317 research outputs found
The Spectral Energy Distribution of Normal, Starburst and Active Galaxies
We present the results of an extensive literature search of multiwavelength
data for a sample of 59 galaxies, consisting of 26 Starbursts, 15 Seyfert 2's,
5 LINER's, 6 normal spirals and 7 normal elliptical galaxies. The data include
soft X-ray fluxes, ultraviolet and optical spectra, near, mid/far infrared
photometry and radio measurements, selected to match as closely as possible the
IUE aperture (10" X 20"). The galaxies are separated into 6 groups with similar
characteristics, namely, Ellipticals, Spirals, LINER's, Seyfert 2's, Starbursts
of Low and High reddening, for which we create average spectral energy
distributions (SED). The individual groups SED's are normalized to the
7000\AA flux and compared, looking for similarities and differences
among them.The bolometric fluxes of different types of galaxies were calculated
integrating their SED's. These values are compared with individual waveband
flux densities, in order to determine the wavebands which contribute most to
the bolometric flux. Linear regressions were performed between the bolometric
and individual band fluxes for each kind of galaxy. These fits can be used in
the calculation of the bolometric flux for other objects of similar activity
type, but with reduced waveband information. We have also collected
multiwavelength data for 4 HII regions, a thermal supernova remnant, and a
non-thermal supernova remnant (SNR), which are compared with the Starburst
SED's.Comment: 29 pages, 13 postscript figures and 10 tables. To appear in The
Astronomical Journa
Population synthesis of HII galaxies
We study the stellar population of galaxies with active star formation,
determining ages of the stellar components by means of spectral population
synthesis of their absorption spectra. The data consist of optical spectra of
185 nearby () emission line galaxies. They are mostly HII
galaxies, but we also include some Starbursts and Seyfert 2s, for comparison
purposes. They were grouped into 19 high signal-to-noise ratio template
spectra, according to their continuum distribution, absorption and emission
line characteristics. The templates were then synthesized with a star cluster
spectral base. The synthesis results indicate that HII galaxies are typically
age-composite stellar systems, presenting important contribution from
generations up to as old as 500 Myr. We detect a significant contribution of
populations with ages older than 1 Gyr in two groups of HII galaxies. The age
distributions of stellar populations among Starbursts can vary considerably
despite similarities in the emission line spectra. In the case of Seyfert 2
groups we obtain important contributions of old population, consistent with a
bulge. From the diversity of star formation histories, we conclude that typical
HII galaxies in the local universe are not systems presently forming their
first stellar generation.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, MNRAS in pres
Long-Term Profile Variability of Double-Peaked Emmission Lines in AGNs
An increasing number of AGNs exhibit broad, double-peaked Balmer emission
lines, which arise from the outer regions of the accretion disk which fuels the
AGN. The line profiles vary on timescales of 5--10 years. Our group has
monitored a set of 20 double-peaked emitters for the past 8 years (longer for
some objects). Here we describe a project to characterize the variability
patterns of the double-peaked H alpha line profiles and compare with those of
two simple models: a circular disk with a spiral arm and an elliptical disk.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the proceedings of "The Interplay
among Black Holes, Stars and ISM in Galactic Nuclei", IAU 222, eds. T.
Storchi Bergmann, L.C. Ho, and H.R. Schmit
Extended Gas in Seyfert Galaxies: Near Infrared Observations of NGC 2110 and Circinus
We present results of near--IR long-slit spectroscopy in the J and K bands of
the Seyfert 2 galaxies NGC 2110 and Circinus, investigating the gaseous
distribution, excitation, reddening and kinematics. In NGC 2110, the emission
line ratio [FeII]/Pa beta increases towards the nucleus (to ~ 7). The nuclear
[Fe II]1.257 (microns) and Pa beta lines are broader (FWHM ~ 500 km/s) than the
H2 (2.121) line (FWHM ~ 300 km/s). Both these results suggest that shocks,
driven by the radio jet, are an important source of excitation of [Fe II]. The
H2 excitation appears to be dominated by X-rays from the nucleus. In Circinus,
both [FeII]/Pa beta and H2/Br gamma decrease from ~ 2 at 4 arcsec from the
nucleus to nuclear values of ~ 0.6 and ~ 1, respectively, suggesting that the
starburst dominates the nuclear excitation, while the AGN dominates the
excitation further out (r > 2 arcsec). For both galaxies, the gaseous
kinematics are consistent with circular rotation in the plane of the disk. Our
rotation curves suggest that the nucleus (identified with the peak of the IR
continuum) is displaced from the kinematic centre of the galaxies. This effect
has been observed previously in NGC 2110 based on the kinematics of optical
emission lines, but the displacement is smaller in the infrared, suggesting the
effect is related to obscuration. The continuum J-K colours of the nuclear
region indicate a red stellar population in NGC 2110 and a reddened young
stellar population in Circinus. Right at the nucleus of both galaxies, the
colours are redder, apparently a result of hot dust emission from the inner
edge of a circumnuclear torus.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The Ionizing Source of the Nucleus of NGC1097
We present new observations in X-ray and optical/ultraviolet of the nucleus
of NGC1097, known for the abrupt appearance of broad, double-peaked Balmer
lines in its spectrum in 1991. These new observations are used to construct the
spectral energy distribution (SED) of the central engine. From the SED we infer
that this AGN is radio-loud and has a bolometric luminosity L_Bol ~ 10^42
erg/s, implying a low Eddington ratio of L_Bol/L_Edd ~ 10^{-4}. These results
suggest that the central ionizing source is an advection-dominated accretion
flow (ADAF) in the form of an ellevated structure which photoionizes an outer
thin disk. We fit a simplified ADAF model to the SED and obtain limits on the
values of the mass accretion rate Mdot and accretion efficiency \eta, namely
Mdot/Mdot_Edd >= 10^{-3} and \eta <= 10^{-2}. We identify an energy budget
problem: if the central photoionizing source is isotropic, the covering factor
of the line-emitting portion of the thin accretion disk is ~ 6, i. e. the
central source accounts for only 20% of the energy emitted in the double-peaked
Balmer lines.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the proceedings of "The Interplay
among Black Holes, Stars and ISM in Galactic Nuclei", IAU 222, eds. Th.
Storchi Bergmann, L.C. Ho, and H.R. Schmit
A New Superwind Wolf-Rayet Galaxy Mrk 1259
We report the discovery of a starburst-driven wind (superwind) from the
starburst nucleus galaxy Mrk 1259. The estimated number ratio of Wolf-Rayet
(WR) to O stars amounts to ~0.09. While the nuclear emission-line region is due
to usual photoionization by massive stars, the circumnuclear emission-line
regions show anomalous line ratios that can be due to cooling shocks. Since the
host galaxy seems to be a face-on disk galaxy and the excitation conditions of
the circumnuclear emission-line regions show the spatial symmetry, we consider
that we are seeing the superwind nearly from a pole-on view. Cooling shock
models may explain the observed emission line ratios of the circumnuclear
regions although a factor of 2 overabundance of nitrogen is necessary. All
these suggest that the high-mass enhanced starburst occurred ~5X10^6 years ago
in the nuclear region of Mrk 1259.Comment: To be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, 15 pages, 4
figure
- …