No Arabic abstract
We report the detection of the 3.3 mu Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) feature in two Seyfert 1 galaxies - NGC 3227 and Mrk 766, and one QSO - Mrk 478, observed with SpeX at IRTF at a spectral resolution not previously attained for this type of objects. Except for NGC 3227, this is the first time that the 3.3 mu PAH emission is detected in Mrk 766 and Mrk 478. The widths of the emission, reported also for the first time, are rather similar, ranging from 450 A to 550 A. The luminosity of the 3.3 mu PAH emission measured in the QSO Mrk 478 places it at a level similar of that found in starburst and infrared luminous galaxies and implies that this object is having a vigorous burst of star formation. The spatial resolution of the spectra allows us to constrain the location of the star-forming region to the inner 1 Kpc for the QSO and 150 pc for the Seyferts. Our results support the idea that these objects resides in molecular gas-rich galaxies and that their observed infrared excess is primarily due to star formation, as previously indicated by CO and H_2 observations. We also report, for Mrk 1239, the presence of a broad emission feature centred at 3.43 mu, not previosly detected in an extragalactic object and whose origin is not yet clear.
We have conducted a high-resolution ``3D imaging survey of the CO(1--0), HCN(1--0), and HCO$^+$(1--0) lines toward the central a few kpc regions of the Seyfert and starburst galaxies in the local universe using the Nobeyama Millimeter Array. We detected luminous HCN(1--0) emissions toward a considerable fraction of these Seyfert galaxies (10 of 12 in our sub-sample), which indicated that some of these Seyfert galaxies, such as NGC 3079, NGC 3227, NGC 4051, NGC 6764, and NGC 7479, are indeed accompanied with compact nuclear starburst, given the tight correlation between the HCN(1--0) luminosity and the star formation rate among star-forming galaxies. However, we suggest that the elevated HCN(1--0) emission from some of these Seyfert galaxies, including NGC 1068, NGC 1097, NGC 5033, and NGC 5194, does not signify the presence of massive starbursts there. This is because these Seyfert nuclei show abnormally high HCN(1--0)/HCO$^+$(1--0) ratios (2--3), which were never observed in the starburst nuclei in our sample. This could be attributed to the overabundance of HCN molecules in the X-ray dominated regions (XDRs) at the centers of these Seyfert galaxies.
X-ray spectroscopy of Seyfert 1 galaxies often reveal absorption edges resulting from photoionized gas along the line-of-sight to the central engine, the so-called warm absorber. I discuss how recent ASCA observations of warm absorber variability in MCG-6-30-15 can lead us to reject a one-zone model and, instead, have suggested a multi-zone warm absorber. The evidence for dust within the warm absorbers of MCG-6-30-15 and IRAS 13349+2438 is also addressed. These dusty warm absorbers reveal themselves by significantly reddening the optical flux without heavily absorbing the soft X-ray photons. Thermal emission from this warm/hot dust may be responsible for the infra-red bump commonly seen in the broad band spectrum of many Seyfert galaxies.
The Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 2110 has been observed with BeppoSAX between 0.5 and 150 keV. The high energy instrument onboard, PDS, has succeeded in measuring for the first time the spectrum of this source in the 13-150 keV range. The PDS spectrum, having a photon index Gamma~1.86 is fully compatible with that expected from a Seyfert 1 nucleus. In the framework of unified models, the harder (Gamma~1.67) 2-10 keV spectrum is well explained assuming the presence of a complex partial + total absorber (Nh~30x10^22 cm^-2 x25% + Nh~4x10^22 cm^-2 x100%). The high column density of this complex absorber is consistent both with the FeK_alpha line strength and with the detection of an absorption edge at E~7.1 keV in the power-law spectrum.
I provide a short review of the properties of Narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies across the electromagnetic spectrum and of the models to explain them. Their continuum and emission-line properties manifest one extreme form of Seyfert activity. As such, NLS1 galaxies may hold important clues to the key parameters that drive nuclear activity. Their high accretion rates close to the Eddington rate provide new insight into accretion physics, their low black hole masses and perhaps young ages allow us to address issues of black hole growth, their strong optical FeII emission places strong constraints on FeII and perhaps metal formation models and physical conditions in these emission-line clouds, and their enhanced radio quiteness permits a fresh look at causes of radio loudness and the radio-loud radio-quiet bimodality in AGN.
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.