Profiles of emission lines in active galactic nuclei - III. Observations of Ha, [N II] and [S II] profiles

Summary High-resolution (FWHM= 28 km s-1) observations of Ha, [N II] λ6548/6583 and [S II] λ6717/6731 emission lines in several southern active galactic nuclei (AGN) are presented. Deblending of the Hα + [N II] profiles was performed using, when available, the [0 III] λ5007 profile shape as a template. Line profile measurements, as well as line intensities, are tabulated. We found to be relatively common among the observed objects the existence of structure in the line cores, pointing to the complexity of the dynamics in the low-velocity emission region. Differences in profile shape and width amongst different lines are also common, indicating that often there is a superposition, on the spectrograph slit, of emission regions with different dynamics and excitation conditions. This superposition is quantified in the case of IC 5063. We found weak, broad Ha emission in IC 5063 and IC 5135. In NGC 2992, we were unable to confirm the presence of a broad Ha component with the same intensity as found by previous authors, which we ascribe to spectral resolution effects.