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DGCE SIG Seminar

Diffuse Gas in Cosmic Ecosystems Science Interest Group

DGCE SIG about DGCE SIG Seminar

Location

Virtual

Dates

26 March 2026
4:00pm ET / 1:00pm PT

Community

DGCE SIG

Type

Seminar

Big Impact in Small Galaxies: Probing AGN-Driven Feedback in Low-Mass Galaxies

Speaker

Dr. Archana Aravindan, University of Texas, Austin

Abstract

Black holes are most often associated with massive galaxies, yet an increasing number are now being identified in low-mass systems. Detecting active black holes and constraining their impact in small galaxies remains challenging, as their signatures are often weak and can be difficult to disentangle from emission produced by stars and ongoing star formation. In this talk, I will present how multi-wavelength observations combined with integral field spectroscopy can be used to determine the effects of AGN activity on the surrounding gas in low-mass galaxies. A comparison between outflows driven by stellar activities and those powered by accreting black holes indicates that AGN-driven outflows in low-mass galaxies can be both faster and more energetic. I will then highlight new near-infrared JWST observations that reveal highly ionized coronal line emission in low-mass galaxies hosting AGN-driven outflows, tracing energetic gas on scales beyond the nucleus. Together, these results support a growing picture in which black holes in low-mass galaxies can exert a measurable influence on the evolution of their hosts.

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Angled from the upper left corner to the lower right corner is a cone-shaped orange-red cloud known as Herbig-Haro 49/50. This feature takes up about three-fourths of the length of this angle. The upper left end of this feature has a translucent, rounded end. The conical feature widens slightly from the rounded end at the upper right down to the lower right. Along the cone there are additional rounded edges, like edges of a wave, and intricate foamy-like details, as well as a clearer view of the black background of space. In the upper left, overlapping with the rounded end of Herbig-Haro 49/50, is a background spiral galaxy with a concentrated blue center that fades outward to blend with red spiral arms. The background of space is speckled with some white stars and smaller, more numerous, fainter white galaxies throughout.