Overview
- Astronomers report an S-shaped, precessing radio jet from VV 340a’s active nucleus that is propelling a multiphase coronal gas outflow.
- The outflow features the most extended highly ionized coronal gas seen in a local-universe galaxy, with jets reaching roughly 20,000 light-years on each side.
- Despite its modest power, the jet appears to heat and remove star-forming material, with an estimated mass loss of about 19 solar masses per year.
- The phenomenon stands out because it occurs in a relatively young, star-forming disk galaxy that is part of a merging pair, challenging standard AGN feedback categories.
- The conclusion rests on JWST, VLA, Keck, ALMA, and Chandra observations matched by a 3D wobbling-jet model, published in Science, with a follow-up search planned across roughly 30 similar LIRGs.