Obscured stellar clusters and nuclear activity in seyfert galaxies
Abstract
Starbursts and AGNs are frequently coupled in the central kiloparsecs of seyfert galaxies, where molecular gas plays a critical role in fueling nuclear starburst activity and feeding the central black hole. Unveiling the dusty nuclear regions with high-resolution techniques in the nearinfrared permit us to distinguish between the AGN and the Super Stellar Clusters (SSCs) emission, characterizing both sources separately. A small sample of nearby galaxies have been observed with VLT@NaCo adaptive optics in the near-infrared. These observations were completed with similar high spatial resolution data in the mid-infrared(VLT@VISIR), optical (HST) and radio wavelengths (VLA,ATCA). AGN and central cluster Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs) were built and compared with observational and/or modelled templates for AGNs and star forming regions in the literature. Hot dust emission (∼ 1400 K) has been detected in NGC 253 nuclear clusters, an absent feature in low spatial resolution templates. We also found a new alignment for this galaxy between NIR and radio data due to the high spatial resolution in both spectral regions, finding NIR counterparts for 8 known radio sources. The H2 (2.12 µm) line emission for NGC 7582 proved to be perpendicular to the ionization cone axis of this galaxy, in agreement with the existence of a molecular reservoir in the inner 100 parsecs, close to the AGN.
- Publication:
-
37th COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- 2008
- Bibcode:
- 2008cosp...37..871F