Connecting outflows with radio emission in active galactic nuclei at cosmic noon

¹ European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, 85748 Garching bei München, Germany
² Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
³ School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
⁴ INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, I-50125 Florence, Italy
⁵ Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá di Trieste, Sezione di Astronomia, Via G.B. Tiepolo 11, I-34131 Trieste, Italy
⁶ INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G. B. Tiepolo 11, I-34131 Trieste, Italy
⁷ ESA, European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), Camino Bajo del Castillo s/n, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
⁸ Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM), 300 rue de la Piscine, 38400 Saint-Martin-d’Hères, France
⁹ Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, National Observatory of Athens, V. Paulou & I. Metaxa 11532, Greece
¹⁰ Centre for Astrophysics Research, Department of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB, UK
¹¹ Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore 21218, USA
¹² Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, Via G. Sansone 1, I-50019 Sesto F.no (Firenze), Italy
¹³ Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC–INTA, Cra. de Ajalvir Km. 4, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
¹⁴ School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Highfield SO17 1BJ, UK
¹⁵ Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik (MPE), Giessenbachstraße 1, D-85748 Garching, Germany
¹⁶ INAF- Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti, 93/3, I-40129 Bologna, Italy
¹⁷ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia ‘Augusto Righi’, Universitá degli Studi di Bologna, Via P. Gobetti, 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy
¹⁸ Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, PO Box 1029 Blindern, 0315 Oslo, Norway

^★ Corresponding author: gabriele.ilha@acad.ufsm.br

Received: 29 May 2025
Accepted: 28 September 2025

Abstract

Context. Active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback is a well-known mechanism in the evolution of galaxies. However, constraining its parameters remains a significant challenge. One open question is the driving mechanism of galaxy-scale outflows. At low redshift, radio jets often interact with the interstellar medium (ISM), generating turbulence and driving ionized outflows.

Aims. Despite this evidence at low redshift, relatively few studies have investigated the radio-ionized gas connection at cosmic noon. Thus, our main goal is to conduct a pilot study using Very Large Array (VLA) data for three quasars (z ∼ 2.0) with moderate to high radio power (∼10^24.86 − 10^28.15 W Hz⁻¹) that have ionized outflows identified in observations from the SUPER Survey to investigate whether this connection also exists.

Methods. We used [O III]λ5007 data from VLT/SINFONI analyzed in earlier studies along with new 6.2 GHz VLA radio observations at comparable spatial resolution (∼0.3″-0.5″ or 2.5–4.2 kpc). We also incorporated radio data from the literature at different frequencies and resolutions to explore the radio emission.

Results. We detected an extended radio structure in our VLA A-array data for two quasars: J1333+1649 and CID-346. The extended structure in J1333+1649 (∼0.5″ or 4.16 kpc) aligns with the smaller-scale emission (∼0.01″ – 0.02″ or 0.08–0.17 kpc) seen in archival images, suggesting a jet propagating from nuclear to galaxy-wide scales. In all three quasars, we found that the brightest radio emission and ionized gas have comparable spatial scales. Furthermore, the position angles of the radio emission and ionized gas present offsets smaller than 30° for the two targets with extended structures. Given that the kinematics of the ionized gas in all three quasars is dominated by outflows, our results suggest a strong connection between radio emission and ionized outflows in typical AGNs at cosmic noon.

Conclusions. This result is similar to what has been previously observed in radio-powerful AGN at the same epoch and in AGN at lower redshifts. Based on energetic considerations and comparisons with archival data, radio jets could be a significant mechanism for driving outflows in AGN from cosmic noon to low redshifts. However, with the exception of one object (J1333+1649), we cannot rule out the possibility that the radio emission arises from shocks in the ISM caused by disk winds or radiatively driven outflows. Further studies on larger samples are required to determine whether radio jets are driving the observed outflows.