NGC 4303: A Seyfert 2 nucleus powered by stars?

Physics

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Hst Proposal Id #9469

Scientific paper

NGC 4303 is to date the best example of the claimed starburst- AGN connection. HST images have unveiled the existence of an unresolved {size <= 4 pc} UV-optical-NIR bright core connected with a star-forming spiral {radius 250 pc}. The STIS UV spectrum of the core shows prominently the characteristic broad absorption lines produced by the winds of massive young stars, and it is best fitted with the synthesised spectrum of a massive, young {<= 5 Myr} stellar cluster. Ground-based optical spectra of the nucleus containing the bright core, place it at the borderline of low-excitation Seyfert 2 and LINER nuclei. STIS 0.1^'' slit spectroscopy of the unresolved core is requested to obtain an unambiguous AGN classification of it, and to measure its enclosed mass, i.e. determine the presence and mass of the black-hole. In addition, the spectra will be combined with evolutionary spectral synthesis and photoionization models to quantify the relative AGN and stellar energy contributions. If the Seyfert classification is confirmed, NGC 4303 will be the first ever detected galaxy with a Seyfert nucleus where the ionizing and bolometric energy output of its core {size <= 4 pc} could be dominated by a massive stellar cluster of young stars, as implied by the STIS UV spectrum. NGC 4303 will also be one of the few Seyferts for which the mass enclosed within the inner few pc would have been determined independently from stellar and gas kinematics.

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