337 research outputs found
Spatially Resolved Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Seyfert 2 Galaxies Mk 1066, NGC 2110, NGC 4388, and Mk 3
We present near-infrared spectra with resolutions of lambda/dlambda~1200 in
the emission lines of Pa-beta, [FeII] (1.2567um), Br-gamma, and H2 v=1-0S(1) of
the nuclei and circumnuclear regions of the four Seyfert 2 galaxies Mk 1066,
NGC 2110, NGC 4388, and Mk 3. All of these galaxies show strong near-infrared
line emission that is detected at radii several times the spatial resolution,
corresponding to projected physical scales of 0.07 to 0.7 kpc. Velocity
gradients are detected in these nuclei, as are spatial variations in line
profiles and flux ratios. We compare the spatial and velocity distribution of
the line emission to previously observed optical line and radio emission. The
evidence indicates that the [FeII] emission is associated with the Seyfert
activity in the galaxies. Our data are consistent with X-ray heating being
responsible for most of the [FeII] emission, although differences in [FeII] and
Pa-beta line profiles associated with radio emission suggests that the [FeII]
emission is enhanced by fast shocks associated with radio outflows. The H2
emission is not as strongly associated with outflows or ionization cones as is
the emission in other lines, but rather appears to be primarily associated with
the disk of the galaxy.Comment: 35 pages, 24 figure
Gas and Dust Emission from the Nuclear Region of the Circinus Galaxy
Simultaneous modeling of the line and continuum emission from the nuclear
region of the Circinus galaxy is presented. Composite models which include the
combined effect of shocks and photoionization from the active center and from
the circumnuclear star forming region are considered. The effects of dust
reradiation, bremsstrahlung from the gas and synchrotron radiation are treated
consistently. The proposed model accounts for two important observational
features. First, the high obscuration of Circinus central source is produced by
high velocity and dense clouds with characteristic high dust-to-gas ratios.
Their large velocities, up to 1500 km\s, place them very close to the active
center. Second, the derived size of the line emitting region is well in
agreement with the observed limits for the coronal and narrow line region of
Circinus.Comment: 36 pages, LaTex (including 4 Tables and 9 figures), removed from
Abstract To appear in "The Astrophysical Journal
NICMOS Imaging of Molecular Hydrogen Emission in Seyfert Galaxies
We present NICMOS imaging of broad band and molecular hydrogen emission in
Seyfert galaxies. In 6 of 10 Seyferts we detect resolved or extended emission
in the 1-0 S(1) 2.121 or 1-0 S(3) 1.9570 micron molecular hydrogen lines. We
did not detect emission in the most distant galaxy or in the 2 Seyfert 1
galaxies in our sample because of the luminosity of the nuclear point sources.
In NGC 5643, NGC 2110 and MKN 1066, molecular hydrogen emission is detected in
the extended narrow line region on scales of a few hundred pc from the nucleus.
Emission is coincident with [OIII] and H alpha+[NII] line emission. This
emission is also near dust lanes observed in the visible to near-infrared color
maps suggesting that a multiphase medium exists near the ionization cones and
that the morphology of the line emission is dependent on the density of the
ambient media. The high 1-0 S(1) or S(3) H2 to H alpha flux ratio suggests that
shock excitation of molecular hydrogen (rather than UV fluorescence) is the
dominant excitation process in these extended features. In NGC 2992 and NGC
3227 the molecular hydrogen emission is from 800 and 100 pc diameter `disks'
(respectively) which are not directly associated with [OIII] emission and are
near high levels of extinction (AV > 10). In NGC 4945 the molecular hydrogen
emission appears to be from the edge of a 100 pc superbubble. In these 3
galaxies the molecular gas could be excited by processes associated with local
star formation. We confirm previous spectroscopic studies finding that no
single mechanism is likely to be responsible for the molecular hydrogen
excitation in Seyfert galaxies.Comment: submitted to Ap
The nature and evolution of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies: A mid-infrared spectroscopic survey
We report the first results of a low resolution mid-infrared spectroscopic
survey of an unbiased, far-infrared selected sample of 60 ultraluminous
infrared galaxies, using ISOPHOT-S on board ISO. We use the ratio of the 7.7um
`PAH' emission feature to the local continuum as a discriminator between
starburst and AGN activity. About 80% of all the ULIRGs are found to be
predominantly powered by star formation but the fraction of AGN powered objects
increases with luminosity.
Observed ratios of the PAH features in ULIRGs differ slightly from those in
lower luminosity starbursts. This can be plausibly explained by the higher
extinction and/or different physical conditions in the interstellar medium of
ULIRGs. The PAH feature-to-continuum ratio is anticorrelated with the ratio of
feature-free 5.9um continuum to the IRAS 60um continuum, confirming suggestions
that strong mid-IR continuum is a prime AGN signature. The location of
starburst-dominated ULIRGs in such a diagram is consistent with previous
ISO-SWS spectroscopy which implies significant extinction even in the
mid-infrared.
We have searched for indications that ULIRGs which are advanced mergers might
be more AGN-like, as postulated by the classical evolutionary scenario. No such
trend has been found amongst those objects for which near infrared images are
available to assess their likely merger status.Comment: aastex, 4 eps figures. Revised version, accepted by ApJ (Letters
The extinction by dust in the outer parts of spiral galaxies
To investigate the distribution of dust in Sb and Sc galaxies we have
analyzed near-infrared and optical surface photometry for an unbiased sample of
37 galaxies. Since light in the -band is very little affected by extinction
by dust, the colour is a good indicator of the amount of extinction, and
using the colour-inclination relation we can statistically determine the
extinction for an average Sb/Sc galaxy. We find in general a considerable
amount of extinction in spiral galaxies in the central regions, all the way out
to their effective radii. In the outer parts, at D, or at 3 times the
typical exponential scale lengths of the stellar distribution , we find a
maximum optical depth of 0.5 in for a face-on galaxy. If we impose the
condition that the dust is distributed in the same way as the stars, this upper
limit would go down to 0.1.Comment: 4 pages, postscript, gzip-compressed, uuencoded, includes 2 figures.
Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, Letter
On measuring the Tully-Fisher relation at
The evolution of the line width - luminosity relation for spiral galaxies,
the Tully-Fisher relation, strongly constrains galaxy formation and evolution
models. At this moment, the kinematics of z>1 spiral galaxies can only be
measured using rest frame optical emission lines associated with star
formation, such as Halpha and [OIII]5007/4959 and [OII]3727. This method has
intrinsic difficulties and uncertainties. Moreover, observations of these lines
are challenging for present day telescopes and techniques. Here, we present an
overview of the intrinsic and observational challenges and some ways way to
circumvent them. We illustrate our results with the HST/NICMOS grism sample
data of z ~ 1.5 starburst galaxies. The number of galaxies we can use in the
final Tully-Fisher analysis is only three. We find a ~2 mag offset from the
local rest frame B and R band Tully-Fisher relation for this sample. This
offset is partially explained by sample selection effects and sample specifics.
Uncertainties in inclination and extinction and the effects of star formation
on the luminosity can be accounted for. The largest remaining uncertainty is
the line width / rotation curve velocity measurement. We show that high
resolution, excellent seeing integral field spectroscopy will improve the
situation. However, we note that no flat rotation curves have been observed for
galaxies with z>1. This could be due to the described instrumental and
observational limitations, but it might also mean that galaxies at z>1 have not
reached the organised motions of the present day.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, A&A accepte
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