The Nuclear Near-Infrared Spectral Properties of Nearby Galaxies
  We present spectra of the nuclear regions of 50 nearby (D = 1 - 92 Mpc,
median = 20 Mpc) galaxies of morphological types E to Sm. The spectra, obtained
with the Gemini Near-IR Spectrograph on the Gemini North telescope, cover a
wavelength range of approximately 0.85-2.5 microns at R~1300--1800. There is
evidence that most of the galaxies host an active galactic nucleus (AGN), but
the range of AGN luminosities (log (L2-10 keV [erg/s]) = 37.0-43.2) in the
sample means that the spectra display a wide variety of features. Some nuclei,
especially the Seyferts, exhibit a rich emission-line spectrum. Other objects,
in particular the type 2 Low Ionisation Nuclear Emission Region galaxies, show
just a few, weak emission lines, allowing a detailed view of the underlying
stellar population. These spectra display numerous absorption features
sensitive to the stellar initial mass function, as well as molecular bands
arising in cool stars, and many other atomic absorption lines. We compare the
spectra of subsets of galaxies known to be characterised by intermediate-age
and old stellar populations, and find clear differences in their absorption
lines and continuum shapes. We also examine the effect of atmospheric water
vapor on the signal-to-noise ratio achieved in regions between the conventional
NIR atmospheric windows, of potential interest to those planning observations
of redshifted emission lines or other features affected by telluric H2O.
Further exploitation of this data set is in progress, and the reduced spectra
and data reduction tools are made available to the community.
