AGN feedback is a critical component in modern simulations of galaxy evolution. In dwarf galaxies, both observational and theoretical evidence of AGN feedback are accumulating, shedding new light on the evolution of dwarf galaxies. In massive galaxies, luminous quasars likely drive the most energetic outflows, making them the best laboratories to examine quasar feedback closely across cosmic time. In this talk, I will present our recent work on AGN feedback in both dwarf and massive galaxies. I will first present our exploration of AGN feedback via fast outflows in a sample of nearby dwarf galaxies with AGN through optical integral field spectroscopy (IFS) and far-ultraviolet spectroscopy. These outflows are faster than those observed in star-forming galaxies with similar star formation rates. They are primarily AGN-driven and may have an impact on their host galaxies similar to those taking place in the more luminous AGN with more massive hosts. As for the massive systems, I will showcase the power of JWST/NIRSPEC IFS in revealing unprecedented details of quasar-driven outflows in red quasars. I will discuss how the JWST results compare to results from ground-based observations and predictions from feedback models. I will also briefly mention the recent discovery of a fast outflow in one of the earliest quasars at z~7.5, which is likely powerful enough to impact the host galaxy in a way similar to quasars at lower redshifts.
BIO
Weizhe Liu is currently a JWST Arizona/Steward Postdoc in Early galaxies and Reionization (JASPER) scholar at Steward Observatory, University of Arizona. He is mainly interested in AGN feedback and AGN host galaxies in different systems across cosmic time, and is currently focused on studying quasar host galaxies in the epoch of reionization with JWST data. He received his PhD from the University of Maryland in 2022. Before that, he obtained his master’s degree from Shanghai Astronomical Observatory in 2016 and his bachelor’s degree from Nanjing University in 2013.
Host: Zheng Cai
