No Arabic abstract
We present Wide Field Spectrograph (WiFeS) integral field spectroscopy and HST FOS spectroscopy for the LINER galaxy NGC 1052. We infer the presence of a turbulent accretion flow forming a small-scale accretion disk. We find a large-scale outflow and ionisation cone along the minor axis of the galaxy. Part of this outflow region is photoionised by the AGN, and shares properties with the ENLR of Seyfert galaxies, but the inner ($R lesssim 1.0$~arcsec) accretion disk and the region around the radio jet appear shock excited. The emission line properties can be modelled by a double shock model in which the accretion flow first passes through an accretion shock in the presence of a hard X-ray radiation, and the accretion disk is then processed through a cocoon shock driven by the overpressure of the radio jets. This model explains the observation of two distinct densities ($sim10^4$ and $sim10^6$ cm$^{-3}$), and provides a good fit to the observed emission line spectrum. We derive estimates for the velocities of the two shock components and their mixing fractions, the black hole mass, the accretion rate needed to sustain the LINER emission and derive an estimate for the jet power. Our emission line model is remarkably robust against variation of input parameters, and so offers a generic explanation for the excitation of LINER galaxies, including those of spiral type such as NGC 3031 (M81).
In this paper, we explore the physics of the accretion and jet in narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1). Specifically, we compile a sample composed of 16 nearby NLS1 with $L_{rm bol}/L_{rm Edd} gtrsim 0.1$. We investigate the mutual correlation between their radio luminosity $L_{rm R}$, X-ray luminosity $L_{rm X}$, optical luminosity $L_{rm 5100}$ and black hole mass $M_{rm BH}$. By adopting partial correlation analysis: (1) we find a positive correlation between $L_{rm X}$ and $M_{rm BH}$, and (2) we find a weak positive correlation between $L_{rm R}$ and $L_{5100}$. However, we dont find significant correlations between $L_{rm R}$ and $L_{rm X}$ or between $L_{rm X}$ and $L_{5100}$ after considering the effect of the black hole mass, which leads to a finding of the independence of $L_{rm X}/L_{rm Edd}$ on $L_{5100}/L_{rm Edd}$. Interestingly, the findings that $L_{rm X}$ is correlated with $M_{rm BH}$ and $L_{rm X}/L_{rm Edd}$ is not correlated with $L_{5100}/L_{rm Edd}$ support that the X-ray emission is saturated with increasing $dot{M}$ for $L_{rm bol}/L_{rm Edd} gtrsim 0.1$ in NLS1s, which may be understood in the framework of slim disc scenario. Finally, we suggest that a larger NLS1 sample with high quality radio and X-ray data is needed to further confirm this result in the future.
We present a new accurate catalog of narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) in the southern hemisphere from the Six-degree Field Galaxy Survey (6dFGS) final data release, which is currently the most extensive spectroscopic survey available in the southern sky whose database has not yet been systematically explored. We classified 167 sources as NLS1s based on their optical spectral properties. We derived flux-calibrated spectra for the first time that the 6dFGS indeed does not provide. By analyzing these spectra, we obtained strong correlations between the monochromatic luminosity at 5100 A and the luminosity of Hbeta and [O III]5007 lines. The estimated central black hole mass and Eddington ratio have an average value of 8.6 x 10^6 M_Sun and 0.96 L_Edd respectively, which is a typical value for NLS1s. In the sample, 23 (13.8%) NLS1s were detected at radio frequencies, and 12 (7.0%) of them are radio-loud. Our results confirmed that radio-loud sources tend to have a higher redshift, more massive black hole, and higher radio and optical luminosity than radio-quiet sources.
The remarkable similarity between emission spectra of narrow line regions (NLR) in Seyfert Galaxies has long presented a mystery. In photoionization models, this similarity implies that the ionization parameter is nearly always the same, about U ~ 0.01. Here we present dusty, radiation-pressure dominated photoionization models that can provide natural physical insight into this problem. In these models, dust and the radiation pressure acting on it provide the controlling factor in moderating the density, excitation and surface brightness of photoionized NLR structures. Additionally, photoelectric heating by the dust is important in determining the temperature structure of the models. These models can also explain the coexistence of the low-, intermediate- and coronal ionization zones within a single self-consistent physical structure. The radiation pressure acting on dust may also be capable of driving the fast (~3000 km/s) outflows such as are seen in the HST observations of NGC 1068.
We investigate the relative significance of radiation pressure and gas pressure in the extended narrow line regions (ENLRs) of four Seyfert galaxies from the integral field Siding Spring Southern Seyfert Spectroscopic Snapshot Survey (S7). We demonstrate that there exist two distinct types of starburst-AGN mixing curves on standard emission line diagnostic diagrams which reflect the balance between gas pressure and radiation pressure in the ENLR. In two of the galaxies the ENLR is radiation pressure dominated throughout and the ionization parameter remains constant (log U ~ 0). In the other two galaxies radiation pressure is initially important, but gas pressure becomes dominant as the ionization parameter in the ENLR decreases from log U ~ 0 to -3.4 <= log U <= -3.2. Where radiation pressure is dominant, the AGN regulates the density of the interstellar medium on kpc scales and may therefore have a direct impact on star formation activity and/or the incidence of outflows in the host galaxy to scales far beyond the zone of influence of the black hole. We find that both radiation pressure dominated and gas pressure dominated ENLRs are dynamically active with evidence for outflows, indicating that radiation pressure may be an important source of AGN feedback even when it is not dominant over the entire ENLR.
This is the third in a series of papers reporting on a large reverberation-mapping campaign aimed to study the properties of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with high accretion rates. We present new results on the variability of the optical Fe II emission lines in 10 AGNs observed by the Yunnan Observatory 2.4m telescope during 2012--2013. We detect statistically significant time lags, relative to the AGN continuum, in nine of the sources. This accurate measurement is achieved by using a sophisticated spectral fitting scheme that allows for apparent flux variations of the host galaxy, and several narrow lines, due to the changing observing conditions. Six of the newly detected lags are indistinguishable from the Hbeta lags measured in the same sources. Two are significantly longer and one is slightly shorter. Combining with Fe II lags reported in previous studies, we find a Fe II radius--luminosity relationship similar to the one for Hbeta, although our sample by itself shows no clear correlation. The results support the idea that Fe II emission lines originate in photoionized gas which, for the majority of the newly reported objects, is indistinguishable from the Hbeta-emitting gas. We also present a tentative correlation between the lag and intensity of Fe II and Hbeta and comment on its possible origin.