Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007aas...211.4414h&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #211, #44.14; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 39, p.794
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
The process of fueling Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) requires a continuous inflow of material. Up to now a general picture for fueling processes in galaxies is missing: What mechanisms are responsible for the different kinds of AGN? How to remove angular momentum from material far away from the gravitational influence of the central black hole? Thus, studying the gaseous flows from the outskirts to the very center in galactic disks is critical to understand the growth of supermassive black holes, their co-evolution with the galaxy itself, and the origin of nuclear activity. In order to trace the gas flow on various spatial scales, ranging from a few 10pc in the very center to the outer galactic disk at several kpc distance, we have complemented the NUGA (Nuclei of Galaxies) project on the molecular gas (CO) with high quality observations of the atomic gas (HI) for a sample of 16 nearby spiral galaxies (low-luminosity AGN and starburst galaxies). Our results indicate that the morphology of the atomic gas and dynamical disturbances correlate with the AGN type present (Seyfert, LINER). These findings suggest that the type of nuclear activity present is linked to the ongoing gas flow in the entire gas disk. To substantiate this link we have derived for a sub-sample neutral gas inflow rates as a function of radius and location within the disks. Gravity torques are computed based on the stellar luminosity distribution and the gaseous distribution/kinematics. First results show that the direction of the torques is continuous from the outskirts (HI) to the very center (CO) in the galactic disks, and that the torque changes sign in different quadrants of the gas disk, which can be attributed to the action of outer and/or nuclear bars. Finally, timescales and efficiencies for feeding the central black hole are discussed.
Combes François
Emsellem Eric
Garcia-Burillo Santiago
Haan Sebastian
Mundell Carole
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