Kinematics in Seyfert and non-active galaxies

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.