Program: GN-2016B-Q-62

Supermassive black holes are strongly suspected to be key players in galaxy formation and evolution. Feedback from black hole accretion is implicated in establishing the black hole mass vs galaxy bulge correlations and in limiting the maximal stellar mass of galaxies, but direct observations of galaxy-wide feedback have been surprisingly difficult to obtain. We propose a GMOS integral field unit survey of 7 luminous active galactic nuclei (AGN) at z=0.03-0.15, covering optical diagnostic emission lines from HeII 4686 to [SII]6731, to detect and characterize AGN feedback. These observations combine Gemini data with the SDSS-MaNGA survey to probe physical scales between 250 pc and 8 kpc and to measure the power and extents of AGN-driven winds. With the 4-5 times better resolution at Gemini compared to MaNGA, we will be able to 'zoom into' the central kpc of the galaxy, investigating the origin and coupling of the wind to the outflowing gas. These data will allow us to probe the propagation of AGN-driven winds, discover young and/or stalled winds and determine whether AGN feedback affects star formation signatures in the host galaxy.