678 research outputs found
Blue colours of BL Lac host galaxies
Near-infrared and optical imaging of BL Lac host galaxies is used to
investigate their colour properties. We find that the R-H colour and colour
gradient distributions of the BL Lac hosts are much wider than those for normal
ellipticals, and many objects have very blue hosts and/or steep colour
gradients. The blue colours are most likely caused by recent star formation.
The lack of obvious signs of interaction may, however, require a significant
time delay between the interaction event with associated star formation
episodes and the onset of the nuclear activity.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
Near-infrared spectroscopy of nearby Seyfert galaxies - II. Molecular content and coronal emission
We present sub-arcsec near-infrared 1.5 - 2.5 micron moderate resolution
long-slit spectra of eight nearby Seyfert galaxies (z<0.01), both parallel to
the ionization cone and perpendicular to it. These spectra complement similar
data on six Seyferts, presented in Reunanen, Kotilainen & Prieto (2002). Large
concentrations of molecular gas (H2) are present in the nucleus regardless of
the Seyfert type. The spatial extent of the H2 emission is larger perpendicular
to the cone than parallel to it in 6/8 (75 %) galaxies, in agreement with the
unified models of Active Galactic Nuclei. Broad BrGamma was detected in nearly
half of the optically classified Seyfert 2 galaxies, including two objects with
no evidence for hidden polarized Broad Line Region. Nuclear [FeII] emission is
generally blueshifted which together with high BrGamma/[FeII] ratios suggests
shocks as the dominant excitation mechanism in Seyfert galaxies. Bright coronal
emission lines [SiVI] and [SiVII] are common in Seyferts, as they are detected
in ~60 % of the galaxies. In three galaxies the coronal lines are extended only
in the direction parallel to the cone. This could be explained by shock
excitation due to the jet or superwind interacting with the interstellar
medium.Comment: 19 pages, accepted for publication in MNRA
The cosmic evolution of quasar host galaxies
We present near-infrared imaging of the host galaxies of 17 quasars in the
redshift range 1 < z < 2, carried out at the ESO VLT UT1 8m telescope under
excellent seeing conditions (~0.4 arcsec). The sample includes radio-loud (RLQ)
and radio-quiet (RQQ) quasars with similar distribution of redshift and optical
luminosity. For all the observed objects but one we have derived the global
properties of the surrounding nebulosity. The host galaxies of both types of
quasars follow the expected trend in luminosity of massive ellipticals
undergoing simple passive evolution, but there is a systematic difference by a
factor ~2 in the host luminosity between RLQs and RQQs (M_K(RLQ) = -27.55 +-
0.12 and M_K(RQQ) = -26.83 +- 0.25). Comparison with quasar hosts at similar
and lower redshift indicates that the difference in the host luminosity between
RLQs and RQQs remains the same from z = 2 to the present epoch. No significant
correlation is found between the nuclear and the host luminosities. Assuming
that the host luminosity is proportional to the black hole mass, as observed in
nearby massive spheroids, these quasars emit at very different levels (spread
\~1.5dex) with respect to their Eddington luminosity and with the same
distribution for RLQs and RQQs. Apart from a factor of ~2 difference in
luminosity, the hosts of RLQs and RQQs appear to follow the same cosmic
evolution as massive inactive spheroids. Our results support a view where
nuclear activity can occur in all luminous ellipticals without producing a
significant change in their global properties and evolution. Quasar hosts
appear to be already well formed at z ~2, in disagreement with models for the
joint formation and evolution of galaxies and active nuclei based on the
hierarchical structure formation scenario.Comment: Astrophysical Journal, accepted; 34 page
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