution through radiatively driven winds and collimated jets, but their relative impact and coupling to the interstellar medium (ISM) remain

Terminology

Abstract

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) may regulate galaxy evolution through radiatively driven winds and collimated jets, but their relative impact and coupling to the interstellar medium (ISM) remain uncertain. We investigate the ionized gas in the nearby (D about 17 Mpc) Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 4388, hosting a galaxy-scale (about 1.6 kpc), low-power (about1.4 times 10 42 erg s-1) bipolar radio jet projected roughly perpendicular to its edge-on disk. We analyze optical integral-field spectroscopic observations from the Wide Field Mode with adaptive optics of VLT/MUSE, complemented by VLA radio data tracing the jet. We map ionized-gas emission, kinematics, excitation, and dust attenuation. We reconstruct the de-projected 3D outflow geometry and velocity field using the MOKA3D kinematic model, and estimate its mass and energetics. The ionized gas shows a rotating disk and a kpc-scale biconical outflow. We measure a total ionized outflow mass of about10 6 M, a mass outflow rate of about0.2 M yr-1, and a kinetic power of about3 times10 40 erg s-1, which gives a coupling efficiency of about1% relative to both the jet kinetic and the radiation-driven nuclear wind power, indicating that either mechanism could drive the outflow. We detect an extended (about 2 kpc) enhancement of the gas velocity dispersion along the galaxy disk plane, oriented perpendicular to the outflow and jet axes. These regions show optical line ratios consistent with shock excitation. The spatial correspondence with ALMA CO(2-1) emission is marginal, while enhanced stellar velocity dispersion prevents an exclusive jet interpretation. We report the first observational evidence that even a low-power radio jet oriented nearly perpendicular to the galaxy disk can efficiently couple with the ISM, suggesting that jet-induced perturbations are an important AGN feedback channel regardless of jet orientation.

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