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Integral field spectroscopy (IFS) of the central kiloparsecs of active galactic nuclei (AGN) reveals a mixture of spatially coincident emission from star-formation and AGN feedback exciting the interstellar medium. Disentangling these components remains a challenge, as most spectral tracers are affected by both processes, limiting robust interpretation of kinematics and energetics. We present a new framework for decomposing IFS data into distinct components on a spaxel-by-spaxel basis using a multi-tracer, stacked kinematics approach. This method combines kinematic modelling with imposed flux decomposition per spaxel, quantifying the contribution of each component across the field of view. We apply this method to JWST IFS observations of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 5728 from the Galaxy Activity, Torus, and Outflow Survey (GATOS), analysing twelve mid-infrared fine-structure lines (4.49 < λ < 25.89 μm, 7.9 < IP < 126.2 eV). We find that the circumnuclear emission can be decomposed into two dominant components: a star-forming ring and an AGN-driven biconical outflow. Our method separates these structures and recovers their detailed spatial morphology. This framework provides a general and scalable method for physically motivated component separation in IFS data, applicable across many wavelength ranges and targets, enabling reliable interpretation of complex emission line structures (or morphologies) in active galaxies and beyond.

The extent to which galactic-scale astrophysical processes conspire with the underlying cosmological model to expel baryons from haloes remains a central question in galaxy formation. We present an analytical model for the gas distribution within and beyond haloes, based on the balance between gravitational collapse, hydrostatic pressure, and cosmic expansion. Our model predicts the halo-centric distance enclosing a baryon mass fraction equal to the cosmic value 𝑓b = Ωb/Ωm (‘closure radius’) in an arbitrary ΛCDM cosmology. We compare the predictions with the results of six variants of the EAGLE cosmological, hydrodynamical simulation, encompassing values of the cosmological constant ranging from 0 to 100 times its observed value in our Universe, Λ0. Despite its simplicity, our model exhibits excellent agreement with the simulations for haloes with mass 𝑀200c > 10^11 M⊙ in the redshift range 0 < 𝑧 < 3, suggesting that it captures the key astrophysical processes and highlighting its robustness to the cosmological parameters. Thus, it provides the first physical explanation for the empirical closure radius–halo mass relation previously observed in simulations. Furthermore, we find that dark energy plays a non-negligible role in baryon evacuation: the simulations reveal that in the fiducial cosmological model, the closure radius at 𝑧 < 2 is ∼ 30% larger than in an Einstein-de Sitter universe. In cosmologies with Λ ≥ 10Λ0, dark energy emerges as the dominant factor in this process – suggesting that, as our Universe transitions towards Λ-domination, dark energy eventually becomes the primary driver of baryon evacuation from massive haloes

We present a detailed study of the inner regions of NGC 7582, a nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy, from the Galaxy Activity, Torus, and Outflow Survey (GATOS). The galaxy hosts a circumnuclear star-forming disc and an active galactic nucleus (AGN)-driven biconical ionized outflow. Using James Webb Space Telescope Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) and Mid-Infrared Instrument/Medium-Resolution Spectrometer (MIRI/MRS) integral-field spectroscopy, we analyse ionic emission lines spanning a wide range of ionization potentials (IPs, 8–126 eV). Gaussian line-profile fitting reveals kinematic stratification: low-IP species (⁠<20 eV; e.g. [Fe ii], [Ar ii], and [Ne ii]) trace ordered disc rotation with PA = -12 +- 3 deg, while high-IP species (⁠>35 eV; e.g. [O iv], [Mg iv], and [Ne v]) follow the outflow with PA = ⁠54 +- 10 deg. Outflowing gas exhibits systematically higher velocity dispersions (⁠119 +- 13 km s−1) than the disc (⁠78 +- 11 km s−1), consistent with turbulent or bulk motions. Intermediate-IP lines, [S iii], [Ar iii], and [Ne iii], show contributions from both components, with the outflow characterized by higher dispersion, lower amplitude, and higher velocities in double-Gaussian fits. For these lines, a thin inclined disc plus 1D outflow model enables robust separation and quantification of the disc and outflow velocity fields. The outflow is consistent with a hollow bicone capable of accelerating gas beyond the local escape velocity, implying most material is unlikely to be re-accreted. The ionization cone opening angle shows no dependence on IP, indicating the AGN torus polar regions are largely unobscured. Our study provides new insights into AGN-driven outflows and circumnuclear disc dynamics, offering a framework to disentangle overlapping interstellar medium kinematics in nearby active galaxies.

We present combined JWST NIRSpec and MIRI/MRS integral field spectroscopy data of the nuclear and circumnuclear regions of the highly dust obscured Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 7582, which is part of the sample of AGN in the Galaxy Activity, Torus and Outflow Survey (GATOS). Spatially resolved analysis of the pure rotational H_2 lines (S(1)-S(7)) reveals a characteristic power-law temperature distribution in different apertures, with the two prominent southern star-forming regions exhibiting unexpectedly high molecular gas temperatures, comparable to those in the AGN powered nuclear region. We investigate potential heating mechanisms including direct AGN photoionisation, UV fluorescent excitation from young star clusters, and shock excitation. We find that shock heating gives the most plausible explanation, consistent with multiple near- and mid-IR tracers and diagnostics. Using photoionisation models from the PhotoDissociation Region Toolbox, we quantify the ISM conditions in the different regions, determining that the southern star-forming regions have a high density (n_H ∼ 10^5 cm^−3) and are irradiated by a moderate UV radiation field (G_0 ∼ 10^3 Habing). Fitting a suite of Paris-Durham shock models to the rotational H_2 lines, as well as rovibrational 1-0 S(1), 1-0 S(2), and 2-1 S(1) H2 emission lines, we find that a slow (v_s ∼ 10 km/s) C-type shock is likely responsible for the elevated temperatures. Our analysis loosely favours local starburst activity as the driver of the shocks and circumnuclear gas dynamics in NGC 7582, though the possibility of an AGN jet contribution cannot be excluded.