No Arabic abstract
The narrow-line region (NLR) consists of gas clouds ionized by the strong radiation from the active galactic nucleus (AGN), distributed in the spatial scale of AGN host galaxies. The strong emission lines from the NLR are useful to diagnose physical and chemical properties of the interstellar medium in AGN host galaxies. However, the origin of the NLR is unclear; the gas clouds in NLRs may be originally in the host and photoionized by the AGN radiation, or they may be transferred from the nucleus with AGN-driven outflows. For studying the origin of the NLR, we systematically investigate the gas density and velocity dispersion of NLR gas clouds using a large spectroscopic data set taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The [S II] emission-line flux ratio and [O III] velocity width of 9,571 type-2 Seyfert galaxies and 110,041 star-forming galaxies suggest that the gas density and velocity dispersion of NLR clouds in Seyfert galaxies (ne ~ 194 cm-3 and sigma([O III]) ~ 147 km s-1) are systematically larger than those of clouds in H II regions of star-forming galaxies (ne ~ 29 cm-3 and sigma([O III]) ~ 58 km s-1). Interestingly, the electron density and velocity dispersion of NLR gas clouds are larger for Seyfert galaxies with a higher [O III]/Hbeta flux ratio, i.e., with a more active AGN. We also investigate the spatially-resolved kinematics of ionized gas clouds using the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at the Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey data for 90 Seyfert galaxies and 801 star-forming galaxies. We find that the velocity dispersion of NLR gas clouds in Seyfert galaxies is larger than that in star-forming galaxies at a fixed stellar mass, at both central and off-central regions. These results suggest that gas clouds in NLRs come from the nucleus, probably through AGN outflows.
As part of an extensive study of the physical properties of active galactic nuclei (AGN) 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 Br{gamma} and high-ionization lines [Sivi], [Alix] and [Caviii] 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 AGN 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 match the M-{sigma}* relation. In these objects the radio jet is clearly interacting with the ISM, indicative of a link between jet power and outflow power.
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.
We present our recent results about the extended narrow-line region (ENLR) of two nearby Seyfert 2 galaxies (IC 5063 and NGC 7212) obtained by modelling the observed line profiles and spectra with composite models (photoionization+shocks) in the different regions surrounding the AGN. Then, we compare the Seyfert 2 ENLRs with the very extended one recently discovered in the narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxy Mrk 783. We have found several evidences of interaction between the ISM of the galaxies and their radio jets, such as a) the contribution of shocks in ionizing the high velocity gas, b) the complex kinematics showed by the profile of the emission lines, c) the high fragmentation of matter, etc. The results suggest that the ENLR of IC 5063 have a hollow bi-conical shape, with one edge aligned to the galaxy disk, which may cause some kind of dependence on velocity of the ionization parameter. Regarding the Mrk 783 properties, it is found that the extension of the optical emission is almost twice the size of the radio one and it seems due to the AGN activity, although there is contamination by star formation around 12 arcsec from the nucleus. Diagnostic diagrams excluded the contribution of star formation in IC 5063 and NGC 7212, while the shock contribution was used to explain the spectra emitted by their high velocity gas.
Narrow line Seyfert 1 (NLSy1) galaxies constitute a class of active galactic nuclei characterized by the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the H$beta$ broad emission line < 2000 km/s and the flux ratio of [O III] to H$beta$ < 3. Their properties are not well understood since only a few NLSy1 galaxies were known earlier. We have studied various properties of NLSy1 galaxies using an enlarged sample and compared them with the conventional broad-line Seyfert 1 (BLSy1) galaxies. Both the sample of sources have z $le$ 0.8 and their optical spectra from SDSS-DR12 that are used to derive various physical parameters have a median signal to noise (S/N) ratio >10 per pixel. Strong correlations between the H$beta$ and H$alpha$ emission lines are found both in the FWHM and flux. The nuclear continuum luminosity is found to be strongly correlated with the luminosity of H$beta$, H$alpha$ and [O III] emission lines. The black hole mass in NLSy1 galaxies is lower compared to their broad line counterparts. Compared to BLSy1 galaxies, NLSy1 galaxies have a stronger FeII emission and a higher Eddington ratio that place them in the extreme upper right corner of the $R_{4570}$ - $xi_{Edd}$ diagram. The distribution of the radio-loudness parameter (R) in NLSy1 galaxies drops rapidly at R > 10 compared to the BLSy1 galaxies that have powerful radio jets. The soft X-ray photon index in NLSy1 galaxies is on average higher (2.9 $pm$ 0.9) than BLSy1 galaxies (2.4 $pm$ 0.8). It is anti-correlated with the H$beta$ width but correlated with the Fe II strength. NLSy1 galaxies on average have a lower amplitude of optical variability compared to their broad lines counterparts. These results suggest Eddington ratio as the main parameter that drives optical variability in these sources.
The hidden broad-line regions (BLRs) in Seyfert 2 galaxies, which display broad emission lines (BELs) in their polarized spectra, are a key piece of evidence in support of the unified model for active galactic nuclei (AGNs). However, the detailed kinematics and geometry of hidden BLRs are still not fully understood. The virial factor obtained from reverberation mapping of type 1 AGNs may be a useful diagnostic of the nature of hidden BLRs in type 2 objects. In order to understand the hidden BLRs, we compile six type 2 objects from the literature with polarized BELs and dynamical measurements of black hole masses. All of them contain pseudobulges. We estimate their virial factors, and find the average value is 0.60 and the standard deviation is 0.69, which agree well with the value of type 1 AGNs with pseudobulges. This study demonstrates that (1) the geometry and kinematics of BLR are similar in type 1 and type 2 AGNs of the same bulge type (pseudobulges), and (2) the small values of virial factors in Seyfert 2 galaxies suggest that, similar to type 1 AGNs, BLRs tend to be very thick disks in type 2 objects.