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The role of the host galaxy kinematics on nuclear activity
Author(s) -
Dumas G.,
Mundell C.G.,
Emsellem E.,
Nagar N.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
astronomische nachrichten
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.394
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1521-3994
pISSN - 0004-6337
DOI - 10.1002/asna.200811046
Subject(s) - physics , galaxy , astrophysics , active galactic nucleus , stellar kinematics , kinematics , peculiar galaxy , disc galaxy , gravitational potential , astronomy , stars , luminous infrared galaxy , classical mechanics , milky way
We investigate the kinematic properties of the stars and ionised gas in the circumnuclear regions of a matched sample of nearby Seyfert and non‐active galaxies, using the SAURON Integral‐Field Unit (IFU) on the William Herschel Telescope (WHT). In both active and non‐active galaxies, the stellar velocity fields present regular rotation patterns. After removal of the non‐gravitational components due to nuclear activity (e.g., AGN‐driven outflows) in the case of the Seyfert galaxies, the ionised gas kinematics in both populations is dominated by rotation. The non‐active galaxies present a global alignment between stellar and gaseous kinematics while majority of Seyfert galaxies present strong kinematics misalignments between the two components. A more refined analysis of our two‐dimensional kinematics maps reveal evidence for deviations from axial‐symmetry in the gaseous velocity fields. These deviations are moreover stronger in the case of Seyfert galaxies than their associated non‐active galaxies. This result suggests the presence of weak dynamical perturbations in the circumnuclear regions of Seyfert galaxies and provides a tentative link between nuclear activity and the host galaxy dynamics in these regions. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)