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Scientific paper
Jul 2000
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2000hst..prop.8597r&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #8597
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Hst Proposal Id #8597 Agn/Quasars
Scientific paper
Accretion onto massive black holes is believed to be the energy source for AGN. However, evidence for black holes in quiescent galaxies has also been reported; why are these galaxies inactive? One possibility is that active galaxies are better at providing fuel to the nuclear region than quiescent galaxies. For the ISM to fuel a massive black hole it must lose significant amounts of angular momentum. Although angular momentum can easily be removed by stellar bars, recent ground- based studies of Seyferts show that the fraction of bars in active galaxies is no higher than in normal galaxies. Other possible fueling mechanisms such as ``bars-within-bars'' or nuclear spirals cannot be investigated from the ground because they are relatively small features in the ISM. Recent HST observations using optical - near-infrared color maps to probe the morphology of the ISM at high resolution have shown that the majority of Seyfert galaxies have nuclear dust spirals. We propose to obtain WFPC2 snapshots of a sample of primarily quiescent galaxies which we will combine with existing NICMOS images to form color maps to determine if quiescent galaxies also have a large fraction of nuclear dust spirals. This will allow us to determine if nuclear spiral arms are the distinguishing feature that makes active galaxies active. Since the database created will be invaluable for other studies of spiral galaxies, we are waiving our proprietary period.
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