Quantifying Feedback from Narrow Line Region Outflows in Nearby Active Galaxies. I. Spatially Resolved Mass Outflow Rates for the Seyfert 2 Galaxy Markarian 573∗ †

Abstract

Abstract We present the first spatially resolved mass outflow rate measurements ( ) of the optical emission line gas in the narrow line region (NLR) of a Seyfert 2 galaxy, Markarian 573. Using long slit spectra and [O iii] imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope and Apache Point Observatory in conjunction with emission line diagnostics and Cloudy photoionization models, we find a peak outflow rate of at a distance of 210 pc from the central supermassive black hole (SMBH). The outflow extends to distances of 600 pc from the nucleus with a total mass and kinetic energy of M ≈ 2.2 × 106 M ⊙ and E ≈ 5.1 × 1054 erg, revealing the outflows to be more energetic than those in the lower luminosity Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151. The peak outflow rate is an order of magnitude larger than the mass accretion and nuclear outflow rates, indicating local in situ acceleration of the circumnuclear NLR gas. We compare these results to global techniques that quantify an average outflow rate across the NLR, and find the latter are subject to larger uncertainties. These results indicate that spatially resolved observations are critical for probing AGN feedback on scales where circumnuclear star formation occurs.