Kinematics in Seyfert and non-active galaxies

Gaelle Dumas, Carole G. Mundell, E. Emsellem, Neil Nagar

Research output: Chapter or section in a book/report/conference proceedingChapter in a published conference proceeding

Abstract

We investigate the kinematic properties of the stars and ionised gas in the circumnuclear regions of a matched sample of Seyfert and non-active galaxies, using the SAURON Integral-Field Unit (IFU) on the William Herschel Telescope (WHT). The stellar velocity fields present regular rotation patterns. After removal of the non-gravitational components due to e.g. AGN-driven outflows, the ionised gas kinematics are dominated by rotation. The non-active galaxies present global alignment between stellar and gaseous components while a majority of the Seyfert galaxies present strong kinematic misalignments. A more refined analysis of our two-dimensional kinematic maps reveal evidence for deviations from axial-symmetry in the gaseous velocity fields, these deviations being stronger in the case of Seyfert galaxies than the associated non-active galaxies. This suggests the presence of weak dynamical perturbations in the circumnuclear regions of Seyfert galaxies and provides a tentative link between host galaxy dynamics in these regions and the nuclear activity.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the Annual Meeting of the French Society of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2007
EditorsJ. Bouvier, A. Chalabaev, C. Charbonnel
Pages332
Number of pages1
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2007
EventAnnual Meeting of the French Society of Astronomy and Astrophysics - Grenoble, France
Duration: 2 Jul 20076 Jul 2007

Other

OtherAnnual Meeting of the French Society of Astronomy and Astrophysics
Country/TerritoryFrance
CityGrenoble
Period2/07/076/07/07

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