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We present multi-wavelength high-spatial resolution (~0.1'', 70 pc) observations of UGC 4211 at z=0.03474, a late-stage major galaxy merger at the closest nuclear separation yet found in near-IR imaging (0.32'', ~230 pc projected separation). Using Hubble Space Telescope/STIS, VLT/MUSE+AO, Keck/OSIRIS+AO spectroscopy, and ALMA observations, we show that the spatial distribution, optical and NIR emission lines, and millimeter continuum emission are all consistent with both nuclei being powered by accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Our data, combined with common black hole mass prescriptions, suggests that both SMBHs have similar masses, log MBH~8.1 (south) and log MBH~8.3 (north), respectively. The projected separation of 230 pc (~6X the black hole sphere of influence) represents the closest-separation dual AGN studied to date with multi-wavelength resolved spectroscopy and shows the potential of nuclear (, 19 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, published in ApJL

Vivian U et al., The nearby, luminous infrared galaxy NGC 7469 hosts a Seyfert nucleus with a circumnuclear star-forming ring and is thus the ideal local laboratory for investigating the starburst–AGN (active galactic nucleus) connection in detail. We present integral-field observations of the central 1.3 kpc region in NGC 7469 obtained with the JWST Mid-InfraRed Instrument. Molecular and ionized gas distributions and kinematics at a resolution of ∼100 pc over the 4.9–7.6 μm region are examined to study the gas dynamics influenced by the central AGN. The low-ionization [Fe ii] λ5.34 μm and [Ar ii] λ6.99 μm lines are bright on the nucleus and in the starburst ring, as opposed to H2 S(5) λ6.91 μm, which is strongly peaked at the center and surrounding ISM. The high-ionization [Mg v] line is resolved and shows a broad, blueshifted component associated with the outflow. It has a nearly face-on geometry that is strongly peaked on the nucleus, where it reaches a maximum velocity of −650 km s−1, and extends about 400 pc to the east. Regions of enhanced velocity dispersion in H2 and [Fe ii] ∼ 180 pc from the AGN that also show high L(H2)/L(PAH) and L([Fe ii])/L(Pfα) ratios to the W and N of the nucleus pinpoint regions where the ionized outflow is depositing energy, via shocks, into the dense interstellar medium between the nucleus and the starburst ring. These resolved mid-infrared observations of the nuclear gas dynamics demonstrate the power of JWST and its high-sensitivity integral-field spectroscopic capability to resolve feedback processes around supermassive black holes in the dusty cores of nearby luminous infrared galaxies., V.U acknowledges funding support from NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis Program (ADAP) grant 80NSSC20K0450. The Flatiron Institute is supported by the Simons Foundation. H.I. and T.B. acknowledge support from JSPS KAKENHI grant No. JP21H01129 and the Ito Foundation for Promotion of Science. A.M.M. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation under grant No. 2009416. A.S.E. and S.L. acknowledge support from NASA grant HST-GO15472. Y.S. was funded in part by the NSF through the Grote Reber Fellowship Program administered by Associated Universities, Inc./National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. S.A. gratefully acknowledges support from an ERC Advanced grant 789410, from the Swedish Research Council and from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg (KAW) Foundation. K.I. acknowledges support by the Spanish MCIN under grant PID2019-105510GB-C33/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. F.M-S. acknowledges support from NASA through ADAP award 80NSSC19K1096.