Bibcode
Müller-Sánchez, F.; Prieto, M. A.; Hicks, E. K. S.; Vives-Arias, H.; Davies, R. I.; Malkan, M.; Tacconi, L. J.; Genzel, R.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 739, Issue 2, article id. 69 (2011).
Advertised on:
10
2011
Journal
Citations
253
Refereed citations
233
Description
As part of an extensive study of the physical properties of active
galactic nuclei (AGNs) we report high spatial resolution near-IR
integral-field spectroscopy of the narrow-line region (NLR) and
coronal-line region (CLR) of seven Seyfert galaxies. These measurements
elucidate for the first time the two-dimensional spatial distribution
and kinematics of the recombination line Brγ and high-ionization
lines [Si VI], [Al IX], and [Ca VIII] on scales <300 pc from the AGN.
The observations reveal kinematic signatures of rotation and outflow in
the NLR and CLR. The spatially resolved kinematics can be modeled as a
combination of an outflow bicone and a rotating disk coincident with the
molecular gas. High-excitation emission is seen in both components,
suggesting it is leaking out of a clumpy torus. While NGC 1068 (Seyfert
2) is viewed nearly edge-on, intermediate-type Seyferts are viewed at
intermediate angles, consistent with unified schemes. A correlation
between the outflow velocity and the molecular gas mass in r < 30 pc
indicates that the accumulation of gas around the AGN increases the
collimation and velocity of the outflow. The outflow rate is 2-3 orders
of magnitude greater than the accretion rate, implying that the outflow
is mass loaded by the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM). In half of
the observed AGNs, the kinetic power of the outflow is of the order of
the power required by two-stage feedback models to be thermally coupled
to the ISM and to match the M BH-σ* relation. In these
objects, the radio jet is clearly interacting with the ISM, indicative
of a link between jet power and outflow power.
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The Central PARSEC of Galaxies using High Spatial Resolution Techniques
PARSEC is a multi-wavelength investigation of the central PARSEC of the nearest galaxies. We work on black-hole accretion and its most energetic manifestations: jets and hot spots, and on its circumnuclear environment conditions for star formation. We resort to the highest available angular resolution observations from gamma-rays to the centimetre
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