The first near-infrared high-resolution échelle spectroscopy of the outflow in NGC 4151. A study of the clouds covering the Eye of Sauron

Abstract

We present the first high-resolution near-infrared spectroscopy of the nucleus of the nearby, well-known Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151 (the "Eye of Sauron"). Past studies of this source have revealed that it exhibits a variable absorption feature associated with the He I $λ$10,830 AA emission line, potentially indicative of obscuration events affecting the central engine. Here, we take advantage of the IRTF/iSHELL and TNG/GIANO-B spectrographs to observe this feature with unprecedented spectral resolution ($λ/Δλ> 50,000$), being able to study in detail the structure of the absorption trough and its variations over a time span of $\sim$700 days. In order to infer a connection between the He I absorption variability and that of the X-ray ionising continuum, we also analyse the publicly available data collected by the Swift-XRT instrument over the same period of time, unveiling a potential driving mechanism in the changes of the outflow ionisation state due to the X-ray flux variations. We also derive outflow physical parameters - $\dot{M}_{\rm out} \lesssim 10^{-2}$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$, $r_{\rm out} \sim 3$ pc, $v_{\rm max} \sim 1000$ km s$^{-1}$ - that are in line with those of comparable ionised winds found in similar targets, where the outflow is not powerful enough to trigger a significant AGN feedback ($\dot{E}_{\rm kin}/L_{\rm bol} \sim 0.001$%). Such findings point at a scenario in which a dusty and clumpy outflow that obscures NGC 4151 up to galactic scales responds to changes in the ionising X-ray flux, similarly to what happens in quasars with broad absorption lines and Seyferts with multiphase outflows such as NGC 5548.