Paper detail

Feedback from Mass Outflows in Nearby Active Galactic Nuclei. II. Outflows in the Narrow-Line Region of NGC 4151

We present a detailed study of AGN feedback in the narrow-line region (NLR) of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151. We illustrate the data and techniques needed to determine the mass outflow rate and kinetic luminosity of the outflowing ionized gas as a function of position in the NLR. We find that the mass outflow rate peaks at a value of 3 solar masses per year at a distance of 70 pc from the central supermassive black hole (SMBH), which is about 10 times the outflow rate coming from inside 13 pc, and 230 times the mass accretion rate inferred from the bolometric luminosity of NGC 4151. Thus, most of the outflow must arise from "in situ" acceleration of ambient gas throughout the NLR. The kinetic luminosity peaks at 90 pc and drops rapidly thereafter, indicating that most of the kinetic energy is deposited within about 100 pc from the SMBH. Both values exceed the mass outflow rate and kinetic luminosity determined for the UV/X-ray absorber outflows in NGC 4151, indicating the importance of NLR outflows in providing feedback on scales where circumnuclear star formation and bulge growth occur.