14220887
The Narrow-Line Region of the Seyfert 2 Galaxy Mrk 78: An Infrared View
We report near-infrared spectroscopic data for the Seyfert 2 galaxy Mrk 78, taken with the LIRIS near-infrared camera/spectrometer at the William Herschel Telescope (WHT). The long-slit spectra clearly show extended emission. The resolution and depth of the near-infrared spectra allow the examination of its morphology and ionization regions, and a direct comparison with similarly deep visible spectra. The emission-line ratios obtained are used to derive the extinction toward the nucleus. The detection of strong features such as [Fe II], H2, hydrogen recombination lines, and the coronal [Si VI] λ1.962 line is used to study the kinematics and excitation mechanisms occurring in Mrk 78, revealing that despite the strong radio-jet interaction present in this object, photoionization from the active nucleus dominates the narrow-line region emission, while UV fluorescence is the source of the H2 emission. Lines with extended emission yield velocity distributions with an amplitude of about 600 km s-1, the consequence of an eastern lobe moving away from us plus a western lobe with the opposite contribution. We used the photoionization code CLOUDY to recreate a typical narrow-line region, to derive the ionization parameter, and to compare our spectral data with diagnostic diagrams.
85559795
The Nuclear Infrared Emission of Low-Luminosity AGN
We have obtained high-resolution mid-infrared (MIR) imaging, nuclear spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and archival Spitzer spectra for 22 low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGN; Lbol < 5 × 1042 erg s−1). Infrared (IR) observations may advance our understanding of the accretion ows in LLAGN, the fate of the obscuring torus at low accretion rates, and, perhaps, the star formation histories of these objects. However, while comprehensively studied in higher-luminosity Seyferts and quasars, the nuclear IR properties of LLAGN have not yet been well-determined. In these proceedings we summarise the results for the LLAGN at the relatively high-luminosity, high-Eddington ratio end of the sample. Strong, compact nuclear sources are visible in the MIR images of these objects, with luminosities consistent with or slightly in execss of that predicted by the standard MIR/X-ray relation. Their broadband nuclear SEDs are diverse; some resemble typical Seyfert nuclei, while others possess less of a well-defined MIR "dust bump". Strong silicate emission is present in many of these objects. We speculate that this, together with high ratios of silicate strength to hydrogen column density, could suggest optically thin dust and low dust-to-gas ratios, in accordance with model predictions that LLAGN do not host a Seyfert-like obscuring torus.
118514386
The Mid-Infrared Emission of Seyfert Galaxies: A New Analysis of ISOCAM Data
We present mid-infrared data of a sample of 57 AGNs obtained with the instrument ISOCAM on board the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) satellite. The images were obtained through the LW2 (6.75 μm) and LW7 (9.62 μm) filters. This is a new analysis of the Clavel et al. galaxy sample, which is divided into 26 type 1 (≤1.5) and 28 type 2 (>1.5) Seyfert galaxies, plus three QSOs. The spatial resolution of the images allows us to separate the nuclear and the extended contributions to the total emission after decomposing the brightness profiles into different morphological components. The most common components are a central point source (identified as the active nucleus) and an exponential disk. In some cases a bulge, a bar, or a ring are needed. The relative contribution of the nucleus to the total emission appears larger in Seyfert 1 than in Seyfert 2 types. This result confirms that both types of Seyfert galaxies are different in the mid-infrared wavelength range and supports the existence of a structure which produces anisotropic emission in this wavelength range. We have also explored correlations between the mid-infrared and the radio and X-ray wavelength ranges. The well-established radio/infrared correlation is maintained in our sample for the global emission of the galaxies. If only the nuclear infrared emission is considered, then a nonlinear correlation is apparent in the luminosity-luminosity scatter diagram. The ratio between the intrinsic hard X-ray and the nuclear mid-infrared emission presents large scatter and slightly larger values for type 2 Seyfert galaxies. These results seem to be consistent with the presence of a clumpy dusty torus surrounding the active nucleus.
119099152
Constraining clumpy dusty torus models using optimized filter sets
Recent success in explaining several properties of the dusty torus around the central engine of active galactic nuclei has been gathered with the assumption of clumpiness. The properties of such clumpy dusty tori can be inferred by analyzing spectral energy distributions (SEDs), sometimes with scarce sampling given that large aperture telescopes and long integration times are needed to get good spatial resolution and signal. We aim at using the information already present in the data and the assumption of clumpy dusty torus, in particular, the CLUMPY models of Nenkova et al., to evaluate the optimum next observation such that we maximize the constraining power of the new observed photometric point. To this end, we use the existing and barely applied idea of Bayesian adaptive exploration, a mixture of Bayesian inference, prediction and decision theories. The result is that the new photometric filter to use is the one that maximizes the expected utility, which we approximate with the entropy of the predictive distribution. In other words, we have to sample where there is larger variability in the SEDs compatible with the data with what we know of the model parameters. We show that Bayesian adaptive exploration can be used to suggest new observations, and ultimately optimal filter sets, to better constrain the parameters of the clumpy dusty torus models. In general, we find that the region between 10 and 200 um produces the largest increase in the expected utility, although sub-mm data from ALMA also prove to be useful. It is important to note that here we are not considering the angular resolution of the data, which is key when constraining torus parameters. Therefore, the expected utilities derived from this methodology must be weighted with the spatial resolution of the data.
41578027
Nuclear Star Formation Activity and Black Hole Accretion in Nearby Seyfert Galaxies
Recent theoretical and observational works indicate the presence of a correlation between the star-formation rate (SFR) and active galactic nucleus (AGN) luminosity (and, therefore, the black hole accretion rate, Ṁ_(BH) of Seyfert galaxies. This suggests a physical connection between the gas-forming stars on kpc scales and the gas on sub-pc scales that is feeding the black hole. We compiled the largest sample of Seyfert galaxies to date with high angular resolution (~0.''4-0.''8) mid-infrared (8-13 μm) spectroscopy. The sample includes 29 Seyfert galaxies drawn from the AGN Revised Shapley-Ames catalog. At a median distance of 33 Mpc, our data allow us to probe nuclear regions on scales of ~65 pc (median value). We found no general evidence of suppression of the 11.3 μm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission in the vicinity of these AGN, and we used this feature as a proxy for the SFR. We detected the 11.3 μm PAH feature in the nuclear spectra of 45% of our sample. The derived nuclear SFRs are, on average, five times lower than those measured in circumnuclear regions of 600 pc in size (median value). However, the projected nuclear SFR densities (median value of 22 M_☉ yr^(–1) kpc^(–2)) are a factor of 20 higher than those measured on circumnuclear scales. This indicates that the SF activity per unit area in the central ~65 pc region of Seyfert galaxies is much higher than at larger distances from their nuclei. We studied the connection between the nuclear SFR and Ṁ_(BH) and showed that numerical simulations reproduce our observed relation fairly well.
118465353
Testing the AGN Unification Model in the Infrared
We present near-to-mid-infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for 21 Seyfert galaxies, using subarcsecond resolution imaging data. Our aim is to compare the properties Seyfert 1 (Sy1) and Seyfert 2 (Sy2) tori using clumpy torus models and a Bayesian approach to fit the infrared (IR) nuclear SEDs. These dusty tori have physical sizes smaller than 6 pc radius, as derived from our fits. Active galactic nuclei (AGN) unification schemes account for a variety of observational differences in terms of viewing geometry. However, we find evidence that strong unification may not hold, and that the immediate dusty surroundings of Sy1 and Sy2 nuclei are intrinsically different. The Type 2 tori studied here are broader, have more clumps, and these clumps have lower optical depths than those of Type 1 tori. The larger the covering factor of the torus, the smaller the probability of having direct view of the AGN, and vice-versa. In our sample, Sy2 tori have larger covering factors (CT = 0.95±0.02) and smaller escape probabilities than those of Sy1 (CT = 0.5±0.1). Thus, on the basis of the results presented here, the classification of a Seyfert galaxy may depend more on the intrinsic properties of the torus rather than on its mere inclination, in contradiction with the simplest unification model.
18051441
Consistent deformations method applied to a topological coupling of antisymmetric gauge fields in D=3
Abstract In this work we use the method of consistent deformations of the master equation by Barnich and Henneaux in order to prove that an abelian topological coupling between a zero and a two form fields in D =3 has no nonabelian generalization. We conclude that a topologically massive model involving the Kalb–Ramond two-form field does not admit a nonabelian generalization. The introduction of a connection-type one form field keeps the previous result.
16040629
Generating mass and topological terms to the antisymmetric tensor matter field by Higgs mechanism
The interaction between the complex antisymmetric tensor matter field and a scalar field is constructed. We analyze the Higgs mechanism and show the generation of mass and topological terms by spontaneous symmetry breaking.
18144284
Non–Chern-Simons topological mass generation in $(2+1)$ dimensions
A massive BF theory in (3+1) dimensions with a Kalb-Ramond field is dimensionally reduced, giving rise to two different topological terms, one involving a scalar and a Kalb-Ramond field and another one equivalent to the four-dimensional BF term. We constructed two actions with these topological terms and show that a topological mass generation mechanism can be implemented. Using the non–Chern-Simons topological term, an action is proposed leading to a classical duality relation between Klein-Gordon and Maxwell actions. We also show that an action in (2+1) dimensions with the Kalb-Ramond field is related by Buscher's duality transformation to a massive gauge-invariant Stukelberg-type theory.
14570341
Brane resolution in heterotic theory through BF term
We have studied the resolution of a naked singularity of a conifold in heterotic theory by a BF topological defect living in a 5-brane. The singularity is removed due to Chern-Simons action that changes the Bianchi identity for the H3 3-form. Following the previous analysis of Cvetic, Lu and Pope where they have studied the resolution through an instanton defect, we have taken a conifold over an Eguchi-Hanson manifold and a harmonic self-dual 2-form related with F2 to solve the differential equation for the warp factor. Since the H3 field is related to torsion in the extra manifold, we can interpret this conifold as one with torsion. Using the so called BF term we have found a solution with the same properties of the instanton such that the conifold is smoothed out and has a torsion that diverges in IR regime and vanish in UV regime.
118862216
Influence of the electron's anomalous magnetic dipole moment on high-atomic number atoms