J. E. Steiner

O livro foi editado pelo Prof. Dr. Augusto Damineli e pelo Prof. Dr. João Steiner como parte das comemorações do Ano Internacional da Astronomia (2009). Edições impressas de “Fascínio do Universo” foram distribuídas gratuitamente em escolas, e a edição digital pode ser copiada neste site. Este livro tem como objetivo descrever em linguagem simples, mas com detalhes, o que se sabe sobre alguns aspectos do Universo e como eles são estudados no Brasil. Além dos fatos científicos, ele visa também a destacar o papel cultural e econômico da Astronomia, como inspiração para o desenvolvimento de muitos outros campos da ciência, especialmente dentro da Física e da Matemática. Mais amplamente, a Astronomia forneceu e continua a fornecer ferramentas conceituais decisivas para a astronáutica, para a análise da luz, para a compreensão da energia nuclear, para a procura de partículas atômicas e, em termos do desenvolvimento de materiais e tecnologias, ela manteve-se na fronteira da óptica, da mecânica de precisão e da automação. E, acima de tudo, teve e tem profundo impacto no conhecimento, e é uma das mais refinadas expressões da inteligência humana.

We report near-infrared integral field spectroscopic observations of the active galactic nucleus NGC 4151 with archive data from the NIFS-Gemini North Telescope. We have selected best-seeing observations (≲0.3 arcsec) that, allied to our methodology of image processing techniques, show structures with spatial resolution comparable to those of the HST. The intricate outflow of NGC 4151 is revisited in light of the results found for NGC 1068, in a previous work, and a very similar dynamic is found: the low-velocity [Fe ii] emission depicts the glowing walls of an hourglass structure, while the high-velocity gas fills its volume. From this finding, we show that the misalignment between the jet and the NLR is not a projection effect, as previously thought. A molecular outflow is detected for the first time in this galaxy and, just like in NGC 1068, the transition between the molecular and the ionized gas phases comes from the fragmentation of molecular cavity walls into bullets of ionized gas exposed to the central source. Furthermore, it is suggestive that the same geometrical dichotomy between the cones seen in NGC 1068 is found here, with one side, where the cavity is disrupted by the AGN, being more extended than the other. Finally, a new spatial correlation between the high-velocity [Fe ii] and the soft X-ray emission of [Ne ix] is found, which is unexpected given the difference between their ionization potentials.

In this work we continue the study of the central region of NGC 613 (Paper I), by analysing the stellar and gas kinematics and the stellar archaeology in optical and near-infrared data cubes. The high spatial resolution of the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) data cube allowed the detection, using spectral synthesis methods, of an inner circumnuclear ring, with a radius of ∼ 1 arcsec, composed by ∼ 10⁹ yr stellar populations. Such a ring is located between the nucleus and the circumnuclear ring composed by H II regions detected in previous works. Besides that, there is a stellar rotation around the nucleus and the rings follow the same direction of rotation with different velocities. The intensity weighted average stellar velocity dispersion at the centre is 92 ± 3 km s⁻¹. Three distinct gas outflow components were detected. The direction of the outflow observed with the Hα emission line is compatible with the direction of the previously observed radio jet. The direction of one of the outflows detected in the [O iii]λ5007 emission coincides with the axis of the ionization cone. There is no difference regarding the stellar populations and the stellar kinematics along the double stellar emission, probably separated by a dust lane as mentioned in Paper I, confirming that they are part of the same structure.

Most galaxies with a well-structured bulge host a supermassive black hole (SMBH) in their centre. Stellar kinematics models applied to Adaptive Optics (AO) assisted Integral Field Unit observations are well-suited to measure the SMBH mass (M_BH) and also the total mass-to-light ratio [(M/L)_TOT] and possible anisotropies in the stellar velocity distribution in the central region of galaxies. In this work, we used new AO assisted Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrometer (NIFS) observations and also photometric data from the Hubble Space Telescope Legacy Archive of the galaxy NGC 4546 in order to determine its SMBH mass. To do this, we applied the Jeans Anisotropic Modelling (JAM) method to fit the average second velocity moment in the line-of-sight |$(\overline{v^2_{los}})$| of the stellar structure. In addition, we also obtained (M/L)_TOT and the classical anisotropy parameter β_z=1-(σ_z/σ_R)² for this object within a field-of-view of 200×200 pc². Maps of the stellar radial velocity and of the velocity dispersion were built for this galaxy using the penalized pixel fitting (ppxf) technique. We applied the Multi Gaussian Expansion procedure to fit the stellar brightness distribution. Using JAM, the best-fitting model for |$\overline{v^2_{los}}$| of the stellar structure was obtained with (M/L)_TOT = 4.34±0.07 (Johnson’s R band), M_BH = (2.56±0.16) × 10⁸ M_⊙ and β_z = -0.015±0.03 (3σ confidence level). With these results, we found that NGC 4546 follows the M_BH × σ relation. We also measured the central velocity dispersion within a radius of 1 arcsec of this object as σ_c = 241±2 km s⁻¹.

In this paper, we report a detailed study with a variety of data from optical, near-infrared, X-ray, and radio telescopes of the nuclear region of the galaxy NGC 613 with the aim of understanding its complexity. We detected an extended stellar emission in the nucleus that, at first, appears to be, in the optical band, two stellar nuclei separated by a stream of dust. The active galactic nucleus (AGN) is identified as a variable point-like source between these two stellar components. There is a central hard X-ray emission and an extended soft X-ray emission that closely coincides with the ionization cone, as seen in the [O III]$\lambda$5007 emission. The centroid of the [O I]$\lambda$6300 emission does not coincide with the AGN, being shifted by 0.24 arcsec towards the ionization cone; this shift is probably caused by a combination of differential dust extinction together with emission and reflection in the ionization cone. The optical spectra extracted from the central region are typical of low-ionization nuclear emission-line regions. We also identify 10 H II regions, eight of them in a star forming ring that is visible in Br$\gamma$, [Fe II]$\lambda$16436 and molecular CO(3-2) images observed in previous studies. Such a ring also presents weak hard X-ray emission, probably associated with supernova remnants, not detected in other studies. The position of the AGN coincides with the centre of a nuclear spiral (detected in previous works) that brings gas and dust from the bar to the nucleus, causing the high extinction in this area.

In this paper, we report a detailed study with a variety of data from optical, near-infrared, X-ray, and radio telescopes of the nuclear region of the galaxy NGC 613 with the aim of understanding its complexity. We detected an extended stellar emission in the nucleus that, at first, appears to be, in the optical band, two stellar nuclei separated by a stream of dust. The active galactic nucleus (AGN) is identified as a variable point-like source between these two stellar components. There is a central hard X-ray emission and an extended soft X-ray emission that closely coincides with the ionization cone, as seen in the [O iii]λ5007 emission. The centroid of the [O i]λ6300 emission does not coincide with the AGN, being shifted by 0.24 arcsec towards the ionization cone; this shift is probably caused by a combination of differential dust extinction together with emission and reflection in the ionization cone. The optical spectra extracted from the central region are typical of low-ionization nuclear emission-line regions. We also identify 10 H ii regions, eight of them in a star-forming ring that is visible in Br γ, [Fe ii]λ16436, and molecular CO(3-2) images observed in previous studies. Such a ring also presents weak hard X-ray emission, probably associated with supernova remnants, not detected in other studies. The position of the AGN coincides with the centre of a nuclear spiral (detected in previous works) that brings gas and dust from the bar to the nucleus, causing the high extinction in this area.

We map the optical and near-infrared (NIR) emission-line flux distributions and kinematics of the inner 320 × 535 pc2 of the elliptical galaxy NGC 1052. The integral field spectra were obtained with the Gemini Telescope using the GMOS-IFU and NIFS instruments, with angular resolutions of 0.88 and 0.1 arcsec in the optical and NIR, respectively. We detect five kinematic components: (1) and (2) two spatially unresolved components: a broad-line region visible in H α, with a full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of ∼3200 km s−1, and an intermediate broad component seen in the [O iii] λλ4959,5007 doublet; (3) an extended intermediate-width component with 280 km s−1 < FWHM < 450 km s−1 and centroid velocities up to 400 km s−1, which dominates the flux in our data, attributed either to a bipolar outflow related to the jets, rotation in an eccentric disc or to a combination of a disc and large-scale gas bubbles; (4) and (5) two narrow (FWHM < 150 km s−1) components, one visible in [O iii], and another visible in the other emission lines, extending beyond the field of view of our data, which is attributed to large-scale shocks. Our results suggest that the ionization within the observed field of view cannot be explained by a single mechanism, with photoionization being the dominant mechanism in the nucleus with a combination of shocks and photoionization responsible for the extended ionization.

We present the first results of the Deep Integral Field Spectroscopy View of Nuclei of Galaxies (DIVING3D) survey, obtained from the analysis of the nuclear emission-line spectra of a sub-sample we call mini-DIVING3D, including all southern galaxies with B < 11.2 and |b| >15°. In comparison with previous studies, very few galaxies were classified as Transition objects. A possible explanation is that at least part of the Transition objects are composite systems, with a central low-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER) contaminated by the emission from circumnuclear H II regions. The high spatial resolution of the DIVING3D survey allowed us to isolate the nuclear emission from circumnuclear contaminations, reducing the number of Transition objects.

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are objects in which a supermassive black hole is fed by gas and, as this generates energy, can ionise the environment and interact with it by jets and winds. This work is focused on the processes of feeding and feedback in the nucleus of NGC 613. This object is a case in which both phenomena can be studied in some detail. The kinematics and morphology of the molecular gas trace the feeding process while the ionization cone, seen in [O iii]λ5007 and soft X-rays, as well as the radio jet and wind/outflows are associated with feedback processes. In addition, we see 10 HII regions, associated with nuclear and circumnuclear young stellar populations, dominant in the optical, that makes the analysis complicated, though more interesting. For all these phenomena, NGC 613 nucleus is a vibrant example of the interplay between the AGN and the host galaxy.