Neutral hydrogen absorption observations of the central region of NGC 3628

Using MERLIN with 0.2-arcsec resolution we have observed neutral hydrogen absorption against the central region of the starburst galaxy NGC 3628. The central region resolves into ∼16 continuum components at 1.4 GHz. From comparison with published 15-GHz data, we infer that these components are supernova remnants, although three components may be consistent with a weak active galactic nucleus. Neutral hydrogen absorption is seen against the continuum emission with column densities ∼10²² cm⁻². The absorption appears to be from two separate absorbing structures. Assuming a simple morphology, the main velocity structure can be attributed to a ring of neutral gas with a radius 130 pc rotating around a central starburst with a velocity gradient of 1270 km s⁻¹ kpc⁻¹. From simple assumptions, the mass interior to this ring is 0.9 × 10⁹ M_⊙. The second absorption structure may represent outflow from the starburst region or a large-scale galactic structure. Alternatively the absorption structure may be non-axisymmetric, such as a bar.     

ROSAT ASCA observations of X-ray luminous starburst galaxies: NGC 3310 and 3690

We present ROSAT [High Resolution Imager (HRI) and Position Sensitive Proportional Counter (PSPC)] and ASCA observations of the two luminous ( L _x ∼ 10⁴¹⁻⁴² erg s⁻¹) star-forming galaxies NGC 3310 and 3690. The HRI shows clearly that the sources are extended with the X-ray emission in NGC 3690 coming from at least three regions. The combined 0.1–10 keV spectrum of NGC 3310 can be described by two components, a Raymond–Smith plasma with temperature kT  = 0.81^+0.09_−0.12 keV and a hard power law, Γ = 1.44^−0.20_−0.11 (or alternatively a harder Raymond–Smith plasma with kT  ∼ 15 keV), while there is no substantial excess absorption above the Galactic column value. The soft component emission is probably a super wind while the nature of the hard emission is more uncertain with the likely origins being X-ray binaries, inverse Compton scattering of infrared photons, an active galactic nucleus or a very hot gas component (∼10⁸ K). The spectrum of NGC 3690 is similar, with kT  = 0.83^+0.02_−0.04 keV and Γ = 1.56^+0.11_−0.11. We also employ more complicated models such as a multi-temperature thermal plasma, a non-equilibrium ionization code or the addition of a third softer component, which improve the fit but not at a statistically significant level (2σ). These results are similar to recent results on the archetypal star-forming galaxies M82 and NGC 253.     

Centaurus A – NGC 5128

Summary. At a distance of 3.4 Mpc, NGC 5128 (Centaurus A) is by far the nearest active radio galaxy. It is often considered to be the prototype Fanaroff-Riley Class I ‘low-luminosity’ radio galaxy, and as such it plays an important role in our understanding of a major class of active galaxies. Its proximity has spawned numerous detailed investigations of its properties, yielding unrivalled but still incomplete knowledge of its structure and dynamics. The massive elliptical host galaxy is moderately triaxial and contains a thin, strongly warped disk rich in dust, atomic and molecular gas and luminous young stars. Its globular cluster ensemble has a bimodal distribution of metallicities. Deep optical images reveal faint major axis extensions as well as a system of filaments and shells. These and other characteristics are generally regarded as strong evidence that NGC 5128 has experienced a major merging events at least once in its past. The galaxy has a very compact, subparsec nucleus exhibiting noticeable intensity variations at radio and X-ray wavelengths, probably powered by accretion events. The central object may be a black hole of moderate mass. Towards the nucleus, rich absorption spectra of atomic hydrogen and various molecular species suggest the presence of significant amounts of material falling into the nucleus, presumably ‘feeding the monster’. Emanating from the nucleus are linear radio/X-ray jets, becoming subrelativistic at a few parsec from the nucleus. At about 5 kpc from the nucleus, the jets expand into plumes. Huge radio lobes extend beyond the plumes out to to 250 kpc. A compact circumnuclear disk with a central cavity surrounds the nucleus. Its plane, although at an angle to the minor axis of the galaxy, is perpendicular to the inner jets. The jet-collimating mechanism, probably connected to the circumnuclear disk, appears to precess on timescales of order a few times 10 years. This review summarizes the present state of knowledge of NGC 5128 and its associated radio source Centaurus A. Underlying physical processes are outside its scope: they are briefly referred to, but not discussed. Received 30 December 1997     

A long-term photometric study of the pre-main-sequence star V 350 Cep

Results from photographic and CCD photometric observations of the pre-main sequence star V 350 Cep are presented. A continued gradual rise of brightness resembling the light curves of the FUOR type stars is observed. A search in the WFPDB was made to find old photographic observations of V 350 Cep.     

A SAURON look at galaxy bulges

Kinematic and population studies show that bulges are generally rotationally flattened systems similar to lowluminosity ellipticals. However, observations with state‐of‐the‐art integral field spectrographs, such as SAURON, indicate that the situation is much more complex, and allow us to investigate phenomena such as triaxiality, kinematic decoupling and population substructure, and to study their connection to current formation and evolution scenarios for bulges of early‐type galaxies. We present the examples of two S0 bulges from galaxies in our sample of nearby galaxies: one that shows all the properties expected from classical bulges (NGC5866), and another case that presents kinematic features appropriate for barred disk galaxies (NGC7332). (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Spectroscopic analysis of the nuclear and circumnuclear regions of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 7130

We discuss here the spectroscopic properties of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 7130 (= IC 5135). Emission line regions were isolated and line ratios were measured and fitted with photoionization models; this allowed to discriminate between thermal and non thermal ionization in the circumnuclear regions. Massive star formation is likely to occur at projected distances from the nucleus ≫ 2 kpc: line profiles in these regions suggest the presence of outflows of gas due to stellar winds from hot massive stars.     

Study of the planetary nebula NGC 2438 I. Spectroscopy of the nebula and of some cluster stars

We found 36 emission lines in the spectrum of the planetary nebula NGC 2438, and we determined its exc. class to be about 6–7. The nebular RV_hel = 60.3 ± 3.6 km/s (5 spectra) is in agreement with RV_hel = 60.8 ± 4.0 km/s of 4 cluster stars (10 spectra). We conclude that contrary to earlier statements the nebula is probably associated with the cluster.     

亮红外星系NGC 1614中多谱线示踪的致密分子气体

利用高空间分辨率的¹²CO(1-0)、¹³CO(1-0)、¹²CO(3-2)、¹²CO(6-5)、HCN(3-2)、\lk HCN(4-3)、 HCO⁺(3-2)和HCO⁺(4-3)分子谱线的ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/ submillimeter Array)归档数据, 来研究近邻亮红外星系NGC 1614的分子气体性质, 尤其是致密分子气体的性质. 在高分辨率分子气体谱线的积分强度图中, 在星系中心区域($<$ 1kpc)可以看到环状结构, 分子气体主要分布于星系中心区域, 核区分子气体含量较少. ¹²CO(1-0)显示出向南部、 北部以及东南部的延展结构, 高阶的CO ($J \ge$ 3, J为转振能级量子数)分子谱线和致密分子HCN、HCO⁺谱线显示, 较致密的分子气体主要集中于星系中心区域. HCN(4-3)/¹²CO(1-0)和HCN⁺(4-3)/¹²CO(1-0)积分强度比值图显示, 致密分子气体主要集中于中心区域的环状结构上. HCN/HCO⁺强度比值的分布变化表明星暴环的不同区域可能具有不同的激发条件. HCN/HCO⁺(4-3)强度比值分布在环的东、西部(sim0.44 pm 0.04)高于环的南、北部(sim0.35 pm 0.03). HCN/HCO⁺(3-2)强度比值较高的区域(sim0.38 pm 0.04)分布在HCN(3-2)峰值位置, 而环的西北、东南部强度比值相对较低(sim0.3 pm 0.03). 对于中心不同区域 HCN/HCO⁺比值变化的原因进行了讨论.     

Proper motions in the field of the globular cluster NGC 6934

We measured relative proper motions with a typical accuracy of 1.0 milliarcsec/year (mas/a) for 2000 stars in a 1°4 × 1°4 field around the low-latitude globular cluster NGC 6934. Four plates taken with the Bonn double refractor, spanning an epoch difference of 62 years, were digitized completely. Within the tidal radius of the cluster, we find 106 stars with proper motion errors less than 5 mas/a. Membership probalilities are computed taking into account the individual proper motion errors and the radial distances to the cluster centre. We derive the mean relative proper motion of NGC 6934 using stars with high membership probabilities from radial velocities (Smith and Bell 1986) or from their location in the colour-magnitude diagram (Harris and Racine 1973). The relative proper motions of four Hipparcos stars in the field will be used to obtain the absolute proper motion of NGC 6934 once the extragalactically calibrated Hipparcos Output Catalogue is available.     

The exceptional X-ray variability of the dwarf Seyfert nucleus NGC 4395

An analysis of the X-ray variability of the low-luminosity Seyfert nucleus NGC 4395, based on a long XMM–Newton observation, is presented. The power spectrum shows a clear break from a flat spectrum  (α≈ 1)  to a steeper spectrum  (α≈ 2)  at a frequency   f _br= 0.5–3.0 × 10⁻³ Hz  , comparable to the highest characteristic frequency found previously in a Seyfert galaxy. This extends the measured   M _BH− f _br  values to lower M _BH than previous studies of Seyfert galaxies, and is consistent with an inverse scaling of variability frequency with black hole mass. The variations observed are among the most violent seen in an active galactic nuclei to date, with the fractional rms amplitude  ( F _var)  exceeding 100 per cent in the softest band. The amplitude of the variations seems intrinsically higher in NGC 4395 than most other Seyfert galaxies, even after accounting for the differences in characteristic frequencies. The origin of this difference is not clear, but it is unlikely to be a high accretion rate (   L / L _Edd≲ 20  per cent for NGC 4395). The variations clearly follow the linear rms–flux relation, further supporting the idea that this is a ubiquitous characteristics of accreting black holes. The variations are highly coherent between different energy bands with any frequency-dependent time delay limited to ≲1 per cent.