No Arabic abstract
We present a high spatial and spectral resolution 2-D echelle spectrogram of the Narrow-Line Region in the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC1386. This Seyfert galaxy was observed with CASPEC in the wavelength range 5270-7725 Angstrom which covers the H-alpha and the [N II] lines. With the use of spatially high resolved images taken with the WFPC2 aboard the Hubble Space Telescope we could identify individual components of the Narrow-Line Region in our spectra. A Gaussian decomposition of the spectra revealed 9 distinct emission-line complexes. The brightest component is blue-shifted by -120+-10 km/s with respect to the systemic velocity and shows an offset of -1.6 relative to the nucleus of the galaxy. The true nucleus of NGC1386 has a much lower apparent H-alpha luminosity than this component. The nucleus is probably highly absorbed. Although the majority of the Narrow-Line Region components follows a regular velocity field, we find evidence for a separate kinematic component. The Narrow-Line Region is aligned anti-parallel to the radio-jet which propagates from the center of NGC1386 to the south.
We present measurements of radial velocities for the narrow-line region gas (NLR) in the Seyfert 2 galaxy Mrk 3 out to ~1 kpc from the nucleus. The observations consist of two datasets, both using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope: 1) An [O III] slitless spectrum with the G430M grating of the inner 3 around the nucleus, and 2) a long-slit observation centered on the nucleus (PA = 71 deg) using the G430L grating and the 52 x 0.1 aperture. Our results produce radial velocity maps of the emission-line gas. These maps indicate general trends in the gas motion, which include: blueshifts and redshifts on either side of the nucleus, steep velocity rises from systemic up to ~ +/-700 km/s taking place in the inner 0.3 (0.8 kpc) both east and west of the nucleus, gradual velocity descents back to near-systemic values from 0.3-1.0, slightly uneven velocity amplitudes on each side of the nucleus, and narrow velocity ranges over the entire observed region. When fitted to kinematic modeling programs for the NLR gas, the data clearly favor a model where the gas exists in a partially filled bicone, is accelerated radially away from the nucleus, and is followed by a constant deceleration. This geometry and general kinematic model is in agreement with previous work done on the NLR gas of NGC 1068 and NGC 4151. On scales of hundreds of parsecs, we conclude that radial outflow may be a common feature of Seyfert galaxies.
This work studies the optical emission line properties and physical conditions of the narrow line region (NLR) of seven narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1). Our results show that the flux carried out by the narrow component of H-beta is, on average, 50% of the total line flux. As a result, the [OIII] 5007/H-beta ratio emitted in the NLR varies from 1 to 5, instead of the universally adopted value of 10. This has strong implications for the required spectral energy distribution that ionizes the NLR gas. Photoionization models that consider a NLR composed of a combination of matter-bounded and ionization-bounded clouds are successful at explaining the low [OIII] 5007/H-beta ratio and the weakness of low-ionization lines of NLS1s. Variation of the relative proportion of these two type of clouds nicely reproduce the dispersion of narrow line ratios found among the NLS1 sample. Assuming similar physical model parameters of both NLS1s and the normal Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548, we show that the observed differences of emission line ratios between these two groups can be explained in terms of the shape of the input ionizing continuum. Narrow emission line ratios of NLS1s are better reproduced by a steep power-law continuum in the EUV -- soft X-ray region, with spectral index alpha ~ -2. Flatter spectral indices (alpha ~ -1.5) match the observed line ratios of NGC 5548 but are unable to provide a good match to the NLS1 ratios. This result is consistent with ROSAT observations of NLS1s, which show that these objects are characterized by steeper power-law indices than those of Sy1 galaxies with strong broad optical lines.
We present a study of high-resolution long-slit spectra of the narrow-line region (NLR) in NGC 1068 obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) aboard The Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The spectra were retrieved from the Multimission Archive at Space Telescope (MAST) obtained from two visits and seven orbits of HST time. We also obtained MERLIN radio maps of the center of NGC 1068 to examine the dependence of the NLR cloud velocities on the radio structure. The radial velocities and velocity dispersions of the bright NLR clouds appear to be unaffected by the radio knots, indicating that the radio jet is not the principal driving force on the outflowing NLR clouds. However, the velocities of the fainter NLR clouds are split near knots in the jet, indicating a possible interaction. Biconical outflow models were generated to match the data and for comparison to previous models done with lower dispersion observations. The general trend is an increase in radial velocity roughly proportional to distance from the nucleus followed by a linear decrease after roughly 100 parsec similar to that seen in other Seyfert galaxies, indicating common acceleration/deceleration mechanisms.
We present dynamical models based on a study of high-resolution long-slit spectra of the narrow-line region (NLR) in NGC 1068 obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) aboard The Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The dynamical models consider the radiative force due to the active galactic nucleus (AGN), gravitational forces from the supermassive black hole (SMBH), nuclear stellar cluster, and galactic bulge, and a drag force due to the NLR clouds interacting with a hot ambient medium. The derived velocity profile of the NLR gas is compared to that obtained from our previous kinematic models of the NLR using a simple biconical geometry for the outflowing NLR clouds. The results show that the acceleration profile due to radiative line driving is too steep to fit the data and that gravitational forces along cannot slow the clouds down, but with drag forces included, the clouds can slow down to the systemic velocity over the range 100--400 pc, as observed. However, we are not able to match the gradual acceleration of the NLR clouds from ~0 to ~100 pc, indicating the need for additional dynamical studies.