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The Host Galaxies of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies: Nuclear Dust Morphology and Starburst Rings
We present a study of the nuclear morphology of a sample of narrow- andbroad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s and BLS1s, respectively) based onbroadband images in the Hubble Space Telescope archives. In our previousstudy we found that large-scale stellar bars at >1 kpc from thenucleus are more common in NLS1s than BLS1s. In this paper we find thatNLS1s preferentially have grand-design dust spirals within ~1 kpc oftheir centers. We also find that NLS1s have a higher fraction of nuclearstar-forming rings than BLS1s. We find that many of the morphologicaldifferences are due to the presence or absence of a large-scale stellarbar within the spiral host galaxy. In general, barred Seyfert 1 galaxiestend to have grand-design dust spirals at their centers, confirming theresults of other researchers. The high fraction of grand-design nucleardust spirals and stellar nuclear rings observed in NLS1s' host galaxiessuggests a means for efficient fueling of their nuclei to support theirhigh Eddington ratios.
| An atlas of calcium triplet spectra of active galaxies
We present a spectroscopic atlas of active galactic nuclei covering theregion around the λλ8498, 8542, 8662 calcium triplet(CaT). The sample comprises 78 objects, divided into 43 Seyfert 2s, 26Seyfert 1s, three starburst and six normal galaxies. The spectra pertainto the inner ~300 pc in radius, and thus sample the central kinematicsand stellar populations of active galaxies. The data are used to measurestellar velocity dispersions (σ*) with bothcross-correlation and direct fitting methods. These measurements arefound to be in good agreement with each other and with those in previousstudies for objects in common. The CaT equivalent width is alsomeasured. We find average values and sample dispersions ofWCaT of 4.6 +/- 2.0, 7.0 +/- 1.0 and 7.7 +/- 1.0 Å forSeyfert 1s, Seyfert 2s and normal galaxies, respectively. We furtherpresent an atlas of [SIII]λ9069 emission-line profiles for asubset of 40 galaxies. These data are analysed in a companion paperwhich addresses the connection between stellar and narrow-line regionkinematics, the behaviour of the CaT equivalent width as a function ofσ*, activity type and stellar population properties.
| A Green Bank Telescope Search for Water Masers in Nearby Active Galactic Nuclei
Using the Green Bank Telescope, we have conducted a survey for 1.3 cmwater maser emission toward the nuclei of nearby active galaxies, themost sensitive large survey for H2O masers to date. Among 145galaxies observed, maser emission was newly detected in 11 sources andconfirmed in one other. Our survey targeted nearby (v<12,000 kms-1), mainly type 2 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) north ofδ=-20deg and includes a few additional sources as well.We find that more than one-third of Seyfert 2 galaxies have strong maseremission, although the detection rate declines beyond v~5000 kms-1 because of sensitivity limits. Two of the masersdiscovered during this survey are found in unexpected hosts: NGC 4151(Seyfert 1.5) and NGC 2782 (starburst). We discuss the possiblerelations between the large X-ray column to NGC 4151 and a possiblehidden AGN in NGC 2782 to the detected masers. Four of the masersdiscovered here, NGC 591, NGC 4388, NGC 5728, and NGC 6323, havehigh-velocity lines symmetrically spaced about the systemic velocity, alikely signature of molecular gas in a nuclear accretion disk. The masersource in NGC 6323, in particular, reveals the classic spectrum of a``disk maser'' represented by three distinct groups of Dopplercomponents. Future single-dish and VLBI observations of these fourgalaxies could provide a measurement of the distance to each galaxy andof the Hubble constant, independent of standard candle calibrations.
| Circumnuclear Structure and Black Hole Fueling: Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS Imaging of 250 Active and Normal Galaxies
Why are the nuclei of some galaxies more active than others? If mostgalaxies harbor a central massive black hole, the main difference isprobably in how well it is fueled by its surroundings. We investigatethe hypothesis that such a difference can be seen in the detailedcircumnuclear morphologies of galaxies using several quantitativelydefined features, including bars, isophotal twists, boxy and diskyisophotes, and strong nonaxisymmetric features in unsharp-masked images.These diagnostics are applied to 250 high-resolution images of galaxycenters obtained in the near-infrared with NICMOS on the Hubble SpaceTelescope. To guard against the influence of possible biases andselection effects, we have carefully matched samples of Seyfert 1,Seyfert 2, LINER, starburst, and normal galaxies in their basicproperties, taking particular care to ensure that each was observed witha similar average scale (10-15 pc pixel-1). Severalmorphological differences among our five different spectroscopicclassifications emerge from the analysis. The H II/starburst galaxiesshow the strongest deviations from smooth elliptical isophotes, whilethe normal galaxies and LINERs have the least disturbed morphology. TheSeyfert 2s have significantly more twisted isophotes than any othercategory, and the early-type Seyfert 2s are significantly more disturbedthan the early-type Seyfert 1s. The morphological differences betweenSeyfert 1s and Seyfert 2s suggest that more is at work than simply theviewing angle of the central engine. They may correspond to differentevolutionary stages.
| Timescales of Soft X-Ray Variability and Physical Constraints in Active Galactic Nuclei
We present soft X-ray variability timescales for 65 active galacticnuclei (AGNs) derived from ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counterpointing data. For these 65 objects with obvious exponential increasingor decreasing patterns in their light curves, we use the exponentialtimescales and find they are more suitable for analyzing ROSATlight-curve data. We also discuss some physical constraints on thecentral engine implied by our results. Assuming that this soft X-rayvariability exponential timescale is approximately equal to the thermaltimescale of the standard accretion disk, we obtain the accretion rate,the size of the soft X-ray radiation region, and the compactnessparameter for 37 AGNs, using their recently estimated central black holemasses. For 12 of these 37 AGNs, the radii of the gravitationalinstability in the standard thin accretion disks are obtained using thecentral black hole masses and the calculated accretion rates. These areconsistent with the results from the reverberation mapping method. Theseresults provide supporting evidence that such gravitationalinstabilities contribute to the formation of the broad-line regions inAGNs.
| The Host Galaxies of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies: Evidence for Bar-Driven Fueling
We present a study of the host galaxy morphologies of narrow- andbroad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1's and BLS1's) based on broadbandoptical images from the Hubble Space Telescope archives. We find thatlarge-scale stellar bars, starting at ~1 kpc from the nucleus, are muchmore common in NLS1's than BLS1's. Furthermore, the fraction of NLS1spirals that have bars increases with decreasing full width athalf-maximum of the broad component of Hβ. These results suggest alink between the large-scale bars, which can support high fueling ratesto the inner kiloparsecs, and the high mass accretion rates associatedwith the supermassive black holes in NLS1's.
| The Hamburg/RASS Catalogue of optical identifications. Northern high-galactic latitude ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue X-ray sources
We present the Hamburg/RASS Catalogue (HRC) of optical identificationsof X-ray sources at high-galactic latitude. The HRC includes all X-raysources from the ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue (RASS-BSC) with galacticlatitude |b| >=30degr and declination delta >=0degr . In thispart of the sky covering ~ 10 000 deg2 the RASS-BSC contains5341 X-ray sources. For the optical identification we used blue Schmidtprism and direct plates taken for the northern hemisphere Hamburg QuasarSurvey (HQS) which are now available in digitized form. The limitingmagnitudes are 18.5 and 20, respectively. For 82% of the selectedRASS-BSC an identification could be given. For the rest either nocounterpart was visible in the error circle or a plausibleidentification was not possible. With ~ 42% AGN represent the largestgroup of X-ray emitters, ~ 31% have a stellar counterpart, whereasgalaxies and cluster of galaxies comprise only ~ 4% and ~ 5%,respectively. In ~ 3% of the RASS-BSC sources no object was visible onour blue direct plates within 40\arcsec around the X-ray sourceposition. The catalogue is used as a source for the selection of(nearly) complete samples of the various classes of X-ray emitters.
| The WARPS Survey. VI. Galaxy Cluster and Source Identifications from Phase I
We present in catalog form the optical identifications for objects fromthe first phase of the Wide Angle ROSAT Pointed Survey (WARPS). WARPS isa serendipitous survey of relatively deep, pointed ROSAT observationsfor clusters of galaxies. The X-ray source detection algorithm used byWARPS is Voronoi Tessellation and Percolation (VTP), a technique whichis equally sensitive to point sources and extended sources of lowsurface brightness. WARPS-I is based on the central regions of 86 ROSATPSPC fields, covering an area of 16.2 square degrees. We describe herethe X-ray source screening and optical identification process forWARPS-I, which yielded 34 clusters at 0.06
| X-Ray versus Optical Observations of Active Galactic Nuclei: Evidence for Large Grains?
Recently, Maiolino et al. constructed a sample of active galactic nucleifor which both the reddening E(B-V) and the column density NHto the nucleus could be determined. For most of the galaxies in theirsample, they found that E(B-V)/NH is substantially smallerthan for the diffuse interstellar medium of our Galaxy. They assertedthat either the dust-to-gas ratio is lower than in the Galaxy or thegrains are so large that they do not extinct or redden efficiently inthe optical. We show that there is no systematic increase in E(B-V) withNH for the Maiolino et al. galaxies, which suggests that theX-ray absorption and optical extinction occur in distinct media. In alater paper, Maiolino et al. suggested that the observed lines of sightfor the previous Maiolino et al. galaxies pass through the ``torus''that obscures the broad-line region and nuclear continuum in Seyfert 2galaxies and argued that the torus grains are larger than Galacticgrains. There is no reason to believe that the lines of sight for thesegalaxies pass through the torus, since the observed column densities arelower than those typically observed in Seyfert 2 galaxies. We suggestinstead that the X-ray absorption occurs in material located off thetorus and/or accretion disk, while the optical extinction occurs inmaterial located beyond the torus. The X-ray absorbing material couldeither be dust-free or contain large grains that do not extinctefficiently in the optical. There is no conclusive evidence that thegrains in active galactic nuclei are systematically larger than those inthe diffuse interstellar medium of our Galaxy. We discuss an alternativeway to probe the properties of dust in Seyfert tori but find thatobservations of Seyfert 2 nuclei with higher resolution than currentlyavailable will be needed in order to place stringent limits on the dust.
| Strömgren Photometry from z=0 to z~1. I. The Method
We use rest-frame Strömgren photometry to observe clusters ofgalaxies in a self-consistent manner from z=0 to z=0.8. Strömgrenphotometry of galaxies is intended as a compromise between standardbroadband photometry and spectroscopy, in the sense that it is moresensitive to subtle variations in spectral energy distributions than theformer, yet much less time-consuming than the latter. principalcomponent analysis is used to facilitate extraction of information fromthe Strömgren data. By calibrating the principal components usingwell-studied galaxies, as well as models of stellar populations, wedevelop a purely empirical method to detect, and subsequently classify,cluster galaxies at all redshifts smaller than 0.8. Interlopers arediscarded with unprecedented efficiency (up to 100%). The firstprincipal component essentially reproduces the Hubble sequence and canthus be used to determine the global star formation history of clustermembers. The (PC2, PC3) plane allows us to identify Seyfert galaxies(and distinguish them from starbursts) based on photometric colorsalone. In the case of E/S0 galaxies with known redshift, we are able toresolve the age-dust-metallicity degeneracy, albeit at the accuracylimit of our present observations. We use this technique in later papersto probe galaxy clusters well beyond their cores and to faintermagnitudes than spectroscopy can achieve, because the faint end of theluminosity function as well as the outer cluster regions seem to exhibitthe strongest evolutionary trends. We are able to directly compare thesedata over the entire redshift range without a priori assumptions becauseour observations do not require first-order k-corrections. Thecompilation of such data for different cluster types over a wideredshift range is likely to set important constraints on the evolutionof galaxies and on the clustering process.
| The Multitude of Unresolved Continuum Sources at 1.6 Microns in Hubble Space Telescope Images of Seyfert Galaxies
We examine 112 Seyfert galaxies observed by the Hubble Space Telescopeat 1.6 μm. We find that ~50% of the Seyfert 2.0 galaxies which arepart of the Revised Shapely-Ames (RSA) Catalog or the CfA redshiftsample contain unresolved continuum sources at 1.6 μm. All but acouple of the Seyfert 1.0-1.9 galaxies display unresolved continuumsources. The unresolved sources have fluxes of order 1 mJy,near-infrared luminosities of order 1041 ergs s-1,and absolute magnitudes MH~-16. Comparison non-Seyfertgalaxies from the RSA Catalog display significantly fewer (~20%),somewhat lower luminosity nuclear sources, which could be due to compactstar clusters. We find that the luminosities of the unresolved Seyfert1.0-1.9 sources at 1.6 μm are correlated with [O III] λ5007and hard X-ray luminosities, implying that these sources are nonstellar.Assuming a spectral energy distribution similar to that of a Seyfert 2galaxy, we estimate that a few percent of local spiral galaxies containblack holes emitting as Seyferts at a moderate fraction,~10-1-10-4, of their Eddington luminosities. Wefind no strong correlation between 1.6 μm fluxes and hard X-ray or [OIII] λ5007 fluxes for the pure Seyfert 2.0 galaxies. Thesegalaxies also tend to have lower 1.6 μm luminosities compared to theSeyfert 1.0-1.9 galaxies of similar [O III] luminosity. Either largeextinctions (AV~20-40) are present toward theircontinuum-emitting regions or some fraction of the unresolved sources at1.6 μm are compact star clusters. With increasing Seyfert type thefraction of unresolved sources detected at 1.6 μm and the ratio of1.6 μm to [O III] fluxes tend to decrease. These trends areconsistent with the unification model for Seyfert 1 and 2 galaxies.
| Soft X-ray properties of a spectroscopically selected sample of interacting and isolated Seyfert galaxies
We present a catalogue of ROSAT detected sources in the sample ofspectroscopically selected Seyfert 1 and Seyfert 2 galaxies of Rafanelliet al. (\cite{Rafanelli95}). The catalogue contains 102 Seyfert 1 and 36Seyfert 2 galaxies. The identification is based on X-ray contour mapsoverlaid on optical images taken from the Digitized Sky Survey. We havederived the basic spectral and timing properties of the X-ray detectedSeyfert galaxies. For Seyfert 1 galaxies a strong correlation betweenphoton index and X-ray luminosity is detected. We confirm the presenceof generally steeper X-ray continua in narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies(NLS1s) compared to broad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies. Seyfert 2 galaxiesshow photon indices similar to those of NLS1s. Whereas a tendency for anincreasing X-ray luminosity with increasing interaction strength isfound for Seyfert 1 galaxies, such a correlation is not found forSeyfert 2 galaxies. For Seyfert 1 galaxies we found also a strongcorrelation for increasing far-infrared luminosity with increasinginteraction strength. Both NLS1s and Seyfert 2 galaxies show the highestvalues of far-infrared luminosity compared to Seyfert 1 galaxies,suggesting that NLS1s and Seyfert 2 galaxies host strong (circumnuclear)star formation. For variable Seyfert galaxies we present the X-ray lightcurves obtained from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey and from ROSAT PSPC andHRI pointed observations. Besides the expected strong short- andlong-term X-ray variability in Seyfert 1 galaxies, we find indicationsfor X-ray flux variations in Seyfert 2 galaxies. All overlays can beretrieved via CDS anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5)}or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/368/797
| The ROSAT Bright Survey: II. Catalogue of all high-galactic latitude RASS sources with PSPC countrate CR > 0.2 s-1
We present a summary of an identification program of the more than 2000X-ray sources detected during the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (Voges et al.1999) at high galactic latitude, |b| > 30degr , with countrate above0.2 s-1. This program, termed the ROSAT Bright Survey RBS, isto more than 99.5% complete. A sub-sample of 931 sources with countrateabove 0.2 s-1 in the hard spectral band between 0.5 and 2.0keV is to 100% identified. The total survey area comprises 20391deg2 at a flux limit of 2.4 x 10-12 ergcm-2 s-1 in the 0.5 - 2.0 keV band. About 1500sources of the complete sample could be identified by correlating theRBS with SIMBAD and the NED. The remaining ~ 500 sources were identifiedby low-resolution optical spectroscopy and CCD imaging utilizingtelescopes at La Silla, Calar Alto, Zelenchukskaya and Mauna Kea. Apartfrom completely untouched sources, catalogued clusters and galaxieswithout published redshift as well as catalogued galaxies with unusualhigh X-ray luminosity were included in the spectroscopic identificationprogram. Details of the observations with an on-line presentation of thefinding charts and the optical spectra will be published separately.Here we summarize our identifications in a table which contains opticaland X-ray information for each source. As a result we present the mostmassive complete sample of X-ray selected AGNs with a total of 669members and a well populated X-ray selected sample of 302 clusters ofgalaxies with redshifts up to 0.70. Three fields studied by us remainwithout optical counterpart (RBS0378, RBS1223, RBS1556). While the firstis a possible X-ray transient, the two latter are isolated neutron starcandidates (Motch et al. 1999, Schwope et al. 1999).
| The Asiago-ESO/RASS QSO Survey. I. The Catalog and the Local QSO Luminosity Function
This paper presents the first results of a survey for bright quasars(V<14.5 and R<15.4) covering the northern hemisphere at Galacticlatitudes |b|>30°. The photometric database is derived from theGuide Star and USNO catalogs. Quasars are identified on the basis oftheir X-ray emission measured in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey. The surfacedensity of quasars brighter than 15.5 mag turns out to be(10+/-2)×10-3 deg-2, about 3 times higherthan that estimated by the PG survey. The quasar optical luminosityfunction (LF) at 0.04
| ROSAT PSPC observations of T Tauri stars in MBM12 PSPC observations of T Tauri stars in MBM12
We present the ROSAT PSPC pointed and ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS)observations and the results of our low and high spectral resolutionoptical follow-up observations of the T Tauri stars (TTS) and X-rayselected T Tauri star candidates in the region of the high galacticlatitude dark cloud MBM12 (L1453-L1454, L1457, L1458). Previousobservations have revealed 3 ``classical'' T Tauri stars and 1``weak-line'' T Tauri star along the line of sight to the cloud. Becauseof the proximity of the cloud to the sun, all of the previously knownTTS along this line of sight were detected in the 25 ks ROSAT PSPCpointed observation of the cloud. We conducted follow-up opticalspectroscopy at the 2.2-meter telescope at Calar Alto to look forsignatures of youth in additional X-ray selected T Tauri starcandidates. These observations allowed us to confirm the existence of 4additional TTS associated with the cloud and at least 2 young mainsequence stars that are not associated with the cloud and place an upperlimit on the age of the TTS in MBM12 ~ 10 Myr. The distance to MBM12 hasbeen revised from the previous estimate of 65+/-5 pc to 65+/-35 pc basedon results of the Hipparcos satellite. At this distance MBM12 is thenearest known molecular cloud to the sun with recent star formation. Weestimate a star-formation efficiency for the cloud of 2-24%. We havealso identified a reddened G9 star behind the cloud with A_v ~ 8.4-8.9mag. Therefore, there are at least two lines of sight through the cloudthat show larger extinctions (A_v > 5 mag) than previously thoughtfor this cloud. This higher extinction explains why MBM12 is capable ofstar-formation while most other high-latitude clouds are not. Table~4 isonly available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html.}
| Search for optical microvariability in a large sample of Seyfert I galaxies
We present results of an optical (I band) monitoring of a sample of 22Seyfert I galaxies. We aimed to detect microvariability with timeresolution from =~ 6 minutes down to 30 seconds for the most luminousone. It is the largest survey ever done in the search of rapid opticalvariations in Seyfert galaxies. We used differential photometry and anew method of analysis between galaxy and comparison stars light curvesin order to minimize the influence of the intrinsic variabilities of thelatter. We thus obtain precision on standard deviation measurements lessthan 1% and generally of the order of 0.5%. We obtain no clear detectionof microvariability in any of these objects. In the hypothesis whereoptical microvariability could be due to synchrotron emission of a nonthermal electrons population, we discuss the physical constraintsimposed by these results. Based on observations taken at the Cananea andSan Pedro del Mártir observatories in Mexico
| A Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Survey of Nearby Active Galactic Nuclei
We have obtained WFPC2 images of 256 of the nearest (z <= 0.035)Seyfert 1, Seyfert 2, and starburst galaxies. Our 500 s broadband(F606W) exposures reveal much fine-scale structure in the centers ofthese galaxies, including dust lanes and patches, bars, rings, wisps,and filaments, and tidal features such as warps and tails. Most of thisfine structure cannot be detected in ground-based images. We haveassigned qualitative classifications for these morphological featuresand a Hubble type for the inner region of each galaxy, and we have alsomeasured quantitative information such as 0."18 and 0."92 aperturemagnitudes, position angles, and ellipticities, where possible. There islittle direct evidence for unusually high rates of interaction in theSeyfert galaxies. Slightly less than 10% of all the galaxies show tidalfeatures or multiple nuclei. The incidence of inner starburst rings isabout 10% in both classes of Seyfert galaxies. In contrast, galaxieswith H II region emission-line spectra appear substantially moreirregular and clumpy because of their much higher rates of current starformation per unit of galactic mass. The presence of an unresolvedcentral continuum source in our Hubble Space Telescope images is avirtually perfect indicator of a Seyfert 1 nucleus as seen byground-based spectroscopy. Fifty-two percent of these Seyfert 1 pointsources are saturated in our images; we use their wings to estimatemagnitudes ranging from 15.8 to 18.5. The converse is not universallytrue, however, as over one-third of Seyferts with direct spectroscopicevidence for broad Balmer wings show no nuclear point source. These 34resolved Seyfert 1's have fainter nonstellar nuclei, which appear to bemore extinguished by dust absorption. Like the Seyfert 2's, they havecentral surface brightnesses consistent with those expected for thebulges of normal galaxies. The rates for the occurrences of bars inSeyfert 1's and 2's and non-Seyferts are the same. We found onesignificant morphological difference between the host galaxies ofSeyfert 1 and Seyfert 2 nuclei. The Seyfert 2 galaxies are significantlymore likely to show nuclear dust absorption, especially in lanes andpatches that are irregular or reach close to the nucleus. A few simpletests show that the difference cannot be explained by different averageredshifts or selection techniques. It is confirmed by our galaxymorphology classifications, which show that Seyfert 1 nuclei reside inearlier type galaxies than Seyfert 2 nuclei. If, as we believe, this isan intrinsic difference in host galaxy properties, it undermines one ofthe postulates of the strong unification hypothesis for Seyfertgalaxies, that they merely appear different because of the orientationof their central engine. The excess galactic dust we see in Seyfert 2'smay cause substantial absorption that obscures their hypothesized broademission line regions and central nonstellar continua. This galacticdust could produce much of the absorption in Seyfert 2 nuclei that hadinstead been attributed to a thick dusty accretion torus forming theouter part of the central engine.
| The Difference between the Narrow-Line Regions of Seyfert 1 and Seyfert 2 Galaxies
This paper presents a comparative study of emission-line ratios of thenarrow-line regions (NLRs) of Seyfert 1 and Seyfert 2 galaxies. Itincludes a literature compilation of the emission-line fluxes [O II]lambda3727, [Ne III] lambda3869, [O III] lambda5007, and [Ne V]lambda3426 as well as 60 μm continuum flux, for a sample of 52Seyfert 1 and 68 Seyfert 2 galaxies. The distribution of theemission-line ratios [O II]/[Ne III] and [O II]/[Ne V] shows thatSeyfert 1 and Seyfert 2 galaxies are statistically different: Seyfert 1galaxies have smaller values than Seyfert 2 galaxies, indicating ahigher excitation spectrum. These and other emission-line ratios arecompared with sequences of models that combine different proportions ofmatter and ionization-bounded clouds and also with sequences of modelsthat vary only the ionization parameter. This comparison shows that theformer models better reproduce the overall distribution of emission-lineratios, indicating that Seyfert 1 galaxies have a smaller number ofionization-bounded clouds than Seyfert 2 galaxies. This difference,together with other results available in the literature, are interpretedfrom the point of view of four different scenarios. The most likelyscenario assumes that Seyfert 1 galaxies have smaller NLRs than Seyfert2 galaxies, possibly due to a preferential alignment of the torus axisclose to the host galaxy plane axis in Seyfert 1 galaxies.
| Total magnitude, radius, colour indices, colour gradients and photometric type of galaxies
We present a catalogue of aperture photometry of galaxies, in UBVRI,assembled from three different origins: (i) an update of the catalogueof Buta et al. (1995) (ii) published photometric profiles and (iii)aperture photometry performed on CCD images. We explored different setsof growth curves to fit these data: (i) The Sersic law, (ii) The net ofgrowth curves used for the preparation of the RC3 and (iii) A linearinterpolation between the de Vaucouleurs (r(1/4) ) and exponential laws.Finally we adopted the latter solution. Fitting these growth curves, wederive (1) the total magnitude, (2) the effective radius, (3) the colourindices and (4) gradients and (5) the photometric type of 5169 galaxies.The photometric type is defined to statistically match the revisedmorphologic type and parametrizes the shape of the growth curve. It iscoded from -9, for very concentrated galaxies, to +10, for diffusegalaxies. Based in part on observations collected at the Haute-ProvenceObservatory.
| The extinction, flux distribution and luminosity of Seyfert 1 nuclei derived from UBV(RI)C aperture photometry
UBV(RI)C aperture photometry was carried out over a four-yrperiod for 92 broad-line Seyfert galaxies. Where possible, theobservations were repeated at different epochs in order to try to detectbrightness variations. Significant variations were found in the majorityof the objects observed at more than one epoch. Plots of the fluxmeasurements through different bands against each other closely resemblelinear relationships. Error contours of the data points in these plotsare shown to be covariant ellipses. A statistical method is developedthat enables one to obtain the best linear fit taking into account theerror geometry peculiar to these data. The nuclear colors are determinedfor 50 significantly variable objects by calculating the beststraight-line fits according to this statistical method. Chi-squaredtests are used to show that, contrary to claims made in some recentstudies, there is no significant deviation of the data from thestraight-line fit in the vast majority of cases. The relationshipbetween galaxy inclination and nuclear extinction is found to be verypoorly defined, showing that the extinction largely depends on theamount of dust in in the circumnuclear region rather than interstellardust in the galaxy itself.
| High-Energy Spectra of Active Galactic Nuclei. II. Absorption in Seyfert Galaxies
Absorption by cold material in a large sample of active galaxies hasbeen analyzed in order to study statistically the behavior of absorbedsources. The analysis indicates that on the basis of the column densityalone, sources can be divided into low-absorption([N_{{H}}/N_{{H}_{{Gal}}}]<=50) and high-absorption([N_{{H}}/{N}_{{H}_{{Gal}}}]>=50) objects. While the second groupconsists mostly of narrow emission line galaxies (Seyfert galaxies oftype 1.9-2), the first group is less homogenous, being formed by amixture of broad and narrow emission line objects (Seyfert 1-2galaxies). A study of the distribution of the column density values bymeans of bootstrap analysis confirms the reality of this effect. Onegroup consisting of optically selected objects is well explained withinthe unified theory as nuclei obscured by a molecular torus. The secondgroup made up of X-ray- and IRAS-selected objects is more difficult todefine: in these sources the absorption is underestimated owing todifficulties (1) in fitting complex absorption spectra or (2) inmeasuring NH values in Compton-thick sources or the absorption has adifferent origin than in the torus. Possible correlations of absorptionwith X-ray luminosity, axial ratio, and Balmer decrement have also beeninvestigated. Previous suggestions that lower luminosity AGNs tend to bemore highly absorbed than those with higher luminosity are not confirmedby the present data; neither is any evidence for a correlation of NHwith axial ratio (b/a) found except for a preference of Seyfert 1-1.5galaxies to be in face-on galaxies. While some sources (Seyfert 1-1.5galaxies and low-absorption objects) have X-ray absorption compatiblewith Balmer decrement, high-absorption objects have column densitiesmuch higher than predicted from optical observations. These results arein agreement with the unified theory since the torus parameters areexpected to be independent of luminosity, its orientation should berandom with respect to the host galaxy, and its location should be inbetween the broad- and narrow-line regions. A study of the NHvariability indicates that in a large fraction (70%) of the sources forwhich the analysis could be done, NH varies on timescales from months toyears. In Seyfert 1-1.5 galaxies, the variability is associated with aregion in or near the broad-line region and is explained in terms ofpartial covering and/or warm absorption models. In Seyfert 2 galaxies,the only variability observed is that associated with narrow emissionline galaxies. The study of the column density distributions indicatesthat Seyfert 1-1.5 galaxies are characterized byN_{{H}}=18^{+9}_{-7}x1021 atoms cm-2. Seyfert 1.9-2 galaxieshave instead N_{{H}}=96^{+54}_{-35}x1021 atoms cm-2 and alarger dispersion; if this group is divided into low- andhigh-absorption objects, N_{{H}}=14.5^{+7.2}_{-5.3}x1021atoms cm-2 and N_{{H}}=132.8^{+80.1}_{-52.6} x 1021 atoms cm-2,respectively, are obtained. The observed dispersion in each group isconsistent with being entirely due to column density variability.
| A Survey for H 2O Megamasers in Active Galactic Nuclei. II. A Comparison of Detected and Undetected Galaxies
A survey for H2O megamaser emission from 354 active galaxies hasresulted in the detection of 10 new sources, making 16 known altogether.The galaxies surveyed include a distance-limited sample (coveringSeyferts and LINERs with recession velocities less than 7000 km s-1) anda magnitude-limited sample (covering Seyferts and LINERs with mB <=14.5). In order to determine whether the H2O-detected galaxies are"typical" active galactic nuclei (AGNs) or have special properties thatfacilitate the production of powerful masers, we have accumulated adatabase of physical, morphological, and spectroscopic properties of theobserved galaxies. The most significant finding is that H2O megamasersare detected only in Seyfert 2 and LINER galaxies, not Seyfert 1's. Thislack of detection in Seyfert 1's indicates either that they do not havemolecular gas in their nuclei with physical conditions appropriate toproduce 1.3 cm H2O masers or that the masers are beamed away from Earth,presumably in the plane of the putative molecular torus that hides theSeyfert 1 nucleus in Seyfert 2's. LINERs are detected at a similar rateto Seyfert 2's, which constitutes a strong argument that at least somenuclear LINERs are AGNs rather than starbursts, since starbursts havenot been detected as H2O megamasers. We preferentially detect H2Oemission from the nearer galaxies and from those that are apparentlybrighter at mid- and far-infrared and centimeter radio wavelengths.There is also a possible trend for the H2O-detected galaxies to be moreintrinsically luminous in nuclear 6 cm radio emission than theundetected ones, though these data are incomplete. We find evidence thatSeyfert 2's with very high (NH > 1024 cm-2) X-ray--absorbing columnsof gas are more often detected as H2O maser emitters than Seyfert 2'swith lower columns. It may be that the probability of detecting H2Omaser emission in Seyfert galaxies increases with increasing column ofcool gas to the nucleus, from Seyfert 1's through narrow-line X-raygalaxies to Seyfert 2's.
| Optical and Far-Infrared Emission of IRAS Seyfert Galaxies
This paper presents an analysis of moderately large samples of type 1and 2 Seyfert galaxies through optical observations and far-infraredIRAS data, also taking into account theoretical color indices derivedfrom dust emission models. The galaxies in the samples cover a ratherlarge interval in far-infrared luminosity, i.e., 7.6 <= log(LIR/Lȯ) <= 12.6. We show that both types of Seyferts haveapproximately the same distribution of number of objects with a givenLIR. Galaxies with similar far-infrared color indices alpha (100, 60)are grouped together, and the corresponding average color indices areinterpreted in terms of a simple model in which the observed colorsresult from the combination of dust directly heated by the activegalactic nucleus with a component from the host galaxy represented bythe emission of cool dust. On the basis of the average IRAS colors ofthe derived groups, we show that type 1 and 2 Seyfert galaxies areundistinguishable from each other. From the luminosity ratios LIR/LHalpha and LIR/L[O III], we show that basically the same model can beapplied to both types of Seyfert, only allowing for the variation ofmodel conditions: type 2 Seyferts would be like type 1 Seyferts but withthe Seyfert nucleus and broad line region more effectively "hidden" bydust.
| Soft versus hard X-ray emission in active galactic nuclei: partial-covering and warm-plus-cold absorber models
We analyse the ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter (PSPC)hardness ratio and the 0.5-2-keV to 2-10-keV flux ratio of 65 activegalactic nuclei (AGN) for which there are both ROSAT archivalobservations available and 2-10-keV fluxes, mostly from the HEAO-1MC-LASS survey. We conclude that the simplest spectral model for the AGNthat can accommodate the variety of X-ray colours obtained is a standardpower law (with energy spectral index alpha~0.9) plus a ~0.1-keVblackbody, both of which are partially absorbed. In our sample, type 1AGN require an absorbing column around 10^22 cm^-2 with coveringfractions between 20 and 100 per cent, while type 2 AGN display largercolumns and ~100 per cent coverage. This simple model also provides agood link between soft and hard AGN X-ray luminosity functions andsource counts. We also consider a warm absorber as an alternative modelto partial covering and find that the presence of gas in two phases(ionized and neutral) is required.
| A Survey for H 2O Megamasers in Active Galactic Nuclei. I. Observations
We report an extensive search for 22 GHz H_2_O maser emission fromnearby active galaxies. Our sample includes all Seyfert and LINERgalaxies listed in the Huchra catalog or the Veron-Cetty & Veroncatalog with recessional velocities less than 7000 km s^-1^, and allSeyfert galaxies and LINERs in Huchra's catalog with m_b_ <= 14. Inaddition to these distance- and magnitude-limited samples, we have alsoobserved a number of active galaxies, including radio galaxies, athigher redshift; In all, some 354 galaxies have been surveyed. Ten newH_2_O megamaser sources have been detected, resulting in 16 galaxiesthat are currently known to contain H_2_O masers with isotropicluminosities greater than 20 L_sun_. Of the observed active galaxieswith cz < 7000 km s^-1^, 5.4% have detectable H_2_O megamaseremission. This fraction increases to 11% for those sources with cz <2000 km s^-1^. The newly discovered megamaser sources were monitored onsubsequent observing runs. The strength of the maser features varies forthese sources, as they do for Galactic masers. Three of the galaxieshave sufficient data to test for velocity changes of narrow masercomponents comparable in magnitude to those of the well-studied systemicfeatures in NGC 4258. The maser line in one of these galaxies-NGC2639-is found to have a systematic redward velocity drift of 6.6 +/- 0.4km s^-1^ yr^-1^. No systematic velocity drifts are found for the othertwo sources. We also report large apparent velocity changes in theunusual broad H_2_O emission feature in NGC 1052.
| Galactic H i Column Densities toward Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei
We have determined accurate values of the Galactic neutral hydrogencolumn density, N_H_, toward 220 quasars and active galactic nuclei from21 cm H I measurements made on the 140 Foot Telescope (42.7 m). Accuratevalues of N_H_ have now been obtained for the whole PG bright quasarsample and most quasars that have been observed by ROSAT and the HubbleSpace Telescope through mid-1993. The spectra were corrected for stray21 cm radiation yielding values of NH with a typical uncertainty of 1 x1O^19^ cm^-2^ for high Galactic latitude directions. The H I columndensities will be useful for correcting for interstellar opacity at UVand soft X-ray wavelengths, and for estimating the reddening andextinction toward these objects.
| An Emission-Line Imaging Survey of Early-Type Seyfert Galaxies. I. The Observations
Flux-calibrated images in the lines of [O III] λ5007 and Hα+ [N II] λλ6548, 6583 and the nearby continuum arepresented for 57 Seyfert galaxies of early morphological type. Thissample includes all known Seyfert galaxies with apparent magnitude m_v_<= 14.5 and recessional velocity cz < 7000 km s^-1^ in Hubbletypes E, S0, and S0/a. Images are also presented for an additional 26galaxies with m_v_ > 14.5, cz > 7000 km s^-1^, and/or an uncertainclassification as a Seyfert galaxy. The ratio of the [O III]λ5007 to the Hα + [N II] image has been obtained for eachgalaxy with extended emission to study the spatial variation of thegaseous excitation. Maps of the V - R color distributions over thegalaxies are also presented.
| Seyfert Galaxies. IV. Nuclear Profiles of Markarian Seyfert Galaxies from Hubble Space Telescope Images
We have examined the nuclear profiles of the Seyfert and non-SeyfertMarkarian galaxies in our near-infrared Hubble Space Telescope WF/PC-1snapshot survey. We find that nuclei of types 1-1.5 Seyfert galaxies aredominated by strong point sources, while those of Seyfert 2 and non-Seyfert Markarian galaxies tend to be resolved, less distinguished, andsimilar in shape to normal galaxy luminosity profiles. Two possibleinterpretations of this result for type 2 Seyfert galaxies are thattheir nuclear continuum sources are undetected in our bandpass,contributing less than 10% of the nuclear light (within 0.5 radius) inall cases or that their nuclear components are resolved and blend insmoothly with the brightness profile of the host galaxy's bulge. Sincespectroscopic studies support typical nuclear continuum fractionsdistinctly greater than 10%, the latter conclusion is clearlypreferable. If the continua observed in Seyfert 2 galaxies originate asnuclear light that is redirected into the line of sight by scattering,as predicted by unified models of active galactic nuclei, then thescattering regions must be extended. Simple simulations suggest thatthese regions must cover several tens of parsecs or more, in agreementwith estimates of the sizes of the scattering "mirrors" in other Seyfert2 galaxies. However, the similarity of the profiles of non-SeyfertMarkarian and type 2 Seyfert nuclei suggests that circumnuclear starformation may also be an important component in the nuclear profiles ofthe latter.
| The Properties of X-Ray--selected Active Galactic Nuclei. IV. The Local Optical Luminosity Function of Broad-Line Active Galactic Nuclei
We have selected a local (z <= 0.3) subsample of 226 broad lineactive galactic nuclei (BLAGNs) from the Einstein Observatory ExtendedMedium Sensitivity Survey. This sample represents the largest unbiasedand complete sample of local BLAGNs ever assembled and has allowed us toderive their space density in regions of the m_B_ - z plane where, withthe usual optical selection criteria, it is very difficult to obtaincomplete samples of BLAGNs. Using total integrated magnitudes (i.e.,nucleus + host galaxy), we have computed the local optical luminosityfunction of this X-ray selected sample and compared it with thosederived from local optical samples. Thanks to the large number ofobjects at our disposal we can set more stringent constraints on thespace density of BLAGNs than has previously been possible. Theluminosity function derived from our sample is in good agreement withthe composite luminosity function which can be derived from opticallyselected samples only by using different selection criteria in differentranges of absolute magnitude. In particular, at low luminosity (M_B_>= - 22) we confirm the flattening of the local optical luminosityfunction originally suggested by Meurs & Wilson (1984) while in themagnitude range from M_B_ ~ -23 to -25 we find a very good agreementwith the optical spatial density derived using data from the BrightQuasars Survey. By convolving our luminosity function with thedistribution of the ratio of nuclear to total flux of a sample of ~40Seyfert 1 and 1.5 galaxies from the literature, we have also derived anestimate for the nuclear luminosity function of BLAGNs: This nuclearluminosity function is in rather good agreement with the nuclearluminosity functions previously derived, using a much smaller number ofobjects, from optical samples of low-luminosity BLAGNs. A reasonablygood agreement is also found between our luminosity function and theextrapolation to low redshift (z = 0.15, the average redshift of oursample) of the quasar luminosity function derived from more than 1000optically selected quasars. The integration of our nuclear luminosityfunction over the M_B_ - z plane shows that good agreement is obtainedwith the observed number counts of low luminosity (M_B_ >= - 23)BLAGNs at faint magnitudes, if the M_B_ >= -23 population evolvessimilarly to the QSO population.
| An image database. II. Catalogue between δ=-30deg and δ=70deg.
A preliminary list of 68.040 galaxies was built from extraction of35.841 digitized images of the Palomar Sky Survey (Paper I). For eachgalaxy, the basic parameters are obtained: coordinates, diameter, axisratio, total magnitude, position angle. On this preliminary list, weapply severe selection rules to get a catalog of 28.000 galaxies, wellidentified and well documented. For each parameter, a comparison is madewith standard measurements. The accuracy of the raw photometricparameters is quite good despite of the simplicity of the method.Without any local correction, the standard error on the total magnitudeis about 0.5 magnitude up to a total magnitude of B_T_=17. Significantsecondary effects are detected concerning the magnitudes: distance toplate center effect and air-mass effect.
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