We report on our combined analysis of HST, VLT/MUSE, VLT/SINFONI, and ALMA observations of the local Seyfert 2 galaxy, NGC 5728 to investigate in detail the feeding and feedback of the active galactic nucleus (AGN). The data sets simultaneously probe the morphology, excitation, and kinematics of the stars, ionized gas, and molecular gas over a large range of spatial scales (10 pc to 10 kpc). NGC 5728 contains a large stellar bar that is driving gas along prominent dust lanes to the inner 1 kpc where the gas settles into a circumnuclear ring. The ring is strongly star forming and contains a substantial population of young stars as indicated by the lowered stellar velocity dispersion and gas excitation consistent with H ii regions. We model the kinematics of the ring using the velocity field of the CO (2–1) emission and stars and find it is consistent with a rotating disc. The outer regions of the disc, where the dust lanes meet the ring, show signatures of inflow at a rate of 1 M$\odot$ yr−1. Inside the ring, we observe three molecular gas components corresponding to the circular rotation of the outer ring, a warped disc, and the nuclear stellar bar. The AGN is driving an ionized gas outflow that reaches a radius of 250 pc with a mass outflow rate of 0.08 M$\odot$ yr−1 consistent with its luminosity and scaling relations from previous studies. While we observe distinct holes in CO emission which could be signs of molecular gas removal, we find that largely the AGN is not disrupting the structure of the circumnuclear region.
We have used Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images, SAURON Integral Field Spectroscopy (IFS), and adaptative optics assisted Gemini NIFS near-infrared K-band IFS to map the stellar and gas distribution, excitation and kinematics of the inner few kpc of the nearby edge-on S0 galaxy NGC 4111. The HST images map its ≈450 pc diameter dusty polar ring, with an estimated gas mass ≥107 M⊙. The NIFS data cube maps the inner 110 pc radius at ≈7 pc spatial resolution, revealing a ≈220 pc diameter polar ring in hot (2267 ± 166 K) molecular H2 1–0 S(1) gas embedded in the polar ring. The stellar velocity field shows disc-dominated kinematics along the galaxy plane both in the SAURON large scale and in the NIFS nuclear-scale data. The large-scale [O iii] λ5007 Å velocity field shows a superposition of two disc kinematics: one similar to that of the stars and another along the polar ring, showing non-circular motions that seem to connect with the velocity field of the nuclear H2 ring, whose kinematics indicate accelerated inflow to the nucleus. The estimated mass inflow rate is enough not only to feed an active galactic nucleus (AGN) but also to trigger circumnuclear star formation in the near future. We propose a scenario in which gas from the polar ring, which probably originated from the capture of a dwarf galaxy, is moving inwards and triggering an AGN, as supported by the local X-ray emission, which seems to be the source of the H2 1–0 S(1) excitation. The fact that we see neither near-UV nor Br γ emission suggests that the nascent AGN is still deeply buried under the optically thick dust of the polar ring.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 1814799
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10364630
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Volume:
- 512
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0035-8711
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 2556-2572
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract We present new JWST NIRSpec integral field spectroscopy (IFS) data for the luminous infrared galaxy NGC 7469, a nearby (70.6 Mpc) active galaxy with a Seyfert 1.5 nucleus that drives a highly ionized gas outflow and a prominent nuclear star-forming ring. Using the superb sensitivity and high spatial resolution of the JWST instrument NIRSpec IFS, we investigate the role of the Seyfert nucleus in the excitation and dynamics of the circumnuclear gas. Our analysis focuses on the [Fe
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