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Some evidence for large gravitational redshift in Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151

The photon spectra of two Seyfert galaxies NGC 4151 and MCG 8-11-11 are good experimentally established in the X-ray and gamma range. The annihilation of the high temperature positrons with cold electrons is proposed as the possible mechanism of photon production in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151. The photon spectrum of NGC 4151 with its observed features from the soft X to the gamma ray range is described by annihilation of positrons and electrons at temperatures 3 x 10 to the 12th power K and 10 to the 8th power K respectively. The photon spectra from annihilation of unthermalized plasma with above parameters should be shifted to the lower energy by redshift z = 100. In that case the source of photons should be placed closely to the black hole horizon (r approximately equal to 1.0001 r sub g.

Tkaczyk, W.↗

Spectral evolution of active galactic nuclei Penrose Compton scattering processes and gamma ray emission from Seyfert galaxies

In black hole spectral evolution models for active galactic nuclei (AGN), present epoch Seyfert galaxies evolve from an earlier precursor active galaxy (PAG) stage at redshift z is approximately 7 where they acted as the thermal sources responsible for the residual cosmic x ray background (RCXB). The Seyfert galaxies which emerge in this context emit Penrose Compton Scattering (PCS) gamma ray transients on the order of hours with a kinematic cutoff in the spectrum less than or equal to 3 MeV. The EGRET (Energetic Gamma-Ray Experimental Telescope/ OSSE (Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment/ COMPTEL (Compton Telescope)/ BATSE (Burst and Transient Source Experiment) instruments on the Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) are appropriate instruments to carry out further tests of this model by studying: PCS gamma ray transient emission from individual galaxies and, the possibility that present epoch PCS gamma ray emitting Seyfert galaxies contribute observable temporal variability to the excess diffuse gamma ray background component less than or equal to 3 MeV.

Leiter, Darryl↗

Spectrophotometry of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4593

Spectrophotometry of the bright class 1 Seyfert galaxy NGC 4593 is presented. The emission-line characteristics are briefly discussed and compared with those of other Seyfert galaxies. The measured hydrogen Balmer-line ratios are reasonably consistent with expected recombination values, and the emission intensities of Fe II, He I 5876, and forbidden O III 4363 relative to other lines are stronger than average in NGC 4593.

Macalpine, G. M.↗

Faint object spectrograph observations of the low-luminosity Seyfert galaxy NGC 1566

FOS observations of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1566 show it to possess the broad lines characteristic of a typical Seyfert 1 galaxy, even in states of very low luminosity. The continuum, however, is steep with no suggestion of the ultraviolet excess seen in higher luminosity AGNs. The broad emission lines have symmetric profiles, but are redshifted by 200-1000 km/s relative to the systemic velocity. The broad-line ratios indicate a low ionization parameter, and the strength of lines such as Fe II, Mg II, and the Balmer continuum relative to the UV continuum supports models for X-ray heating of the broad-line cloud interiors.

Kriss, G. A.↗

Hard X-ray emission from a type 2 Seyfert galaxy (NGC 1068)

Exosat observations of the type 2 Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068 have detected a source in the 2-10 KeV range with a flux density at 2 keV of 0.6 micron-Jy. It has a flat power-law spectrum similar to type 1 Seyferts. Combined with Low Energy Exosat filter data and Einstein IPC observations, these data show that spectral curvature is necessary, flattening the X-ray spectrum to high energies. The spectrum can be decomposed into two components: a steep low-energy part and a flat high-energy part. Any intrinsic absorption is small. There is no evidence for variability within or between any of the observations, which sample time scales from 30 minutes to 4 yr. These data support the 'obscuration' model of type 2 Seyfert galaxies in which the nucleus is seen only in flux scattered from above a 'wall' of material that completely blocks the direct view.

Elvis, Martin↗

Extended far-infrared emission and star formation in Seyfert galaxies

An investigation into the extended distribution of far-infrared (FIR) emission associated with nearby Seyfert galaxies is made using a set of MEM reconstructions of IRAS Chopped Photometric Channel (CPC) data (Marston 1993). The data is compared to a set of HII/starburst galaxy images similarly processed in order to compare distributions and FIR color properties. It is shown that the central 1 kpc or so of Seyfert galaxies show extended FIR emission. FIR colors suggest that the bulk of this emission is not directly associated with an active nucleus. They further suggest that the origins of the majority of the emission is from heated dust associated with star formation surrounding the nucleus rather than dust heated by the active nucleus. Nearby Seyfert galaxies are shown to have a higher concentration of far-infrared emission from their centers than the HII/starburst galaxies and a number appear to reside in disk galaxies with relatively low ongoing star formation in their disks. An example of this is NGC 7582 which has a smooth disk but an active nucleus/starbust center.

Marston, A. P.↗

Ultraviolet and optical spectra of high-ionization Seyfert galaxies with narrow lines

Ultraviolet and optical spectra are presented for three unusual Seyfert galaxies (Mrk 1239, Mrk 42, and Mrk 493) that resemble Seyfert 1 galaxies in that they have strong high-ionization lines and strong nonstellar continua, but resemble Seyfert 2 galaxies in that the widths of their permitted lines are as narrow as the widths of their forbidden lines. The He II lambda 1640 and He II lambda 4686 lines are used to determine an upper limit to the reddening experienced by the emission lines. Published optical data show that these particular high-ionization narrow-line (HINL) Seyferts have low lambda 5007 H beta ratios and strong Fe II emission, which suggest the presence of high-density regions. The low Lalpha/H-beta ratios in these objects indicate that high-density clouds are indeed present, and, like the broad-line region clouds in Seyfert 1 galaxies, these clouds have large optical depths with partially ionized zones. Overall, the line ratios and continuum fluxes of these particular HINL Seyferts are indistinguishable from those of broad-lined Seyfert 1 galaxies.

Crenshaw, D. Michael↗

Classifying Seyfert Galaxies with Deep Learning

The traditional classification for a subclass of the Seyfert galaxies is visual inspection or using a quantity defined as a flux ratio between the Balmer line and forbidden line. One algorithm of deep learning is the convolution neural network (CNN), which has shown successful classification results. We build a one-dimensional CNN model to distinguish Seyfert 1.9 spectra from Seyfert 2 galaxies. We find that our model can recognize Seyfert 1.9 and Seyfert 2 spectra with an accuracy of over 80% and pick out an additional Seyfert 1.9 sample that was missed by visual inspection. We use the new Seyfert 1.9 sample to improve the performance of our model and obtain a 91% precision of Seyfert 1.9. These results indicate that our model can pick out Seyfert 1.9 spectra among Seyfert 2 spectra. We decompose the Hα emission line of our Seyfert 1.9 galaxies by fitting two Gaussian components and derive the line width and flux. We find that the velocity distribution of the broad Hα component of the new Seyfert 1.9 sample has an extending tail toward the higher end, and the luminosity of the new Seyfert 1.9 sample is slightly weaker than the original Seyfert 1.9 sample. This result indicates that our model can pick out the sources that have a relatively weak broad Hα component. In addition, we check the distributions of the host galaxy morphology of our Seyfert 1.9 samples and find that the distribution of the host galaxy morphology is dominated by a large bulge galaxy. In the end, we present an online catalog of 1297 Seyfert 1.9 galaxies with measurements of the Hα emission line.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Non-Stellar Infrared Continuum of Seyfert Galaxies

JHKL'M (1 - 5 micrometers) imaging of a sample of Seyfert 2 galaxies is presented. We have performed an accurate estimate of the near-infrared non-stellar nuclear fluxes. We confirm that the near-infrared nuclear continuum between 1 and 2.2microns of some Seyfert 2s is dominated by stellar emission, whereas the continuum emission at longer wavelengths (lambda = 3 - 5 micrometers) is almost entirely non-stellar in origin. The non-stellar spectral energy distributions (SED) in the infrared (up to 15 micrometers) of Seyfert galaxies show a variety of shapes, and they are well reproduced with the tapered disk models of Efstathiou & Rowan-Robinson (1995). We have used two models, one including an optically thin cone component found to fit the SED of NGC 1068, and a coneless model. Although our modelling of the SEDs does not allow us to favor either model to account for all the observed SEDs, we find that the viewing angle towards the central source is well constrained by both models. The galaxies in our sample have fitted values of the viewing angle in the range Theta(sub V) = 0 deg - 64 deg, for the assumed model parameters. We have also investigated non-stellar color-color diagrams (L' - M vs. H - M and L' - M vs. H - L'). The colors of the Seyfert galaxies with viewing angles Theta(sub v) less than 30 deg are better reproduced with the cone model. These diagrams provide a good means to separate Seyfert 2s with moderate obscuration (A(sub V) approx. less than 20 mag from hard X-ray observations) from those with high obscuration. The ground-based 4.8 microns and ISO 9.6 microns luminosities are well correlated with the hard X-ray luminosities of Seyfert ls and 2s. These continuum emissions appear as a good indicator of the AGN luminosity, at least in the cases of hard X-ray Compton-thin Seyfert galaxies (N(sub H) less than or = 10(exp 24)/sq cm). We finally stress the finding that some Compton thick galaxies show bright non-stellar emission at 5 microns This suggests that the near-infrared emission in Seyfert galaxies is produced in an extended component illuminated by the central source, that is more visible from all viewing angles, providing a good explanation for the differing N(sub H)/A(sub V) ratios found in some Seyfert 2s. We discuss possible implications of mid-infrared surveys for the search of counterparts of highly obscured hard X-ray sources.

Alonso-Herrero, Almudena↗

Evidence for Neutrino Emission from X-Ray Bright Seyfert Galaxies in the Southern Hemisphere Using Enhanced Starting Track Events with IceCube

IceCube recently reported the observation of TeV neutrinos from the nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068, and the corresponding neutrino flux is significantly higher than the upper limit implied by observations of GeV–TeV gamma rays. This suggests that neutrinos are produced near the supermassive black hole, where the radiation density is high enough to obscure gamma rays. We use a set of muon neutrinos with interaction vertices inside the detector, which have good sensitivity to sources in the southern sky, from IceCube data recorded between 2011 and 2021. We then search for individual and collective neutrino signals from 14 Seyfert galaxies in the southern sky selected from the Swift Burst Alert Telescope AGN Spectroscopic Survey. Using the correlations between keV X-rays and TeV neutrinos predicted by disk–corona models, and assuming production characteristics similar to NGC 1068, a collective neutrino signal search reveals an excess of $6.{7}_{-3.2}^{+4.0}$ events, which is inconsistent with background expectations at the 3σ level of significance. In this Letter, we present new independent evidence that Seyfert galaxies contribute to the extragalactic flux of high-energy neutrinos.

Seyfert galaxies↗

Hubble Space Telescope images of the Seyfert galaxies NGC 5929 and MCG 8-11-11

We present the initial results of a program to obtain high resolution images of Seyfert galaxies with the Planetary Camera aboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). In this paper we discuss the images of the type 2 Seyfert NGC 5929 and the type 1.5 Seyfert MCG 8-11-11 (= UGC 3374). The images were obtained in the emission lines of (O III) lambda lambda 4959 and 5007 A and H alpha + (N II) lambda lambda 6548 and 6583 A and their adjacent continua. The high-excitation gas in the narrow line region (NLR) of NGC 5929 is resolved into individual clouds in the central 1 sec .5. Although the (O III) emission is clearly not spherically symmetric with respect to the nucleus, it does not define a distinct 'bicone' morphology, as observed by the HST in a few other Seyfert galaxies. We find no direct evidence for the reddening and/or obscuration effects characteristic of a dusty torus, which, in the context of 'unified models', is expected to obscure the active galactic nucleus (AGN) in type 2 Seyfert galaxies. The correspondence between the emission line gas and the radio morphology suggests that the structure of the NLR in NGC 5929 is governed by matter ejected from the AGN. A comparison of the recombination rate of hydrogen in the brightest emission line cloud with an upper limit on the ionizing luminosity emitted toward Earth provides no evidence that the central ionizing source radiates anisotropically. The images of MCG 8-11-11 show only an unresolved nuclear source. No emission line gas associated with the extended radio source is detected. We estimate upper limits on the intensity of extended line emission in this galaxy and examine their significance.

Bower, Gary A.↗

Uhuru observations of X-ray emission from Seyfert galaxies

A point summation technique has been used to analyze systematically the Uhuru data for X-ray emission from the 88 Seyfert galaxies listed by Weedman (1977), plus MCG 8-11-11 reported by the Ariel 5 group. In addition to measuring the average X-ray intensity for 15 sources reported in the 4U and 2A catalogs, three new candidate sources are found. X-ray variability has previously been reported for NGC 4151, 3C 390.3, and MCG 8-11-11; Mrk 279 is now also found to vary. Furthermore, significant flaring activity from NGC 4151 was observed with as much as a factor of 10 increase in intensity on a time possibly as short as 730 seconds. The local X-ray volume emissivity of Seyfert galaxies is measured, and it is found, with standard assumptions, that from 6% to 25% of the diffuse 2-10-keV X-ray background can be attributed to emission from Seyfert galaxies. The data show that the luminosity function for X-ray Seyferts is rather steep.

Tananbaum, H.↗

Circumnuclear starbursts in Seyfert galaxies

Observational diagnostics for the recognition of circumnuclear star formation in Seyfert galaxies are described and illustrated. These methods include: (1) spatially resolved optical spectroscopy, which allows the emission lines for HII regions to be separated from those originating in gas ionized by the Seyfert nucleus; (2) radio continuum mapping, where the linear radio sources characteristic of the nuclear activity may be distinguished from the diffuse morphology of multiple supernova remnants generated in a starburst; (3) infrared spectroscopic searches for emission features of dust, which are seen in starbursts but not in Seyfert nuclei; (4) the shape of the IRAS spectrum. These various diagnostics agree well as to the presence or absence of ongoing star formation. The IRAS spectra of a significant fraction of Seyferts are dominated by emission from dust heated by stars, not the Seyfert nucleus itself. In these cases, the spectrum is curved, being steep between 25 and 60 microns and flatter between 60 and 100 microns. When the Seyfert nucleus dominates, the 25 to 100 micron spectrum is much flatter. It is suggested that the location of a Seyfert galaxy in the IRAS color-color diagram reflects primarily the relative contributions of the active nucleus and dust heated by stars to the infrared fluxes.

Wilson, Andrew S.↗

Ginga observations of Seyfert galaxies

We observed twenty-eight Seyfert 2 galaxies with the Japanese X-ray satellite, Ginga, and found Seyfert 2 galaxies, in general, have the X-ray spectral characteristics of obscured Seyfert 1 nuclei. This results agrees with the predictions from the Unified Seyfert model proposed by Antonucci and Miller. However, among the observed Seyfert 2 galaxies, there are a few galaxies with no evidence of an obscuration, contrary to the general predictions of the unified model. We note that type 2 active galactic nuclei (AGN) will contribute to the Cosmic Diffuse X-ray Background, if the unified Seyfert model can be extended to the far distant AGN such as quasars.

Awaki, H.↗

Multiwavelength tests of the dusty torus model for Seyfert galaxies

We present a compilation of emission properties for a sample of 116 Seyfert galaxies based on both previously unpublished data and measurements available in the literature. These measurements include fluxes in the emission lines (O III) lambda(5007) and H-beta, as well as the infrared (25-60 microns), ultraviolet (1450 A), soft (0.2-4 keV), and hard (2-10 keV) X-ray continua. These are used to try to distinguish between isotropic and anisotropic emission properties of Seyfert galaxies. The distribution functions of (O III) lambda 5007 infrared, and hard X-ray continuum are similar for Seyfert 1's and Seyfert 2's, consistent with these properties being isotropic. The ultraviolet and soft X-ray continua of Seyfert 2's are underluminous relative to the type 1's suggesting photons at these energies escape from the central source anisotropically. There is a correlation between the ultraviolet continuum and emission-line fluxes in Seyfert 1's consistent with the idea that the central engine is responsible for powering the line emission. No such correlation is found for the Seyfert 2's. Instead, the scatter in the plot of ultraviolet continuum versus line emission suggests the true nuclear continuum luminosity is not seen at Earth in these objects. These properties are consistent with those expected in the dusty torus model.

Mulchaey, John S.↗

An [OIII] Study of the Narrow Line Regions of Seyfert Galaxies: Testing the Unified Model

We present the results of an HST [OIII] study of the narrow line regions (NLRs) of Seyfert galaxies. Our sample consists of Seyfert galaxies selected from nearly isotropic properties, their far-infrared fluxes and warm infrared colors. We discuss the luminosities, projected linear extents, and morphologies of the NLRs of these galaxies as well as the agreement of these properties with the Unified Model. We find that while the Unified Model accurately predicts many of the observed characteristics of the NLRs, certain observed morphologies can not be explained by simple models and require a more careful examination.

Donley, J.↗

An X-Ray Reprocessing Model of Disk Thermal Emission in Type 1 Seyfert Galaxies

Using a geometry consisting of a hot central Comptonizing plasma surrounded by a thin accretion disk, we model the optical through hard X-ray spectral energy distributions of the type 1 Seyfert. galaxies NGC 3516 and NGC 7469. As in the model proposed by Poutanen, Krolik, and Ryde for the X-ray binary Cygnus X-1 and later applied to Seyfert galaxies by Zdziarski, Lubifiski, and Smith, feedback between the radiation reprocessed by the disk and the thermal Comptonization emission from the hot central plasma plays a pivotal role in determining the X-ray spectrum, and as we show, the optical and ultraviolet spectra as well. Seemingly uncorrelated optical/UV and X-ray light curves, similar to those which have been observed from these objects can, in principle, be explained by variations in the size, shape, and temperature of the Comptonizing plasma. Furthermore, by positing a disk mass accretion rate which satisfies a condition for global energy balance between the thermal Comptonization luminosity and the power available from accretion, one can predict the spectral properties of the heretofore poorly measured hard X-ray continuum above approximately 50 keV in type 1 Seyfert galaxies. Conversely, forthcoming measurements of the hard X-ray continuum by more sensitive hard X-ray and soft gamma-ray telescopes, such as those aboard the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) in conjunction with simultaneous optical, UV, and soft X-ray monitoring, will allow the mass accretion rates to be directly constrained for these sources in the context of this model.

Chiang, James↗