2021A&A...656A..45M

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), 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 3 kpc filament - perpendicular to the radio jets and the inner disk (r ≤ 4.5 kpc) - 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 ≥ 4.5 kpc) ring, we identify an entrained massive (∼10⁷ M_☉) multi-phase outflow (v_OUT ∼ 2000 km s^–1). The rapid flickering of the nuclear activity of Fornax A (∼3 Myr) 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 Fornax A, 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 inter stellar medium.