The jet-ISM interaction in the Outer Filament of Centaurus A
  The interaction between the radio plasma ejected by the active nucleus of a
galaxy and the surrounding medium is a key process that can have a strong
impact on the interstellar medium of the galaxy and hence on galaxy evolution.
The closest laboratory where we can observe and investigate this phenomenon is
the radio galaxy Centaurus A. About 15 kpc north-east of this galaxy, a
particularly complex region is found: the so-called Outer Filament where
jet-cloud interactions have been proposed to occur. We investigate the presence
of signatures of jet-ISM interaction by a detailed study of the kinematics of
the ionized gas, expanding on previous results obtained from the HI. We
observed two regions of the outer filament with VLT/VIMOS in the IFU observing
mode. Emission from Hbeta and [OIII]4959,5007\AA\ is detected in both
pointings. We found two distinct kinematical components of ionized gas that
well match the kinematics of the nearby HI cloud. One component follows the
regular kinematics of the rotating gas while the second shows similar
velocities to those of the nearby HI component thought to be disturbed by an
interaction with the radio jet. We suggest that the ionized and atomic gas are
part of the same dynamical gas structure originating as result of the merger
that shaped Centaurus A and which is regularly rotating around Centaurus A as
proposed by other authors. The gas (ionized and HI) with anomalous velocities
is tracing the interaction of the Large-Scale radio Jet with the ISM,
suggesting that, although poorly collimated as structure, the jet is still
active. However, we can exclude that a strong shock is driving the ionization
of the gas. It is likely that a combination of jet entrainment and
photoionization by the UV continuum from the central engine is needed in order
to explain both the ionization and the kinematics of the gas in the Outer
Filament.
