Detailed mechanism of AGN feedback in galaxy evolution remains unknown

Determine the detailed physical mechanisms by which active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback regulates star formation in massive galaxies, specifically how AGN-driven energy couples to and impacts the interstellar and circumgalactic medium to truncate star formation and produce the observed galaxy population.

Background

Cosmological simulations require energy input from active galactic nuclei (AGN) to prevent excessive star formation in massive galaxies and to reproduce the observed galaxy population. While multiple feedback channels have been proposed—such as radiative (quasar-mode) winds and kinetic (radio-mode) jets—the concrete physical pathways and coupling efficiencies by which AGN energy interacts with multiphase gas remain unsettled.

This uncertainty motivates studies like the present work that focus on spatially resolving the kinematics and energetics of outflows and jet–ISM interactions, especially at high redshift, to constrain how feedback operates in detail.