No Arabic abstract
We present subarcsecond resolution infrared (IR) imaging and mid-IR spectroscopic observations of the Seyfert 1.9 galaxy NGC 2992, obtained with the Gemini North Telescope and the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC). The N-band image reveals faint extended emission out to ~3 kpc, and the PAH features detected in the GTC/CanariCam 7.5-13 micron spectrum indicate that the bulk of this extended emission is dust heated by star formation. We also report arcsecond resolution MIR and far-IR imaging of the interacting system Arp 245, taken with the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Herschel Space Observatory. Using these data, we obtain nuclear fluxes using different methods and find that we can only recover the nuclear fluxes obtained from the subarcsecond data at 20-25 micron, where the AGN emission dominates. We fitted the nuclear IR spectral energy distribution of NGC 2992, including the GTC/CanariCam nuclear spectrum (~50 pc), with clumpy torus models. We then used the best-fitting torus model to decompose the Spitzer/IRS 5-30 spectrum (~630 pc) in AGN and starburst components, using different starburst templates. We find that, whereas at shorter mid-IR wavelengths the starburst component dominates (64% at 6 micron), the AGN component reaches 90% at 20 micron. We finally obtained dust masses, temperatures and star formation rates for the different components of the Arp 245 system and find similar values for NGC 2992 and NGC 2993. These measurements are within those reported for other interacting systems in the first stages of the interaction.
We present results from our Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) HI, Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) Halpha, 1m Sampurnanand Telescope (ST) and 1.3m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT) deep optical observations of NGC 7805/6 (Arp 112) system to test KUG 2359+311s tidal dwarf galaxy (TDG) candidacy and explore the properties of the interacting system. Our GMRT HI map shows no HI detection associated with KUG 2359+311, nor any HI tail or bridge-like structure connecting KUG 2359+311 to the NGC 7805/6 system. Our HCT Halpha image on the other hand, shows strong detections in KUG 2359+311, with net SFR ~ 0.035$pm 0.009 {rm M}_{odot},{rm yr}^{-1}$. The Halpha data constrains the redshift of KUG 2359+311 to $0.00 le z le 0.043$, compared to the redshift of NGC 7806 of ~ 0.015. TDGs detected to date have all been HI rich, and displayed HI, ionised gas and stellar tidal debris trails (bridges or tails) linking them to their parent systems. But neither our HI data nor our optical images, while three magnitudes deeper than SDSS, reveal tidal trail connecting KUG 2359+311 to NGC 7805/6. Lack of HI , presence of an old stellar population, ongoing star formation, reasonably high SFR compared to normal dwarf galaxies suggest that KUG 2359+311 may not be an Arp 112 TDG. It is most likely a case of a regular gas-rich dwarf galaxy undergoing a morphological transformation after having lost its entire gas content to an interaction with the Arp 112 system. Redshift and metallicity from future spectroscopic observations of KUG 2359+311 would help clarify the nature of this enigmatic structure.
We report on a detailed kinematic study of the galactic-scale outflow in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 2992. The TAURUS-2 Imaging Fabry-Perot Interferometer was used on the Anglo-Australian 3.9-m telescope to derive the two-dimensional velocity field of the Halpha-emitting gas over the central arcminute of NGC 2992. The complete two-dimensional coverage of the data combined with simple kinematic models of rotating axisymmetric disks allows us to differentiate the outflowing material from the line-emitting material associated with the galactic disk. The kinematics of the disk component out to R = 3.0 kpc are well modeled by pure circular rotation. The outflow component is distributed into two wide cones with opening angle of 125 -- 135 degrees and extending 2.8 kpc (18) on both sides of the nucleus at nearly right angles to the disk kinematic major axis. The outflow on the SE side of the nucleus is made of two distinct kinematic components interpreted as the front and back walls of a cone. The azimuthal velocity gradient in the back-wall component reflects residual rotational motion which indicates either that the outflowing material was lifted from the disk or that the underlying galactic disk is contributing slightly to this component. A single outflow component is detected in the NW cone. The most likely energy source for this outflow is a hot bipolar thermal wind powered on sub-kpc scale by the AGN and diverted along the galaxy minor axis by the pressure gradient of the ISM in the host galaxy. The data are not consistent with a starburst-driven wind or a collimated outflow powered by radio jets. (abridged)
Encounters between galaxies modify their morphology, kinematics, and star formation (SF) history. The relation between these changes and external perturbations is not straightforward. The great number of parameters involved requires both the study of large samples and individual encounters where particular features, motions, and perturbations can be traced and analysed in detail. We analysed the morphology, kinematics, and dynamics of two luminous infrared spiral galaxies, NGC 5257 and NGC 5258, in which SF is mostly confined to the spiral arms, in order to understand interactions between galaxies of equivalent masses and SF processes during the encounter. Using scanning Fabry-Perot interferometry, we studied the contribution of circular and non-circular motions and the response of the ionized gas to external perturbations. We compared the kinematics with direct images of the pair and traced the SF processes and gravitational effects due to the presence of the other galaxy. The SED of each member of the pair was fitted. A mass model was fitted to the rotation curve of each galaxy. Large, non-circular motions detected in both galaxies are associated with a bar, spiral arms, and HII regions for the inner parts of the galaxies, and with the tidal interaction for the outer parts of the discs. Bifurcations in the rotation curves indicate that the galaxies have recently undergone their pericentric passage. The pattern speed of a perturbation of one of the galaxies is computed. Location of a possible corotation seems to indicate that the gravitational response of the ionized gas in the outer parts of the disc is related to the regions where ongoing SF is confined. The SED fit indicates a slightly different star formation history for each member of the pair. For both galaxies, a pseudo-isothermal halo better fits the global mass distribution.
New spectra of NGC 2992 from the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory show that this nearby AGN has changed its type classification to a Seyfert 2 in 2006. It was originally classified as a Seyfert 1.9, and has been previously seen as a Seyfert 1.5 with strong broad Halpha emission. A comparison of the reddening and equivalent hydrogen column density derived for the narrow-line region from these new data with those previously calculated for different regions closer to the nucleus shows them to be very similar, and suggests that these different regions are all being absorbed by the same opacity source, a large 100-pc scale dust lane running across the nucleus. However, obscuration by dust in this lane is probably not responsible for classification changes which occur in only a few years. It is more likely that NGC 2992s observed variations are due to a highly variable ionizing continuum. We therefore conclude that, although NGC 2992 was originally identified as a Seyfert 1.9, this was not because of an oblique viewing angle through the atmosphere of a central dusty torus, but because its active nucleus was identified when it was in a low continuum state.
We present the Chandra discovery of soft diffuse X-ray emission in NGC 4151 (L[0.5-2keV]~10^{39} erg s$^{-1}$), extending ~2 kpc from the active nucleus and filling in the cavity of the HI material. The best fit to the X-ray spectrum requires either a kT~0.25 keV thermal plasma or a photoionized component. In the thermal scenario, hot gas heated by the nuclear outflow would be confined by the thermal pressure of the HI gas and the dynamic pressure of inflowing neutral material in the galactic disk. In the case of photoionization, the nucleus must have experienced an Eddington limit outburst. For both scenarios, the AGN-host interaction in NGC 4151 must have occured relatively recently (some 10^4 yr ago). This very short timescale to the last episode of high activity phase may imply such outbursts occupy $gtrsim$1% of AGN lifetime.