Optical 3D Spectroscopy of Seyfert Galaxies: Kinematics and Excitation of Gas in Centers

With the motivation to contribute to the understanding of processes in the central kiloparsec of active galaxies and the role of the nuclear activity in galaxy evolution, we study the ionized gas of extended narrow-line regions (ENLRs) in Seyfert galaxies via the analysis of optical emission lines (range 4800 - 7000 A). We present "3D" spectroscopical data on the central few kiloparsecs of 14 nearby Seyfert galaxies. The data were obtained with the integral-field spectrograph OASIS (mounted at CFHT at the time) with high spatial resolution, thus providing us with unprecedented details on emission distribution and kinematics (that we try to interpret) in different emission lines. Computed line flux ratios and diagnostic diagrams then allow to probe further physical properties of the gas and its ionization mechanisms in different parts of the observed objects.