We present an analysis of the multi-phase gas properties in the Seyfert II galaxy NGC 424, using spatially resolved spectroscopic data from JWST/MIRI, part of the Mid-InfraRed Activity of Circumnuclear Line Emission (MIRACLE) programme, as well as VLT/MUSE and ALMA. We traced the properties of the multi-phase medium, from cold and warm molecular gas to hot ionised gas, using emission lines such as CO (2-1) Ne III 15. 55μm, and Ne V 14. 32μm. These lines reveal the intricate interplay between the different gas phases within the circumnuclear region, spanning a maximum scale of 7 times 7 kpc² and a spatial resolution of 110 pc, with MUSE and ALMA, respectively. Exploiting the multi-wavelength and multi-scale observations of gas emission, we modelled the galaxy disc rotation curve from scales of a few parsec up to ∼ 5 kpc from the nucleus and inferred a dynamical mass of M_̊m dyn = (1. 09 ± 0. 08) times 10¹0 with a disc scale radius of R_̊m D = (0. 48 ± 0. 02) kpc. We detected a compact ionised outflow with velocities up to 10³ ̨ms, traced by the and transitions, with no evidence of cold or warm molecular outflows. We suggest that the ionised outflow might be able to inject a significant amount of energy into the circumnuclear region, potentially hindering the formation of a molecular wind, as the molecular gas is observed to be denser and less diffuse. The combined multi-band observations also reveal, mainly in the ionised and cold molecular gas phases, a strong enhancement of the gas velocity dispersion directed along the galaxy minor axis, perpendicular to the high-velocity ionised outflow, and extending up to 1 kpc from the nucleus. Our findings suggest that the outflow might play a key role in such an enhancement by injecting energy into the host disc and perturbing the ambient material.
Marconcini et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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