An Increase in the Prevalence of Ionized Outflows in Galaxies with Coronal Line Emission: Feedback in Action?

Abstract

Coronal lines (CLs), which arise from collisionally excited forbidden transitions from highly ionized species, are a powerful diagnostic tool in uncovering active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and constraining their properties. However, recent optical surveys are finding that coronal lines are rarely detected in the majority of local AGNs, possibly as a result of the depletion of elements from the interstellar gas onto dust grains. Prominent CL emission may therefore only arise when dust is being destroyed in the highly ionized gas in AGNs. To explore the possibility that dust destruction may be caused by ionized gas outflows in galaxies with prominent CLs, we present the first large-scale systematic study of ionized outflows, as traced by the [O III] $\lambda$5007 emission, in galaxies displaying CL emission relative to a robust control sample of non-CL-emitting galaxies. We find: 1) galaxies that display CL emission have a significantly elevated outflow incidence rate compared to their matched controls, 2) the outflow luminosity is significantly higher in the CL-emitters, 3) the CL-emitters have systematically lower intrinsic extinction toward the ionized gas compared with the controls, 4) there are significant correlations between the CL luminosity and outflow velocity for the iron CLs, with similar relationships found between the CL FWHM and outflow luminosity. These observations are consistent with dust destruction in an outflowing wind from a dusty torus causing efficient CL emission.