Arp 299, the nearby merging system at only 45 Mpc, has long been one of the brightest laboratories for studying the interplay between starburst and AGN activity. High-resolution VLBI campaigns, using mostly the EVN and deployed by our
team over more than a decade, have revealed a “supernova factory” in the innermost 150 pc of Arp 299-A, uncovering dozens of compact radio sources consistent with core-collapse supernovae and remnants. Even more intriguingly, subsequent EVN observations serendipitously
exposed the long-sought AGN at the heart of Arp 299-A, coexisting with the prolific starburst. Later, the system surprised us again: a radio jet launched by a tidal disruption event in Arp 299-B, one of the most spectacular cases ever caught, and the first
ever to be resolved. Much like a sequel in The Matrix saga, each new observational “chapter” adds unexpected layers to a complex narrative where reality is richer than models anticipated. Arp 299 keeps challenging our understanding of how massive star formation,
black-hole accretion, and feedback intertwine in LIRGs. With ongoing and future EVN monitoring, we are uncovering fresh “glitches in the system” that promise more surprises. Arp 299 is not merely a textbook merger; it is a living, evolving saga. And the story
is far from over.
