2025A&A...704A.293I

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.