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Description
We present a multi-wavelength study of the gaseous medium surrounding the nearby active galactic nucleus (AGN), Fornax A. Using MeerKAT, ALMA, and MUSE observations, we reveal a complex distribution of the atomic (HI), molecular (CO 1-0), and ionised gas in its centre and along the radio jets. By studying the multi-scale kinematics of the multi-phase gas, we reveal the presence of concurrent AGN feeding and feedback phenomena. Several clouds and an extended 3kpc filament - perpendicular to the radio jets and the inner disc (r<4.5kpc) - show highly-turbulent kinematics, which likely induces non-linear condensation and subsequent chaotic cold accretion (CCA) onto the AGN. In the wake of the radio jets and in an external (r>4.5kpc) ring, we identify an entrained massive (~10^7^M_{sun}_) multi-phase outflow (v_OUT_~2000km/s^). The rapid flickering of the nuclear activity of Fornax A (~3Myr) and the gas experiencing turbulent condensation raining onto the AGN provide quantitative evidence that a recurrent, tight feeding and feedback cycle may be self-regulating the activity of FORN, in agreement with CCA simulations. To date, this is one of the most in-depth probes of such a mechanism, paving the way to apply these precise diagnostics to a larger sample of nearby AGN hosts and their multi-phase Interstellar Medium.
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