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
