The inside-out quenching of the MHONGOOSE galaxy NGC 1371

¹ Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
² Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, PO Box 800 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
³ Department of Astronomy, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, 7701 Rondebosch, South Africa
⁴ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Via della Scienza 5, 09047 Selargius, CA, Italy
⁵ Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
⁶ United Kingdom SKA Regional Centre (UKSRC), University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK

^⋆ Corresponding author: veronese.astro@gmail.com

Received: 30 May 2025
Accepted: 19 September 2025

Abstract

We present the deepest 21 cm spectral line and 1.4 GHz broad-band continuum observations of nearby early-type spiral galaxy NGC 1371 as part of the MeerKAT H I Observations of Nearby Galactic Objects: Observing Southern Emitters (MHONGOOSE) survey. We found the neutral atomic hydrogen (H I) mostly distributed in a regularly rotating disk with a hole ∼5 kpc wide around the galactic centre. The continuum observations reveal, within the H I hole, emission from one of the lowest luminosity AGNs known to date and from two unique ∼10 kpc wide bipolar bubbles never observed before in this galaxy. The properties of the bubbles suggest that they may result from the impact of the low-power radio jet propagating within the gaseous disk instead of perpendicular to it. We found indication for jet-induced ionised outflows within the H I hole but no molecular gas (upper limit of M_H2 < 2 × 10⁵ M_⊙) was detected. The emerging picture is that the gas in the central regions was rapidly depleted by the stellar bar or, despite its low power, the AGN in NGC 1371 is efficiently heating and/or removing the gas through the jets and possibly by radiative winds, leading to the inside-out quenching of the galaxy.