Near IR diffraction-limited integral-field SINFONI spectroscopy of the Circinus galaxy
✍ Scribed by F. Mueller Sánchez; R.I. Davies; F. Eisenhauer; L.J. Tacconi; R. Genzel
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 2006
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 259 KB
- Volume
- 50
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1387-6473
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✦ Synopsis
Using the adaptive optics assisted near infrared integral field spectrometer SINFONI on the VLT, we have obtained observations of the Circinus galaxy on parsec scales. The morphologies of the H 2 (1-0)S(1) 2.12 lm and Brc 2.17 lm emission lines are only slightly different, but their velocity maps are similar and show a gradient along the major axis of the galaxy, consistent with rotation. Since V rot / r % 1 suggests that random motions are also important, it is likely that the lines arise in a rotating spheroid or thickened disk around the AGN. Comparing the Brc flux to the stellar continuum indicates that the star formation in this region began $10 8 yr ago. We also detect the [SiVI] 1.96 lm, [AlIX] 2.04 lm and [CaVIII] 2.32 lm coronal lines. In all cases we observe a broad blue wing, indicating the presence of two or more components in the coronal line region. A correlation between the ionisation potential and the asymmetry of the profiles was found for these high excitation species.