The 3.4-μm absorption feature towards the nucleus of NGC 5506

We report the results of 3-μm spectroscopy towards the nucleus of a nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy, NGC 5506. A weak absorption feature of carbonaceous dust is detected at ∼3.4 μm. The optical depth ratio of the 3.4-μm carbonaceous dust absorption to the 9.7-μm silicate dust absorption is smaller by more than a factor of 2 than that in the interstellar medium in our Galaxy. The small ratio is consistent with the idea that the obscuration towards the nucleus of NGC 5506 is caused mainly by dust grains in its host galaxy (type S0/a) and that the contribution of carbonaceous dust grains to the visual extinction there is smaller than that in our Galaxy (type Sb/bc).     

Mid-infrared, spatially resolved spectroscopy of the nucleus of the Circinus galaxy

High spatial resolution spectroscopy at 8–13 μm with T-ReCS on Gemini-S has revealed striking variations in the mid-infrared emission and absorption in the nucleus of the Circinus galaxy (hereafter Circinus) on subarcsecond scales. The core of Circinus is compact and obscured by a substantial column of cool silicate dust. Weak extended emission to the east and west coincides with the coronal line region and arises from featureless dust grains which are probably heated by line emission in the coronal emission zone. The extended emission on the east side of the nucleus displays a much deeper silicate absorption than that on the west, indicating significant columns of cool material along the line of sight and corresponding to an additional extinction of   A_V ∼ 25 mag  . Emission bands from aromatic hydrocarbons are not subject to this additional extinction, are relatively weak in the core and in the coronal line region, and are much more spatially extended than the continuum dust emission; they presumably arise in the circumnuclear star-forming regions. These data are interpreted in terms of an inclined disc-like structure around the nucleus extending over tens of parsecs and possibly related to the inner disc found from observations of water masers by Greenhill et al..     

The 3.4-μm absorption feature towards three obscured active galactic nuclei

The results of 3–4-μm spectroscopy towards the nuclei of NGC 3094, 7172, and 7479 are reported. In ground-based 8–13-μm spectra, all the sources have strong absorption-like features at ∼10 μm, but they do not have detectable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission features. The 3.4-μm carbonaceous dust absorption features are detected towards all nuclei. NGC 3094 shows a detectable 3.3-μm PAH emission feature, while NGC 7172 and 7479 do not. Nuclear emission whose spectrum shows dust absorption features but no PAH emission features, is thought to be dominated by highly obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs) activity. For NGC 7172, 7479, and three other such nuclei in the literature, we investigate the optical depth ratios between the 3.4-μm carbonaceous dust and 9.7-μm silicate dust absorption     The     ratios towards three highly obscured AGNs with face-on host galaxies are systematically larger than the ratios in the Galactic diffuse interstellar medium or the ratios for two highly obscured AGNs with edge-on host galaxies. We suggest that the larger ratios can be explained if the obscuring dust is so close to the central AGNs that a temperature gradient occurs in it. If this idea is correct, our results may provide spectroscopic evidence for the presence of the putative 'dusty tori' in the close vicinity of AGNs.     

A near-infrared polarized bipolar cone in the Circinus galaxy

We present near-infrared broad-band polarization images of the nuclear regions of the Circinus galaxy in the J , H and K bands. For the first time the south-eastern reflection cone is detected in polarized light, which is obscured at optical wavelengths behind the galactic disc. This biconical structure is clearly observed in J - and H -band polarized flux, whilst in the K band a more compact structure is detected. Total flux J − K and H − K colour maps reveal a complex colour gradient toward the south-east direction (where the Circinus galactic disc is nearer to us). We find enhanced extinction in an arc-shaped structure, at about 200 pc from the nucleus, probably part of the star formation ring.
We model the polarized flux images with the scattering and torus model of Young et al., with the same basic input parameters as used by Alexander et al. in the spectropolarimetry modelling of Circinus. The best fit to the polarized flux is achieved with a torus radius of ∼16 pc, and a visual extinction A _V , through the torus, to the near-infrared emission regions of >66 mag.     

The 10-μm profile of molecular-cloud and diffuse ISM silicate dust

High signal-to-noise ratio spectra are presented of the 10-μm silicate absorption feature in lines of sight towards Elias 16 and 18 in the Taurus dark cloud, and towards the heavily reddened supergiant Cyg OB2 no. 12. The observations are fitted with laboratory and astronomical spectra to produce intrinsic absorption profiles. These features, which represent molecular-cloud and diffuse ISM dust respectively, are better fitted with emissivity spectra of the Trapezium and μ Cephei than they are with those of laboratory, terrestrial, or other observations of circumstellar silicates. The difference in width between the silicate band in the two environments can be almost entirely ascribed to a broad excess absorption in the long-wavelength wing of the profiles, which is much stronger in the molecular-cloud lines of sight, and possibly reflects grain growth in the denser environment. Limits are placed on the strength of fine spectral structure; if there is a crystalline silicate component in these spectra, it is most likely to be serpentine. Column-density upper limits for methanol and the photolysis product hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) are less than a few per cent of those of water ice and silicates.     

The 3.3-μm PAH emission band of the Red Rectangle

A new analysis of long-slit CGS4 United Kingdom Infrared Telescope spectra of the 3.3-μm feature of the Red Rectangle and its evolution with offset along the NW whisker of the nebula is presented. The results support a proposed two-component interpretation for the 3.3-μm feature with peak wavelengths near 3.28 and 3.30 μm. Both components exhibit a small shift to shorter wavelength with increasing offset from the central star which, by comparison with laboratory studies, is consistent with a decrease in the temperature of the carriers with distance from HD 44179. The two-component approach is also applied to 3.3-μm data for the Red Rectangle, Orion Bar D2 and Orion Bar H2S1 from Infrared Space Observatory Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) studies.     

Constraints on the nuclear emission of the Circinus galaxy: the torus

In the context of the unified model of Seyfert galaxies, we use observations from the literature and a radiative transfer model to investigate the near-IR to mm emission produced by the presumed torus in the Circinus galaxy, from 2 μm to 1.3 mm. From the infrared SED modelling, we find that the total luminosity ( L _IR) in this wavelength range consists of similar contributions from the torus and starburst with a ratio of nuclear luminosity to starburst luminosity ( L _NUC/ L _SB)∼0.8 .
By using a similar torus model to that of NGC 1068, but without the conical dust , we find an upper limit to the outer torus radius of ∼12 pc with a best fit of ∼2 pc. The upper limit torus size estimated from the radiative transfer modelling is consistent with the 16-pc torus radius estimated from near-IR imaging polarimetry of Circinus.     

A disturbed molecular disc in the Circinus galaxy

We have used the Swedish ESO Submillimeter Telescope to observe the molecular gas in the Circinus galaxy using the CO(1 → 0) transition as a tracer. The central region and major axis have been mapped and several other points were also observed. The gas in the galaxy is concentrated towards the nucleus, the peak being coincident with the radio/optical core. The inclination of the molecular galactic disc is more comparable to that of the radio continuum than to that of the large-scale H  i emission. Evidence for an anomalous spur structure pointing radially away from the galactic centre is presented, and may indicate a causal link between it and similar features seen in optical lines and radio continuum. Our data suggest the presence of a central molecular ring or disc with radius 300 ± 50 pc and a rotation velocity of about 200 km s⁻¹ (assuming i  = 73°). The dynamical mass of the nucleus is estimated to be no greater than 3.9 × 10⁹ M_⊙. Assuming that the distribution of gas varies smoothly in the outer regions, we calculate the mass of molecular gas in the galaxy to be at least M _mol = 1.1 × 10⁹ M_⊙, and the star-forming efficiency to be 11 ± 2 L_⊙ M_⊙⁻¹. These results imply that Circinus is undergoing a massive central starburst which may be, at least partially, responsible for its extended minor axis emission seen in several wavebands.     

The distribution of atomic gas and dust in nearby galaxies – I. Presentation of matched-resolution VLA H i and SCUBA 850-μm maps

We present matched-resolution VLA H  i and SCUBA 850-μm maps of 20 IRAS -bright galaxies. Of the galaxies observed, two were not detected in H  i and two were detected in absorption. The H  i distributions of the galaxies have a range of morphologies. Some of the systems appear H  i deficient in the central regions which could be due to a high conversion rate of H  i into molecules or H  i absorption. In contrast to the H  i , the 850-μm emission has a smooth distribution which is concentrated towards the optical centre of each galaxy. We also find evidence for 850-μm emission extending to the periphery of the optical disc in some of the galaxies. Finally, we note that the relative lack of 850-μm emission when compared with H  i does not necessarily mean that the atomic gas and dust do not have similar mass distributions.     

The SCUBA Local Universe Galaxy Survey – II. 450-μm data: evidence for cold dust in bright IRAS galaxies

This is the second in a series of papers presenting results from the SCUBA Local Universe Galaxy Survey. In our first paper we provided 850-μm flux densities for 104 galaxies selected from the IRAS Bright Galaxy Sample and we found that the 60-, 100-μm ( IRAS ) and 850-μm (SCUBA) fluxes could be adequately fitted by emission from dust at a single temperature. In this paper we present 450-μm data for the galaxies. With the new data, the spectral energy distributions of the galaxies can no longer be fitted with an isothermal dust model – two temperature components are now required. Using our 450-μm data and fluxes from the literature, we find that the 450/850-μm flux ratio for the galaxies is remarkably constant, and this holds from objects in which the star formation rate is similar to our own Galaxy, to ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) such as Arp 220. The only possible explanation for this is if the dust emissivity index for all of the galaxies is ∼2 and the cold dust component has a similar temperature in all galaxies     . The 60-μm luminosities of the galaxies were found to depend on both the dust mass and the relative amount of energy in the warm component, with a tendency for the temperature effects to dominate at the highest L ₆₀. The dust masses estimated using the new temperatures are higher by a factor of ∼2 than those determined previously using a single temperature. This brings the gas-to-dust ratios of the IRAS galaxies into agreement with those of the Milky Way and other spiral galaxies which have been intensively studied in the submm.     

The kinematics of the ionized gas in the Circinus galaxy

The TAURUS-2 Fabry–Perot interferometer, mounted on the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope, has been used to observe the Circinus galaxy. We have mapped the intensity and velocity distribution of the ionized hydrogen in the galaxy using the Balmer series Hα spectral line.
The semiresolved core (observed with a seeing disc of 30 pc) appears amorphous in shape, which is commonly observed in Seyfert 2 galaxies. Its peak coincides with the core position measured in the radio continuum, suggesting that ionized gas surrounds a non-thermal source.
A circumnuclear ring or spiral of radius 220 pc and a rotational velocity of 350 km s⁻¹ (assuming circular motions) surrounds the core. The inclination angle of this feature, i =40°±10°, is less than that of the previously observed radio continuum disc. The velocity channel maps obtained for the Hα ring show that the kinematics resemble those of a rotating ring and the intensity displays a complex structure indicative of several, unresolved, H II regions. We believe the ring to represent a circumnuclear starburst.
Our Hα data also show the presence of the previously detected [O III ] ionization cone to the north-west of the core, measuring more than 400 pc in length. We suggest that the ionization cone lies in a different plane from that of the starburst ring and is directed away from us. Several kinematic components of the core are derived and we calculate an outflow velocity in excess of 150–200 km s⁻¹ for gas above the core of Circinus. We also present evidence for inflowing ionized gas at the centre of Circinus.
The correlation of the Hα and radio continuum features is discussed, as well as the possible presence of a starburst-driven superwind in the Circinus galaxy.     

The circumnuclear X-ray reflectors in NGC 1068 and the Circinus galaxy

The ASCA and BeppoSAX spectra of the Circinus galaxy and NGC 1068 are analysed and compared with photoionization models based on cloudy . In the case of Circinus, a single, mildly ionized reflector can account for the line spectrum, while in NGC 1068 at least three different reflectors (with different ionization states) are needed. We suggest that the reflector in Circinus and the low ionized one in NGC 1068 are the inner and visible part of the material responsible for the X-ray absorption. With this assumption, we estimate for the inner radius of the absorber a value of 0.2 pc for Circinus and of a few parsecs for NGC 1068.     

Variations in 24-μm morphologies among galaxies in the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey: new insights into the Hubble sequence

To study the distribution of star formation and dust emission within nearby galaxies, we measured five morphological parameters in the 3.6- and 24-μm wavebands for 65 galaxies in the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS) and eight galaxies that were serendipitously observed by SINGS. The morphological parameters demonstrate strong variations along the Hubble sequence, including statistically significant differences between S0/a-Sab and Sc-Sd galaxies. Early-type galaxies are generally found to be compact, centralized, symmetric sources in the 24-μm band, while late-type galaxies are generally found to be extended, asymmetric sources. These results suggest that the processes that increase the real or apparent sizes of galaxies' bulges also lead to more centralized 24-μm dust emission. Several phenomena, such as strong nuclear star formation, Seyfert activity, or outer ring structures, may cause galaxies to deviate from the general morphological trends observed at 24 μm. We also note that the 24-μm morphologies of Sdm-Im galaxies are quite varied, with some objects appearing very compact and symmetric but others appearing diffuse and asymmetric. These variations reflect the wide variation in star formation in irregular galaxies as observed at other wavelengths. The variations in the 24-μm morphological parameters across the Hubble sequence mirror many of the morphological trends seen in other tracers of the ISM and in stellar emission. However, the 24-μm morphological parameters for the galaxies in this sample do not match the morphological parameters measured in the stellar wavebands. This implies that the distribution of dust emission is related to but not equivalent to the distribution of stellar emission.     

Probing the microarcsecond structure of the Circinus megamasers through diffractive interstellar scintillation

We have used the Long Baseline Array to observe the Circinus Galaxy H₂O megamasers on two epochs separated by 49 d. The masers were observed to be highly variable, consistent with previous studies. We observe rapid variations in the linewidth and central velocity of the maser's spectral profile. The characteristics of these spectral variations suggest that the masers have an anisotropic structure, with axial ratios ≲5, and display velocity gradients in their microarcsecond structure. We also find a strong anticorrelation between the linewidth and the modulation index of the maser features and a relationship between the modulation index and characteristic time-scale of the variations. These various phenomena can all be simply explained through a model where the rapid variations in the masers are produced by quenched diffractive scintillation in the presence of modest velocity gradients in the maser emission.
The very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) images are consistent with previous high-resolution observations and show maser emission arising both in a circumnuclear accretion disc, and in a low-velocity outflow. We find no systematic differences in the variability properties of the disc and outflow masers. The VLBI images reveal that there is considerable spectral blending in single-dish spectra of the Circinus megamasers.
In addition to the VLBI imaging we also used these observations to look for a time delay in the intensity variations observed at the different telescopes in the array, as expected for scintillation-induced variability. No time delay was detected, which allows us to place a lower limit on the velocity of the interstellar medium during these observations 22 km s⁻¹ for the second epoch. We conclude that any future attempts to measure a time delay in this source should utilize intercontinental baselines to increase the chances of success.