Physics – Optics
Scientific paper
Jan 2012
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2012aas...21924335h&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #219, #243.35
Physics
Optics
Scientific paper
With adaptive-optics assisted integral field spectroscopy we are now able to probe spatial scales that are directly relevant to fueling of Seyfert active galactic nuclei (AGN). While on larger scales Seyfert galaxies appear identical to quiescent galaxies, they are undergoing unknown processes on scales of tens of parsecs that result in feeding of their central black holes and the generation of AGN. Though a comparison of a sample of Seyfert and quiescent galaxies matched in host galaxy characteristics, we identify several key properties that are unique to Seyfert galaxies, and thus their nuclear activity, and we use these to constrain the dynamical processes that dictate black hole accretion rates in Seyferts. Simultaneously measuring the stellar and molecular gas kinematics on scales from 1 kpc down to 10 pc we compare nuclear properties such as the gas content within the central 100 pc, the prevalence of thick nuclear gas disks, the significance of non-circular motions, the frequency of central stellar dispersion drops indicative of past inflow of the interstellar medium, and the characteristics of the nuclear star formation (rates and age of last episode). In several cases we see evidence of inflow along nuclear spiral and bar structures. Results will also be presented from an ongoing effort to interpret the observed molecular gas non-circular kinematic signatures, and estimate inflow rates, via comparison with theoretical dynamical models. Through such modeling we will identify the primary mechanisms responsible for Seyfert AGN fueling and assess the potential impact of these processes on galaxy evolution.
Davies Richard I.
Hicks Erin K.
Malkan Matthew A.
Rivers Austin
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