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arXiv · 2605.12973

A Spatially Resolved HI Survey of Seyfert Galaxies: the Role of AGN Feedback in Shaping Atomic Gas Reservoirs

Abstract

Active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback is a key ingredient in galaxy evolution, yet its impact on the cold atomic gas reservoir -- the neutral hydrogen (HI) phase -- remains poorly constrained. We present the most extensive spatially resolved HI 21-cm survey of Seyfert AGN hosts to date, based on observations with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). Our high-resolution HI maps of eight Seyfert galaxies reveal detailed kinematics and surface density distributions of their atomic gas disks. We find that AGN-host galaxies exhibit a slightly shallower HI mass-size relation than the canonical relation or the SIMBA simulation predictions; however, the measured slope remains consistent with the canonical value within $2σ$ uncertainties. This result suggests that AGN feedback does not significantly disrupt the global extent or large-scale structure of atomic gas reservoirs. To investigate the internal HI kinematics in greater detail, we perform a 3D kinematic forward modeling of the HI disk in UGC 4503. Our analysis reveals an elevated intrinsic velocity dispersion of $σ= 14.9^{+6.1}_{-3.8}$ km/s and a reduced level of rotational support, with $V/σ= 14.28_{-4.17}^{+4.97}$, compared to large-sample star-forming spirals. These kinematic signatures, together with localized residuals in the velocity field, indicate that AGN-driven outflows or jets may inject or indirectly affect the turbulence in the atomic gas disk, potentially regulating the cold gas reservoir. Future GMRT observations, combined with optical integral-field spectroscopy from MaNGA, will enable quantitative constraints on the role of AGN feedback in regulating star formation efficiency across a larger and more representative galaxy sample.

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Ruitian Li, Xin Wang, Daizhong Liu, Hui Shi, Yuxuan Pang, Pengfei Ren, Shengzhe Wang, Ming Zhu, Mengting Ju, Xiao-Lei Meng, Xinwen Shu, Ningyu Tang, Jing Wang, Chuan-Peng Zhang, Hong-Xin Zhang, Le Zhang, Zheng Zheng, Fujia Li, Chen Xu, Sijia Li, Yiming Yang, Hang Zhou. 2026-05-15. A Spatially Resolved HI Survey of Seyfert Galaxies: the Role of AGN Feedback in Shaping Atomic Gas Reservoirs. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365%2Fae6ef1

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