Stellar absorption lines in the spectra of Seyfert galaxies

We have measured the strengths of Ca II triplet and Mgb stellar absorption lines in the nuclear and off-nuclear spectra of Seyfert galaxies. These features are diluted to varying degrees by continuum emission from the active nucleus and from young stars. Ca II triplet strengths can be enhanced if late-type supergiant stars dominate the near-IR light. Thus, objects with strong Ca II triplet and weak Mgb lines may be objects with strong bursts of star formation. We find that for most of our sample the line strengths are at least consistent with dilution of a normal galaxy spectrum by a power law continuum, in accord with the standard model for AGN. However, for several Seyferts in our sample, it appears that dilution by a power law continuum cannot simultaneously explain strong Ca II triplet and relatively weak Mgb. Also, these objects occupy the region of the IRAS color-color diagram characteristic of starburst galaxies. In these objects it appears that the optical to near-IR emission is dominated by late-type supergiants produced in a circumnuclear burst of star formation.     

Extreme starburst or central activity in X-ray luminous IRAS galaxies

ROSAT All Sky Survey observations of IRAS galaxies have revealed up to now a number of 10 optically non-Seyfert galaxies with X-ray (0.1–2.4) luminosities up to a few 10⁴³erg · s⁻¹ (Boller et al. 1992). The sources are brighter than previous detection limits of a few 10⁴¹erg · s⁻¹ as found by Stocke et al. (1991) or Green, Anderson and Ward (1992) for Einstein sources. The optical classification is based on follow-up observations which indicate clearly the non-Seyfert (LINER and HII region-like galaxies) nature. Our investigations reveal that galaxies classified as non-Seyferts on the basis of optical spectroscopy may reach exceptionally high X-ray luminosities which are similar to that of Seyfert galaxies. On the basis of the present observational material we suppose a hidden low luminosity AGN in the centre of these objects as the source of energy production. The objects are of interest when evaluating starburst versus central activity.     

Star formation and AGN fuelling

We present new observational data that tackle the issues of the star formation in Seyfert galaxies, the obscuration and fuelling mechanisms of active galactic nuclei, and the connection between these phenomena. New ISOCAM mid-IR images of nearby Seyfert 2 galaxies confirm that these systems are characterized by enhanced star forming activity. In barred systems the star forming activity occurs preferentially along the bar, indicating that these bars have formed recently and are still in the process of transporting gas towards the center. New X-ray data indicate that the gaseous column density absorbing Sy2 nuclei is a function of the bar strength, therefore indicating that stellar bars play an important role in obscuring AGNs. We speculate that non-axisymmetric disturbances (interaction/bars) both enhance the star forming activity in host galaxy and drive gas into the nuclear region to obscure the AGN, thus making the observed starburst-Sy2 connection. On smaller scales (10–100 pc), we report the discovery of a nuclear gaseous bar in the nearby Sy2 Circinus galaxy. The molecular gas kinematics indicates that this bar causes the gas to flow into the nuclear 10 pc. In the nuclear 10 pc we detect a young nuclear stellar cluster. We show that the post-main-sequence mass loss of this young nuclear stellar population could account for the fuelling of the active nucleus.     

Observational constraints on dark matter in the universe

Application of the cosmic virial theorem to galaxy redshift surveys suggests an open universe - if the dark material is distributed in the same way as galaxies. Here we investigate four redshift surveys. We present new results on the amplitudes of the two- and three-point galaxy correlation functions and we estimate the relative peculiar velocities in the deep redshift survey of Kirshner and co-workers (1983). Next, we review evidence which suggests that dark material is clustered on scales comparable to the optical radii of galaxies. In particular, we use spectroscopic and photometric observations to set constraints on the mass distribution in elliptical galaxies.     

The dark matter halo structure of “fossil” groups candidates

We investigated properties of four isolated giant elliptical galaxies with extended X-ray halo using ASCA data. The derived size of X-ray halo, X-ray luminosity, and gravitational mass of the dark halo are unusually large those of X-ray halo of a single galaxy, but are typical for X-ray halos of groups and poor clusters of galaxies. The measured temperatures and abundances of the X-ray halo gas in these galaxies are also similar to those of the groups and poor clusters. Based on these results we identified these galaxies as “isolated X-ray overluminous elliptical galaxy” (IOLEG). The radial profiles of dark halo in these objects were derived from X-ray data. It is found that some are similar to those of compact groups while others are the same as those of normal ellipticals. The dark halos of lOLEGs are thus indistinguishable from those of groups (and poor clusters), which appears to be consistent with a widely believed idea that lOLEGs are a product of dynamical evolution of a compact group. However, mass-to-light ratios of IOLEGs (M₂₀₀/L_B  100–1000) are far greater than those of Hickson compact groups M₂₀₀/L_B  40–60). Since it is hard to consider that total optical luminosity of a compact group decreases by an order of magnitude in the course of dynamical evolution, such difference in the observed mass-to-light ratio between IOLEGs and Hickson compact groups strongly suggests that most IOLEGs have not evolved from compact groups which are observed at present.     

Obscured AGN and the X-ray background

There is growing evidence that the hard X-ray background (XRB) can be explained by a large population of obscured AGN. I review some of the results of recent deep X-ray surveys, and in particular I discuss the nature of the X-ray luminous emission-line galaxies which have emerged at the faintest X-ray fluxes. If obscured AGN do explain the XRB, a direct implication is that the majority of the energy produced by accretion in the universe is absorbed and not emitted directly. Deep submillimetre surveys with SCUBA have recently attracted a lot of attention, with the potential to allow us an unobscured view dust-enshrouded starformation at high redshift. It has generally been assumed that these sources are purely high redshift starforming galaxies, but if models for the XRB are correct then a significant fraction (∼20%) could contain a luminous AGN.     

Astrophysical jets and outflows

Highly collimated supersonic jets and less collimated outflows are observed to emerge from a wide variety of astrophysical objects. They are seen in young stellar objects (YSOs), proto-planetary nebulae, compact objects (like galactic black holes or microquasars, and X-ray binary stars), and in the nuclei of active galaxies (AGNs). Despite their different physical scales (in size, velocity, and amount of energy transported), they have strong morphological similarities. What physics do they share? These systems are either hydrodynamic or magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) in nature and are, as such, governed by non-linear equations. While theoretical models helped us to understand the basic physics of these objects, numerical simulations have been allowing us to go beyond the one-dimensional, steady-state approach extracting vital information. In this lecture, the formation, structure, and evolution of the jets are reviewed with the help of observational information, MHD and purely hydrodynamical modeling, and numerical simulations. Possible applications of the models particularly to YSOs and AGN jets are addressed.     

X-ray spectra and time variability of active galactic nuclei

The X-ray spectra of broad line active galactic nuclei of all types (Seyfert I's, NELG's, Broadline radio galaxies) is well fit by a power law in the .5–100 keV band of mean energy slope α = .68±.15. There is, as yet, no strong evidence for time variability of this slope in a given object. The constraints that this places on simple models of the central energy source are discussed. BL Lac objects have quite different X-ray spectral properties and show pronounced X-ray spectral variability.On time scales longer than 12 hours most radio quiet AGN do not show strong, ΔI/I > .5, variability. The probability of variability of these AGN seems to be inversely related to their luminosity. However characteristic timescales for variability have not been measured for many objects. This general lack of variability may imply that most AGN are well below the Eddington limit. Radio bright AGN tend to be more variable on long, τ 6 month, timescales.     

Clump-driven galaxy evolution and quasar activity

The collapse of a protogalaxy composed of dark matter and primordial gas has been investigated by numerical simulations and analytical multi-zone modelling in an attempt to examine the early evolution of disk galaxies. The importance of ample interstellar matter existing in young galactic disks has been highlighted. Confrontation of the theoretical results with the available observational data has led to a new picture for disk galaxy evolution, in which the bulge is the secondary object formed from disk matter. Occurrence of quasar activity is also discussed in relation to the dynamical evolution of the host galaxy.     

Compact X-ray sources in nearby galaxy nuclei

We have found compact, near-nuclear X-ray sources in 21 (54%) of a complete sample of 39 nearby face-on spiral and elliptical galaxies with available ROSAT HRI data. ROSAT X-ray luminosities (0.2 – 2.4 keV) of these compact X-ray sources are ∼10³⁷ – 10⁴⁰ erg s⁻¹. The mean displacement between the location of the compact X-ray source and the optical photometric center of the galaxy is ∼390 pc. ASCA spectra of six of the 21 galaxies show the presence of a hard component with relatively steep (Γ ≈ 2.5) spectral slope. A multicolor disk blackbody plus power-law model fits the data from the spiral galaxies well, suggesting that the X-ray objects in these galaxies may be similar to a black hole candidate (BHC) in its soft (high) state. ASCA data from the elliptical galaxies indicate that hot (kT ≈ 0.7 keV) gas dominates the emission. The fact that the spectral slope of the spiral galaxy sources is steeper than in normal type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and that relatively low absorbing columns (N_H ≈ 10²¹ cm⁻²) were found to the power-law component indicates that these objects are somehow geometrically and/or physically different from AGNs in normal active galaxies. The X-ray sources in the spiral galaxies may be BHCs, low-luminosity AGNs, or possibly X-ray luminous supernovae. We estimate the black hole masses of the X-ray sources in the spiral galaxies (if they are BHCs or AGNs) to be ∼10²–10³ M_⊙. The X-ray sources in the elliptical galaxies may be BHCs, AGNs or young X-ray supernova also.     

Ginga observations of Seyfert galaxies

We observed twenty-eight Seyfert 2 galaxies with the Japanese X-ray satellite, Ginga, and found Seyfert 2 galaxies, in general, have the X-ray spectral characteristics of obscured Seyfert 1 nuclei. This result agrees with the predictions from Unified Seyfert model proposed by Antonucci and Miller /1/. However, among the observed Seyfert 2 galaxies, there are a few galaxies with no evidence of an obscuration, contrary to the general predictions of the unified model. We note that type 2 AGN will contribute to the Cosmic Diffuse X-ray Background, if the unified Seyfert model can be extended to the far distant AGN such as quasars.     

Efficiency tests for estimating the gas and stellar population parameters in Type 2 objects

We investigated the efficiency of estimating characteristics of stellar populations (SP) and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) emission using ULySS code. To analyze simultaneously AGN and SP components in the integrated spectrum of Type 2 active galaxies, we modeled the featureless continuum (FC) and emission lines, and we used PEGASE.HR stellar population models provided by ULySS. In order to validate the method, we simulated over 7000 integrated spectra of Seyfert 2 galaxies. Spectra were generated using different characteristics of the featureless AGN continuum, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), spectral ranges, properties of emission lines and single stellar population (SSP) model whose initial mass function (IMF) and abundance pattern is similar to the solar neighborhood. Simulated spectra were fitted with ULySS to evaluate the ability of the method to extract SP and AGN properties. We found that the analysis with ULySS can efficiently restore the characteristics of SP in spectra of Seyfert 2 AGNs, where signal-to-noise ratio is higher than 20, and where SP contributes with more than 10% to the total flux. Degeneracies between AGN and SP parameters increase with increasing the AGN continuum fraction, which points out the importance of simultaneous fitting of the FC and SP contributions.     

A study of a complete soft X-ray selected sample of AGN

We present preliminary results from analyses of hard X-ray and optical observations of a soft X-ray selected sample. We created a small but complete sample with 20 of the softest and brightest objects with low Galactic absorption from the ROSAT bright soft X-ray selected radio-quiet AGN sample. This sample consists of 10 narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies and 10 broad-line Seyfert galaxies. We analyze ASCA data in the 0.6–10 keV band and optical spectra from ground-based telescopes. We investigate the photon indices in the hard X-ray band, soft excesses in the ASCA band, and optical emission line properties. The photon indices in the 2–10 keV band are nominal for both narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies and broad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies in each class compared with other heterogeneous samples. All of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies show soft excesses, but this component seems to be less significant for broad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies. There seems to be a trend of steeper X-ray spectra to be accompanied by narrower Hβ for narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies, but this is not extended to the larger velocity width regime of broad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies, and no clear trend is seen among them.     

The role of stars in the energetics of LINERs

Imaging studies have shown that ∼ 25% of LINER galaxies display a compact nuclear UV source. I compare the HST ultraviolet (1150–3200 Å) spectra that are now available for seven such “UV-bright” LINERs. The spectra of NGC 404, NGC 4569, and NGC 5055 show clear absorption-line signatures of massive stars, indicating a stellar origin for the UV continuum. Similar features are probably present in NGC 6500. The same stellar signatures may be present but undetectable in NGC 4594, due to the low signal-to-noise ratio of the spectrum, and in M81 and NGC 4579, due to superposed strong, broad emission lines. The compact central UV continuum source that is observed in these galaxies is a nuclear star cluster rather than a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN), at least in some cases. At least four of the LINERs suffer from an ionizing photon deficit, in the sense that the ionizing photon flux inferred from the observed far-UV continuum is insufficient to drive the optical H I recombination lines. Examination of the nuclear X-ray flux of each galaxy shows a high X-ray UV ratio in the four “UV-photon starved” LINERs. In these four objects, a separate component, emitting predominantly in the extreme-UV, is the likely ionizing agent, and is perhaps unrelated to the observed nuclear UV emission. Future observations can determine whether the UV continuum in LINERs is always dominated by a starburst or, alternatively, that there are two types of UV-bright LINERs: starburst-dominated and AGN-dominated. Interestingly, recent results show that starbursts dominate the nuclear energetics in many Seyfert 2s as well.     

Multiwavelength monitoring of active galactic nuclei

Recent multiwavelength monitoring of active galactic nuclei (AGN), particularly with the IUE satellite, has produced extraordinary advances in our understanding of the energy-generation mechanism(s) in the central engine and of the structure of the surrounding material. Examples discussed here include both ordinary AGN and blazars (the collective name for highly variable, radio-loud AGN like BL Lac objects and Optically Violently Variable quasars). In the last decade, efforts to obtain single-epoch multiwavelength spectra led to fundamentally new models for the structure of AGN, involving accretion disks for AGN and relativistic jets for blazars. Recent extensions of multiwavelength spectroscopy into the temporal domain have shown that while these general pictures may be correct, the details were probably wrong. Campaigns to monitor Seyfert 1 galaxies like NGC 4151, NGC 5548 and Fairall 9 at infrared, optical, ultraviolet and X-ray wavelengths indicate that broad-emission line regions are stratified by ionization, density, and velocity; argue against a standard thin accretion disk model; and suggest that X-rays represent primary rather than reprocessed radiation. For blazars, years of radio monitoring indicated emission from an inhomogeneous synchrotron-emitting plasma, which could also produce at least some of the shorter-wavelength emission. The recent month-long campaign to observe the BL Lac object PKS 2155-304 has revealed remarkably rapid variability that extends from the infrared through the X-ray with similar amplitude and little or no discernible lag. This lends strong support to relativistic jet models and rules out the proposed accretion disk model for the ultraviolet-X-ray continuum.     

Probing the first stars and black holes in the early Universe with the Dark Ages Radio Explorer (DARE)

A concept for a new space-based cosmology mission called the Dark Ages Radio Explorer (DARE) is presented in this paper. DARE’s science objectives include: (1) When did the first stars form? (2) When did the first accreting black holes form? (3) When did Reionization begin? (4) What surprises does the end of the Dark Ages hold (e.g., Dark Matter decay)? DARE will use the highly-redshifted hyperfine 21-cm transition from neutral hydrogen to track the formation of the first luminous objects by their impact on the intergalactic medium during the end of the Dark Ages and during Cosmic Dawn (redshifts z = 11–35). It will measure the sky-averaged spin temperature of neutral hydrogen at the unexplored epoch 80–420 million years after the Big Bang, providing the first evidence of the earliest stars and galaxies to illuminate the cosmos and testing our models of galaxy formation. DARE’s approach is to measure the expected spectral features in the sky-averaged, redshifted 21-cm signal over a radio bandpass of 40–120 MHz. DARE orbits the Moon for a mission lifetime of 3 years and takes data above the lunar farside, the only location in the inner solar system proven to be free of human-generated radio frequency interference and any significant ionosphere. The science instrument is composed of a low frequency radiometer, including electrically-short, tapered, bi-conical dipole antennas, a receiver, and a digital spectrometer. The smooth frequency response of the antennas and the differential spectral calibration approach using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique will be applied to detect the weak cosmic 21-cm signal in the presence of the intense solar system and Galactic foreground emissions.     

Activity in elliptical galaxies

Elliptical galaxies exhibit a continuum of behaviour between ‘normal’ and highly active objects, with no clear dividing line between the two classes. High-resolution radio observations show that many bright ellipticals contain parsec-scale radio cores which are qualitatively similar to the central engines of radio galaxies but up to a million times less powerful. In contrast, the radio cores of spiral galaxies are qualitatively different from those in ellipticals, providing some clues to why radio galaxies are always ellipticals rather than spirals.     

Dark matter in very poor galaxy groups

We have analyzed a sample of 7000 galaxies in the Local Supercluster (LS) (V < 3100 km/s) selected from the LEDA database [Makarov, D.I., Karachentsev, I.D. A new catalogue of multiple galaxies in the local supercluster small galaxy groups. Small Galaxy Groups ASP Confer. Ser. 209, 40–46, 2000]. We have derived physical properties of poor LS groups selected by dynamical and 3D-Voronoi tessellation methods. Median values of mass-to-luminosity ratios for poor LS groups selected by these methods are 50 M_⊙/L_⊙ and 34 M_⊙/L_⊙, respectively. Physical parameters of LS galaxy triplets in comparison with other samples were evaluated. We suggest that the Dressler effect is present even in such poor groups as galaxy triplets. The data suggest that dark matter haloes are associated with the individual galaxies for LS triplets, which we find are dynamically younger systems. This contrasts with the properties of the Interacting and Northern & Southern triplet samples. For these two samples, the data suggest that the dark matter resides in a common halo. The median values of the mass-to-luminosity ratios for LS triplets, Northern & Southern triplets, and Interacting triplets are 35 M_⊙/L_⊙, 47 M_⊙/L_⊙, and 13 M_⊙/L_⊙, respectively.     

AGN activity triggered by circumnuclear starbursts

We present a radiative/hydrodynamical mechanism for triggering AGN activity; the intensive radiation from a circumnuclear starburst drives the nuclear fueling due to the Poynting-Robertson (radiation drag) effects. When the starburst is in an early and therefore super-Eddington phase, the radiative flux force is likely to obstruct severely the mass accretion onto the nucleus (radiative blizzard phase). But, in a later sub-Eddington phase, the radiation flux force builds up a wall of dusty gas. The wall absorbs the radiation from the starburst regions and re-emits infrared radiation, which causes the disk accretion due to the Poynting-Robertson effect, consequently leading to nuclear fueling (radiative avalanche phase). The radiative avalanche could link to an advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) onto a putative supermassive black hole. The radiatively triggered nuclear activity diminishes as the starburst dims. In this context, the AGN type could be discriminated not only by the viewing angles but also by the evolution of a circumnuclear starbursts. Based on such a picture, we reconsider the AGN activity in luminous IRAS galaxies.