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We present spatially resolved Chandra narrow-band imaging and imaging spectroscopy of NGC 3393. This galaxy hosts a Compton-thick Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus (AGN) with sub-kpc bipolar outflows that are strongly interacting with the circumnuclear gas. We identify narrow-band excess emission associated with the Ne IX 0.905 keV transition (with likely contributions due to intermediate-state iron emission) that points to strong shocks driven by AGN feedback. Imaging spectroscopy resolves outflow-interstellar medium (ISM) interaction sites and the surrounding ISM at ∼ 100 pc scales, and suggests the presence of a hot AGN wind above the plane at radii beyond the shock sites. The cross-cone shows evidence for reprocessing of photoionization that has passed through gaps in the torus, and also for collisionally excited plasma that may be powered by a shock-confined equatorial outflow. Deep X-ray observations at subarcsecond resolution (such as may be performed very efficiently by Lynx, which would also energetically resolve the complex line emission) are necessary to eliminate model degeneracies and reduce uncertainties in local feedback properties.

NGC 3393, a nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy with nuclear radio jets, large-scale and nuclear bars, and a posited secondary supermassive black hole, provides an interesting laboratory to test the physics of inflows and outflows. Here we present and analyse the molecular gas [ALMA observations of CO J:2-1 emission over a field of view (FOV) of 45 arcsec × 45 arcsec, at 0. 56 (143 pc) spatial and 5 kms−1 spectral resolution), ionized gas and stars (GEMINI–GMOS/IFU; over an FOV of 4 arcsec × 5 arcsec, at 0. 62 (159 pc) spatial and 23 km s−1 spectral resolution) in NGC 3393. The ionized gas emission, detected over the complete GEMINI–GMOS FOV, has three identifiable kinematic components. A narrow (σ < 115 km s−1) component present in the complete FOV, which is consistent with rotation in the galaxy disc. A broad (σ > 115 km s−1) redshifted component, detected near the NE and SW radio lobes; which we interpret as a radio jet-driven outflow. And a broad (σ > 115 km s−1) blueshifted component that shows high velocities in a region perpendicular to the radio jet axis; we interpret this as an equatorial outflow. The CO J:2-1 emission is detected in spiral arms on 5–20 arcsec scales, and in two disturbed circumnuclear regions. The molecular kinematics in the spiral arms can be explained by rotation. The highly disturbed kinematics of the inner region can be explained by perturbations induced by the nuclear bar and interactions with the large scale bar. We find no evidence for, but cannot strongly rule out, the presence of the posited secondary black hole.

The CHandra Extended Emission Line Region Survey (CHEERS) is an X-ray study of nearby active galactic nuclei (AGNs) designed to take full advantage of Chandraʼs unique angular resolution by spatially resolving feedback signatures and effects. In the second paper of a series on CHEERS target NGC 3393, we examine deep high-resolution Chandra images and compare them with Hubble Space Telescope narrow-line images of [O III], [S II], and Hα, as well as previously unpublished mid-ultraviolet (MUV) images. The X-rays provide unprecedented evidence that the S-shaped arms that envelope the nuclear radio outflows extend only 0 2 (50 pc) across. The high-resolution multiwavelength data suggest that the extended narrow-line region is a complex multiphase structure in the circumnuclear interstellar medium (ISM). Its ionization structure is highly stratified with respect to outflow-driven bubbles in the bicone and varies dramatically on scales of ∼10 pc. Multiple findings show likely contributions from shocks to the feedback in regions where radio outflows from the AGN most directly influence the ISM. These findings include Hα evidence for gas compression and extended MUV emission and are in agreement with existing STIS kinematics. Extended filamentary structure in the X-rays and optical suggests the presence of an undetected plasma component, whose existence could be tested with deeper radio observations.

We have mapped the extended narrow line region (ENLR) of NGC 3393 on scales of $r\lesssim4^{\prime\prime}$ ($\sim1\,$kpc) from the nucleus using emission line images of H$\alpha\,\lambda6563$, [O III]$\lambda5007$, and [S II]$\lambda\lambda6717,6731$ taken with HST as part of the CHandra survey of Extended Emission line Regions in nearby Seyfert galaxies (CHEERS). By mapping these lines onto a spatially resolved Baldwin-Phillips-Terlevich (BPT) diagram, we investigate the impact of feedback from a Compton-thick AGN on its circumnuclear ISM. We find the expected Seyfert-like emission within the ionization bicone ($\lesssim3^{\prime\prime}$; 770 pc). We also find a new, figure 8 shaped LINER cocoon enveloping the bicone and defining a sharp ($\lesssim100\;$pc) transition between higher and lower ionization zones. These data illustrate the morphological dependence of ionization states of the ENLR relative to bicone and host gas geometries., Comment: Accepted by ApJ and published (2016, ApJ, 829, 46). Updated to reflect the accepted version