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We derive the nitrogen and oxygen abundances in the Narrow Line Regions (NLRs) of a sample of 38 local ($z \: < \: 0.4$) Seyfert~2 nuclei. For that, we consider narrow optical emission line intensities and direct estimates of the electron temperatures ($T_{\rm e}$-method). We find nitrogen abundances in the range $7.6 \: < \: \rm 12+log(N/H) \: < \: 8.6$ (mean value $8.06\pm0.22$) or $\rm 0.4 \: < \: (N/N_{\odot}) \: < 4.7$, in the metallicity regime $8.3 \: < \: \rm 12+log(O/H) \: < \: 9.0$. Our results indicate that the dispersion in N/H abundance for a fixed O/H value in AGNs is in agreement with that for disc \ion{H}{ii} regions with similar metallicity. We show that Seyfert~2 nuclei follow a similar (N/O)-(O/H) relation to the one followed by star-forming objects. Finally, we find that active galaxies called as 'nitrogen-loud' observed at very high redshift ($z \: > \: 5$) show N/O values in consonance with those derived for local NLRs. This result indicates that the main star-formation event is completed in the early evolution stages of active galaxies., Comment: Submitted to MNRAS. Comments are welcome!

We study the ionised gas kinematics of 293 Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) hosts as compared to that of 485 control galaxies from the MaNGA-SDSS survey using measurements of the [OIII]$\lambda$5007\AA emission-line profiles, presenting flux, velocity and W$_{80}$ maps. In 45% of the AGN, a broad component was needed to fit the line profiles wings within the inner few kpc, that we have identified with an outflow. But in most AGN, the profiles are broader than that of their controls over a much more extended region, identified as the "kinematically disturbed regions" (KDRs). We find a positive correlation between the mean $\langle$W$_{80}\rangle$ and L[OIII], supporting that the KDR is due to heating and turbulence of the ISM by outflows and radiation from the AGN. The extent R$_{KDR}$ reaches up to 24kpc, with a mean ratio to that of the ENLR of 57%. We estimate ionised gas mass flow rates ($\dot{M}_{\rm out}$) and kinetic powers ($\dot{E}_{\rm out}$) both from the AGN broad components and from the W$_{80}$ values, that can be obtained for the whole AGN sample. We find values for $\dot{M}_{\rm out}$ and $\dot{E}_{\rm out}$ that correlate with the AGN luminosity $L_{bol}$, populating the low luminosity end of these known correlations. The mean coupling efficiency between $\dot{E}_{\rm out}$ and AGN luminosity is $\approx$ 0.02% from the W$_{80}$ values and lower from the broad component. But the large extent of the KDR shows that even low-luminosity AGN can impact the host galaxy along several kpc in a "maintenance mode" feedback.

For the first time, the sulphur abundance relative to hydrogen (S/H) in the Narrow Line Regions of a sample of Seyfert 2 nuclei (Sy 2s) has been derived via direct estimation of the electron temperature. Narrow emission line intensities from the SDSS DR17 [in the wavelength range 3000 < $\lambda$ < 9100] and from the literature for a sample of 45 nearby ($z$ < 0.08) Sy 2s were considered. Our direct estimates indicate that Sy 2s have similar temperatures in the gas region where most of the S+ ions are located in comparison with that of star-forming regions (SFs). However, Sy 2s present higher temperature values ($\sim$10000 K) in the region where most of the S++ ions are located relative to that of SFs. We derive the total sulphur abundance in the range of 6.2 < 12 + log(S/H) < 7.5, corresponding to 0.1-1.8 times the solar value. These sulphur abundance values are lower by $\sim$0.4 dex than those derived in SFs with similar metallicity, indicating a distinct chemical enrichment of the ISM for these object classes. The S/O values for our Sy 2 sample present an abrupt ($\sim$0.5 dex) decrease with increasing O/H for the high metallicity regime [12 + log(O/H) > 8.7)], what is not seen for the SFs. However, when our Sy 2 estimates are combined with those from a large sample of star-forming regions, we did not find any dependence between S/O and O/H., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 19 pages, 11 figures, 7 tables

We present the hot molecular and warm ionised gas kinematics for 33 nearby ($0.001\lesssim z\lesssim0.056$) X-ray selected active galaxies using the H$_2 2.1218 \mu$m and Br$\gamma$ emission lines observed in the K-band with the Gemini Near-Infrared Field Spectrograph (NIFS). The observations cover the inner 0.04$-$2 kpc of each AGN at spatial resolutions of 4$-$250 pc with a velocity resolution of $\sigma_{\rm inst}\approx$20 ${\rm km s^{-1}}$. We find that 31 objects (94 per cent) present a kinematically disturbed region (KDR) seen in ionised gas, while such regions are observed in hot molecular gas for 25 galaxies (76 per cent). We interpret the KDR as being due to outflows with masses of 10$^2-$10$^7$ M$_\odot$ and 10$^0-$10$^4$ M$_\odot$ for the ionised and hot molecular gas, respectively. The ranges of mass-outflow rates ($\dot{M}_{\rm out}$) and kinetic power ($\dot{E}_{\rm K}$) of the outflows are 10$^{-3}-$10$^{1}$ M$_\odot$yr$^{-1}$ and $\sim$10$^{37}$$-$10$^{43}$ erg s$^{-1}$ for the ionised gas outflows, and 10$^{-5}$$-$10$^{-2}$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ and 10$^{35}$$-$10$^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$ for the hot molecular gas outflows. The median coupling efficiency in our sample is $\dot{E}_{K}/L_{\rm bol}\approx1.8\times10^{-3}$ and the estimated momentum fluxes of the outflows suggest they are produced by radiation-pressure in low-density environment, with possible contribution from shocks., Comment: 37 pages, published in MNRAS - A few typos in the text and in the label of Fg 1 were corrected in this version

Red Geysers are quiescent galaxies with galactic scale ionised outflows, likely due to low-luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). We used Gemini GMOS-IFU observations of the inner $\sim 1.0-3.0$ kpc of nine Red Geysers selected from the MaNGA survey to study the gas ionisation and kinematics. The emission-line ratios suggest the presence of Seyfert/LINER (Low Ionisation Nuclear Emission Region) nuclei in all sources. Two galaxies show H$\alpha$ equivalent width (H$\alpha$ EW) larger than 3 \AA (indicative of AGN ionisation) within an aperture 2.5 arcsec of diameter ($1.3-3.7$ kpc at the distance of galaxies) for MaNGA data, while with the higher resolution GMOS data, four galaxies present H$\alpha$ EW$>3$ \AA within an aperture equal to the angular resolution ($0.3-0.9$ kpc). For two objects with GMOS-IFU data, the H$\alpha$ EW is lower than 3 \AA but larger than 1.5 \AA, most probably due to a faint AGN. The spatially resolved electron density maps show values between $100-3000$ cm$^{-3}$ and are consistent with those determined in other studies. The large (MaNGA) and the nuclear scale (GMOS-IFU) gas velocity fields are misaligned, with a kinematic position angle difference between 12$^{\circ}$ and 60$^{\circ}$. The [NII]$\lambda$6583 emission-line profiles are asymmetrical, with blue wings on the redshifted side of the velocity field and red wings on the blueshifted side. Our results support previous indications that the gas in Red Geysers is ionised by an AGN, at least in their central region, with the presence of outflows, likely originating in a precessing accretion disc., Comment: Accepted for publication in August 3, 2022

We analyse the kinematics of 170 AGN host galaxies as compared to those of a matched control sample of non-active galaxies from the MaNGA survey in order to characterise and estimate the extents of the Narrow Line Region (NLR) and of the kinematically disturbed region (KDR) by the AGN. We define the observed NLR radius as the farthest distance from the nucleus within which both [Oiii]/H\beta and [Nii]/H\alpha ratios fall in the AGN region of the BPT diagram and the H\alpha equivalent width is required to be larger than 3.0\AA. The extent of the KDR is defined as the distance from the nucleus within which the AGN hosts galaxies shows a more disturbed gas kinematics than the control galaxies. The kinematics derived from the [Oiii] line profiles reveal that, on average, the most luminous AGN (L[Oiii] > 3.8 * 10^40 erg s^-1) possess higher residual difference between the gaseous and stellar velocities and velocities dispersion than their control galaxies. Spatially resolved NLR's and KDR's were found in 55 and 46 AGN host galaxies, with corrected radii 0.2 < r_KDR,c < 2.3 kpc and 0.4 < r_NLR,c < 10.1 kpc, with a relation between the two given by log r_KDR,c = (0.53\pm0.12) log r_NLR,c + (1.07\pm0.22), respectively. The extension of the KDR corresponds to about 30 per cent of that of the NLR. Assuming that the KDR is due to an AGN outflow, we have estimated ionised gas mass outflow rates that range between 10^-5 and \approx 1 Myr^-1, and kinetic powers that range from 10^34 to 10^40 erg s^-1. Comparing the power of the AGN ionised outflows with the AGN luminosities, they are always below the 0.05 L_AGN model threshold for having an important feedback effect on their respective host galaxies. The mass outflow rates (and power) of our AGN sample correlate with their luminosities, populating the lowest AGN luminosity range of the correlations previously found for more powerful sources., Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures

In modern models and simulations of galactic evolution, the star formation in massive galaxies is regulated by an ad hoc active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback process. However, the physics and the extension of such effects on the star formation history of galaxies is matter of vivid debate. In order to shed some light in the AGN effects over the star formation, we analyzed the inner 500$\times$500pc of a sample of 14 Seyfert galaxies using GMOS and MUSE integral field spectroscopy. We fitted the continuum spectra in order to derive stellar age, metallicity, velocity and velocity dispersion maps in each source. After stacking our sample and averaging their properties, we found that the contribution of young SP, as well as that of AGN featureless continuum both peak at the nucleus. The fraction of intermediate-age SPs is smaller in the nucleus if compared to outer regions, and the contribution of old SPs vary very little within our field of view (FoV). We also found no variation of velocity dispersion or metallicity within our FoV. Lastly, we detected an increase in the dust reddening towards the center of the galaxies. These results lead us to conclude that AGN phenomenon is usually related to a recent star formation episode in the circumnuclear region., Comment: 18 pages, 17 figures. Accepted for publication at MNRAS

We study the gas distribution and kinematics of the inner kpc of six moderately luminous (43.43$\leq$log$L_{\rm bol}\leq$44.83) nearby ($0.004 \leq z \leq 0.014$) Seyfert galaxies observed with the Near-infrared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS) in the J(1.25$\mu$m) and K(2.2$\mu$m) bands. We analyse the most intense emission lines detected on these spectral wavebands: [Fe II] 1.2570 $\mu$m and Pa$\beta$, which trace the ionised gas in the partially and fully ionised regions, and H$_2$2.1218$\mu$m, that traces the hot ($\sim 2000$ K) molecular gas. The dominant kinematic component is rotation in the disc of the galaxies, except for the ionised gas in NGC 5899 which shows only weak signatures of a disc component. We find ionised gas outflow in four galaxies, while signatures of H$_2$ outflows are seen in three galaxies. The ionised gas outflows display velocities of a few hundred km\,s$^{-1}$, and their mass-outflow rates are in the range $0.005 - 12.49$M$_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$ . Their kinetic powers correspond to $0.005-0.7$ per cent of the AGN bolometric luminosities. Besides rotation and outflows signatures in some cases, the H 2 kinematics reveals also inflows in three galaxies. The inflow velocities are $50-80$km\,s$^{-1}$ and the mass inflow rates are in the range $1 - 9 \times 10^{-4}$M$_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$ for hot molecular gas. These inflows might be only the hot skin of the total inflowing gas, which is expected to be dominated by colder gas. The mass inflow rates are lower than the current accretion rates to the AGN, and the ionised outflows are apparently disturbing the gas in the inner kpc., Comment: Accepted for publication in November 26, 2021

The merger remnant NGC 34 is a local luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG) hosting a nuclear starburst and a hard X-ray source associated with a putative, obscured Seyfert~2 nucleus. In this work, we use adaptive optics assisted near infrared (NIR) integral field unit observations of this galaxy to map the distribution and kinematics of the ionized and molecular gas in its inner $\mathrm{1.2\,kpc \times 1.2\,kpc}$, with a spatial resolution of 70~pc. The molecular and ionized gas kinematics is consistent with a disc with projected major axis along a mean PA~=~$\mathrm{-9^{\circ}.2 \pm 0^{\circ}.9}$. Our main findings are that NGC~34 hosts an AGN and that the nuclear starburst is distributed in a circumnuclear star-formation ring with inner and outer radii of $\approx$~60 and 180~pc, respectively, as revealed by maps of the $\mathrm{[Fe II] / Pa\beta}$ and $\mathrm{H_{2} / Br\gamma}$ emission-line ratios, and corroborated by PCA Tomography analysis. The spatially resolved NIR diagnostic diagram of NGC~34 also identifies a circumnuclear structure dominated by processes related to the stellar radiation field and a nuclear region where $[Fe II]$ and H$_2$ emissions are enhanced relative to the hydrogen recombination lines. We estimate that the nuclear X-ray source can account for the central H$_2$ enhancement and conclude that $[Fe II]$ and H$_2$ emissions are due to a combination of photo-ionization by young stars, excitation by X-rays produced by the AGN and shocks. These emission lines show nuclear, broad, blue-shifted components that can be interpreted as nuclear outflows driven by the AGN., Comment: 21 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Main Journal

We analyse optical datacubes of the inner kiloparsec of 30 local ($z\le0.02$) active galactic nuclei (AGN) hosts that our research group, AGNIFS, has collected over the past decade via observations with the integral field units of the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrographs. Spatial resolutions range between $50~{\rm pc}$ and $300~{\rm pc}$ and spectral coverage is from $4800~\mathring{A}$ or $5600~\mathring{A}$ to $7000~\mathring{A}$, at velocity resolutions of $\approx 50~{\rm km~s^{-1}}$. We derive maps of the gas excitation and kinematics, determine the AGN ionisation axis -- which has random orientation relative to the galaxy, and the kinematic major axes of the emitting gas. We find that rotation dominates the gas kinematics in most cases, but is disturbed by the presence of inflows and outflows. Outflows have been found in 21 nuclei, usually along the ionisation axis. The gas velocity dispersion is traced by $W_{80}$ (velocity width encompassing 80 per cent of the line flux), adopted as a tracer of outflows. In 7 sources $W_{80}$ is enhanced perpendicularly to the ionisation axis, indicating lateral expansion of the outflow. We have estimated mass-outflow rates $\dot{M}$ and powers $\dot{E}$, finding median values of $\log\,[\dot{M}/({\rm\,M_\odot\,yr^{-1}})]=-2.1_{-1.0}^{+1.6}$ and $\log\,[\dot{E}/({\rm\,erg\,s^{-1}})]=38.5_{-0.9}^{+1.8}$, respectively. Both quantities show a mild correlation with the AGN luminosity ($L_{\rm AGN}$). $\dot{E}$ is of the order of 0.01 $L_{\rm AGN}$ for 4 sources, but much lower for the majority (9) of the sources, with a median value of $\log\,[\dot{E}/L_{\rm AGN}]=-5.34_{-0.9}^{+3.2}$ indicating that typical outflows in the local Universe are unlikely to significantly impact their host galaxy evolution.

We present a dynamical study of the narrow-line regions in two nearby QSO2s. We construct dynamical models based on detailed photoionization models of the emission-line gas, including the effects of internal dust, to apply to observations of large-scale outflows from these AGNs. We use Mrk 477 and Mrk 34 in order to test our models against recent HST STIS observations of [O III] emission-line kinematics since these AGNs possess more energetic outflows than found in Seyfert galaxies. We find that the outflows within 500 pc are consistent with radiative acceleration of dusty gas, however, the outflows in Mrk 34 are significantly more extended and may not be directly accelerated by radiation. We characterize the properties of X-ray winds found from the expansion of [O III]-emitting gas close to the black hole. We show that such winds possess the kinetic energy density to disturb [O III] gas at 1.8 kpc, and have sufficient energy to entrain the [O III] clouds at 1.2 kpc. Assuming that the X-ray wind possesses the same radial mass distribution as the [O III] gas, we find that the peak kinetic luminosity for this wind is 2% of Mrk 34's bolometric luminosity, which is in the 0.5% - 5% range required by some models for efficient feedback. Our work shows that, although the kinetic luminosity as measured from [O III]-emitting gas is frequently low, X-ray winds may provide more than one order of magnitude higher kinetic power.

The relation between nuclear ($\lesssim$ 50 pc) star formation and nuclear galactic activity is still elusive: theoretical models predict a link between the two, but it is unclear whether active galactic nuclei (AGNs) should appear at the same time, before or after nuclear star formation activity is ongoing. We present a study of this relation in a complete, volume-limited sample of nine of the most luminous ($\log L_{\rm 14-195 keV} > 10^{42.5}$ erg/s) local AGNs (the LLAMA sample), including a sample of 18 inactive control galaxies (6 star-forming; 12 passive) that are matched by Hubble type, stellar mass (9.5 $\lesssim$ log M_star/M_sun $\lesssim$ 10.5), inclination and distance. This allows us to calibrate our methods on the control sample and perform a differential analysis between the AGN and control samples. We perform stellar population synthesis on VLT/X-SHOOTER spectra in an aperture corresponding to a physical radius of $\approx$ 150 pc. We find young ($\lesssim$ 30 Myr) stellar populations in seven out of nine AGNs and in four out of six star-forming control galaxies. In the non-star-forming control population, in contrast, only two out of twelve galaxies show such a population. We further show that these young populations are not indicative of ongoing star-formation, providing evidence for models that see AGN activity as a consequence of nuclear star formation. Based on the similar nuclear star-formation histories of AGNs and star-forming control galaxies, we speculate that the latter may turn into the former for some fraction of their time. Under this assumption, and making use of the volume-completeness of our sample, we infer that the AGN phase lasts for about 5 % of the nuclear starburst phase., Comment: 53 pages, 44 figures, accepted for publication by A&A

In order to gauge the role that active galactic nuclei (AGN) play in the evolution of galaxies via the effect of kinetic feedback in nearby QSO$\,$2's ($z\sim0.3$), we observed eight such objects with bolometric luminosities $L_{bol} \sim 10^{46}\rm{erg\,s^{-1}}$ using Gemini GMOS-IFU's. The emission lines were fitted with at least two Gaussian curves, the broadest of which we attributed to gas kinetically disturbed by an outflow. We found that the maximum extent of the outflow ranges from $\sim$1 to 8 kpc, being ${\sim}\,0.5\,{\pm}\,0.3$ times the extent of the [O$\,$III] ionized gas region. Our `${\tt default}$' assumptions for the gas density (obtained from the {[S$\,$II] doublet) and outflow velocities resulted in peak mass outflow rates of $\dot{M}_{out}^{{\tt defa}}{\sim}\,3\,{-}\,30\,\rm{M_{\odot}}\,yr^{-1}$ and outflow power of $\dot{E}_{out}^{{\tt defa}}\sim\,10^{41}\,{-}\,10^{43}\,\mathrm{erg\,s^{-1}}$. The corresponding kinetic coupling efficiencies are $\varepsilon_f^{{\tt defa}}=\dot{E}_{out}^{{\tt defa}}/L_{bol}\,\sim7\times10^{-4}\,{-}\,0.5\,\%$, with the average efficiency being only $0.06\,\%$ ($0.01\,\%$ median), implying little feedback powers from ionized gas outflows in the host galaxies. We investigated the effects of varying assumptions and calculations on $\dot{M}_{out}$ and $\dot{E}_{out}$ regarding the ionized gas densities, velocities, masses and inclinations of the outflow relative to the plane of the sky, resulting in average uncertainties of one dex. In particular, we found that better indicators of the [O$\,$III] emitting gas density than the default [S$\,$II] line ratio, such as the [Ar$\,$IV]$\lambda\lambda$4711,40 line ratio, result in almost an order of magnitude decrease in the $\varepsilon_f$., Comment: Accepted: 13 april 2021. Online supplementary material added at the end of the pdf

We use the Gemini NIFS instrument to map the H$_2 2.1218\mu$m and Br$\gamma$ flux distributions in the inner 0.04-2 kpc of a sample of 36 nearby active galaxies ($0.001\lesssim z\lesssim0.056$) at spatial resolutions from 4 to 250 pc. We find extended emission in 34 galaxies. In $\sim$55% of them, the emission in both lines is most extended along the galaxy major axis, while in the other 45% the extent follows a distinct orientation. The emission of H$_2$ is less concentrated than that of Br$\gamma$, presenting a radius that contains half of the flux 60% greater, on average. The H$_2$ emission is driven by thermal processes - X-ray heating and shocks - at most locations for all galaxies, where $0.46$ (seen in 40% of the galaxies), shocks are the main H$_2$ excitation mechanism, while in regions with H$_2$/Br$\gamma<0.4$ (25% of the sample) the H$_2$ emission is produced by fluorescence. The only difference we found between type 1 and type 2 AGN was in the nuclear emission-line equivalent widths, that are smaller in type 1 than in type 2 due to a larger contribution to the continuum from the hot dusty torus in the former. The gas masses in the inner 125 pc radius are in the range $10^1-10^4$ M$_\odot$ for the hot H$_2$ and $10^3-10^6$ M$_\odot$ for the ionised gas and would be enough to power the AGN in our sample for $10^5-10^8$ yr at their current accretion rates., Comment: 21 pages, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present maps for the electron temperature in the inner kpc of three luminous Seyfert galaxies: Mrk 79, Mrk 348, and Mrk 607 obtained from Gemini GMOS-IFU observations at spatial resolutions of 110-280 pc. We study the distributions of electron temperature in active galaxies and find temperatures varying in the range from 8000 to >30000 K. Shocks due to gas outflows play an important role in the observed temperature distributions of Mrk 79 and Mrk 348, while standard photoionization models reproduce the derived temperature values for Mrk 607. In Mrk 79 and Mrk 348, we find direct evidence for shock-ionization with overall orientation orthogonal to the ionization axis, where shocks can be easily observed as the AGN radiation field is shielded by the nuclear dusty torus. This also indicates that even when the ionization cones are narrow, the shocks can be much wider-angle., Comment: Accepted by MNRAS Letters

We use Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/ Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) long-slit G430M and G750M spectra to analyse the extended [O~III] 5007A emission in a sample of twelve nearby (z < 0.12) luminous (L_bol > 1.6 x 10^45 erg s^-1) QSO2s. The purpose of the study is to determine the properties of the mass outflows of ionised gas and their role in AGN feedback. We measure fluxes and velocities as functions of radial distances. Using Cloudy models and ionising luminosities derived from [O~III] 5007A, we are able to estimate the densities for the emission-line gas. From these results, we derive masses of [O~III]-emitting gas, mass outflow rates, kinetic energies, kinetic luminosities, momenta and momentum flow rates as a function of radial distance for each of the targets. For the sample, masses are several times 10^3 - 10^7 solar masses and peak outflow rates are 9.3 x 10^-3 Msun/yr to 10.3 Msun/yr. The peak kinetic luminosities are 3.4 x 10^-8 to 4.9 x 10^-4 of the bolometric luminosity, which does not approach the 5.0 x 10^-3 - 5.0 x 10^-2 range required by some models for efficient feedback. For Mrk 34, which has the largest kinetic luminosity of our sample, in order to produce efficient feedback there would have to be 10 times more [O~III]-emitting gas than we detected at its position of maximum kinetic luminosity. Three targets show extended [O~III] emission, but compact outflow regions. This may be due to different mass profiles or different evolutionary histories., Comment: 14 pages, 11 Figures, accepted for publication in the MNRAS

We explore the kinematics of the stars, ionized gas, and warm molecular gas in the Seyfert 2 galaxy Mrk~3 (UGC~3426) on nuclear and galactic scales with {\it Gemini} Near-Infrared Field Spectrograph (NIFS) observations, previous {\it Hubble Space Telescope} data, and new long-slit spectra from the {\it Apache Point Observatory} ({\it APO}) 3.5 m telescope. The {\it APO} spectra are consistent with our previous suggestion that a galactic-scale gas/dust disk at PA $=$ 129\arcdeg, offset from the major axis of the host S0 galaxy at PA $=$ 28\arcdeg, is responsible for the orientation of the extended narrow-line region (ENLR). The disk is fed by an H~I tidal stream from a gas-rich spiral galaxy (UGC~3422) $\sim$100 kpc to the NW of Mrk 3, and is ionized by the AGN to a distance of at least $\sim$20\arcsec\ ($\sim$5.4 kpc) from the central supermassive black hole (SMBH). The kinematics within at least 320 pc of the SMBH are dominated by outflows with radial (line of sight) velocities up to 1500 km s$^{-1}$ in the ionized gas and 500 km s$^{-1}$ in the warm molecular gas, consistent with in situ heating, ionization, and acceleration of ambient gas to produce the narrow-line region (NLR) outflows. There is a disk of ionized and warm molecular gas within $\sim$400 pc of the SMBH that has re-oriented close to the stellar major axis but is counter-rotating, consistent with claims of external fueling of AGN in S0 galaxies., Comment: Accepted for Publication in ApJ on March 13, 2020. The paper has 30 pages and 17 figures

We report on the determination of electron densities, and their impact on the outflow masses and rates, measured in the central few hundred parsecs of 11 local luminous active galaxies. We show that the peak of the integrated line emission in the AGN is significantly offset from the systemic velocity as traced by the stellar absorption features, indicating that the profiles are dominated by outflow. In contrast, matched inactive galaxies are characterised by a systemic peak and weaker outflow wing. We present three independent estimates of the electron density in these AGN, discussing the merits of the different methods. The electron density derived from the [SII] doublet is significantly lower than than that found with a method developed in the last decade using auroral and transauroral lines, as well as a recently introduced method based on the ionization parameter. The reason is that, for gas photoionized by an AGN, much of the [SII] emission arises in an extended partially ionized zone where the implicit assumption that the electron density traces the hydrogen density is invalid. We propose ways to deal with this situation and we derive the associated outflow rates for ionized gas, which are in the range 0.001--0.5 M$_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$ for our AGN sample. We compare these outflow rates to the relation between $\dot{M}_{out}$ and $L_{AGN}$ in the literature, and argue that it may need to be modified and rescaled towards lower mass outflow rates., Comment: accepted by MNRAS; 30 pages (the last 8 of which are extra figures in an appendix). This is an update of the original version posted

We measured gas-phase metallicity, ionisation parameter and dust extinction for 1795 representative local star-forming galaxies using integral field spectroscopy from the SDSS-IV MaNGA survey. We self-consistently derive these quantities by comparing observed line fluxes with photoionisation models using a Bayesian framework. We also present the first comprehensive study of the [SIII]$\lambda\lambda$9069,9532 nebular lines, which have long been predicted to be ideal tracers of the ionisation parameter. Unfortunately, we find that current photoionisation models substantially over-predict [SIII] lines intensity, while broadly reproducing other observed optical line ratios. We discuss how to nonetheless make use of the information provided by [SIII] lines by setting a prior on the ionisation parameter. Following this approach, we derive spatially-resolved maps and radial profiles of metallicity and ionisation parameter. The metallicity radial profiles are comparable with previous works, with metallicity declining toward the outer parts and a flattening in the central regions, in agreement with infall models of galaxy formation, that predict that spiral discs build up through accretion of material, which leads to an inside-out growth. On the other hand, ionisation parameter radial profiles are flat for low-mass galaxies, while their slope becomes positive as galaxy mass increases. However, the ionisation parameter maps we obtain are clumpy, especially for low-mass galaxies. Ionisation parameter is tightly correlated with the H$\alpha$ equivalent width [EW(H$\alpha$)], following a nearly universal relation, which we attribute to the change of the spectral shape of ionising sources due to ageing of HII regions. We derive a positive correlation between ionisation parameter and metallicity at fixed EW(H$\alpha$), in disagreement with previous theoretical works expecting an anti-correlation., Comment: 27 pages, 23 figures, resubmitted to A&A

We have recently initiated the first spectroscopic dust reverberation programme on active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the near-infrared. Spectroscopy enables measurement of dust properties, such as flux, temperature and covering factor, with higher precision than photometry. In particular, it enables measurement of both luminosity-based dust radii and dust response times. Here we report results from a one-year campaign on NGC 5548. The hot dust responds to changes in the irradiating flux with a lag time of ~70 light-days, similar to what was previously found in photometric reverberation campaigns. The mean and rms spectra are similar, implying that the same dust component dominates both the emission and the variations. The dust lag time is consistent with the luminosity-based dust radius only if we assume a wavelength-independent dust emissivity-law, i.e. a blackbody, which is appropriate for grains of large sizes (of a few microns). For such grains the dust temperature is ~1450 K. Therefore, silicate grains have most likely evaporated and carbon is the main chemical component. But the hot dust is not close to its sublimation temperature, contrary to popular belief. This is further supported by our observation of temperature variations largely consistent with a heating/cooling process. Therefore, the inner dust-free region is enlarged and the dusty torus rather a "dusty wall", whose inner radius is expected to be luminosity-invariant. The dust-destruction mechanism that enlarges the dust-free region seems to partly affect also the dusty region. We observe a cyclical decrease in dust mass with implied dust reformation times of ~5-6 months., Comment: 22 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We report on our combined analysis of HST, VLT/MUSE, VLT/SINFONI, and ALMA observations of the local Seyfert 2 galaxy, NGC 5728 to investigate in detail the feeding and feedback of the AGN. The datasets simultaneously probe the morphology, excitation, and kinematics of the stars, ionized gas, and molecular gas over a large range of spatial scales (10 pc--10 kpc). NGC 5728 contains a large stellar bar which is driving gas along prominent dust lanes to the inner 1 kpc where the gas settles into a circumnuclear ring. The ring is strongly star forming and contains a substantial population of young stars as indicated by the lowered stellar velocity dispersion and gas excitation consistent with HII regions. We model the kinematics of the ring using the velocity field of the CO (2--1) emission and stars and find it is consistent with a rotating disk. The outer regions of the disk, where the dust lanes meet the ring, show signatures of inflow at a rate of 1 M$_{\sun}$ yr$^{-1}$. Inside the ring, we observe three molecular gas components corresponding to the circular rotation of the outer ring, a warped disk, and the nuclear stellar bar. The AGN is driving an ionized gas outflow that reaches a radius of 250 pc with a mass outflow rate of 0.08 M$_{\sun}$ yr$^{-1}$ consistent with its luminosity and scaling relations from previous studies. While we observe distinct holes in CO emission which could be signs of molecular gas removal, we find that largely the AGN is not disrupting the structure of the circumnuclear region., Comment: accepted for publication in MNRAS; 22 pages + Appendix, 16 figures

We present the molecular gas morphology and kinematics of seven nearby Seyfert galaxies obtained from our 230~GHz ALMA observations. The CO J=2-1 kinematics within the inner $\sim30$" ($\lesssim9$~kpc) reveals rotation patterns that have been explored using the Bertola rotation model and a modified version of the Kinemetry package. The latter algorithm reveals various deviations from pure circular rotation in the inner kiloparsec of all seven galaxies, including kinematic twists, decoupled and counter-rotating cores. A comparison of the global molecular gas and stellar kinematics show overall agreement in the position angle of the major axis and the systemic velocity, but larger discrepancies in the disc inclination. The residual maps obtained with both the methods shows the presence of non-circular motions in most of the galaxies. Despite its importance, a detailed interpretation of the physics responsible for non-circular motions will be discussed in a forthcoming work., Comment: 28 pages in total, 20 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present a multiwavelength study of the OH megamaser galaxy (OHMG) IRAS17526+3253, based on new Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph Integral Field Unit (GMOS/IFU) observations, Hubble Space Telescope F814W and H$\alpha$+[N{\sc ii}] images, and archival 2MASS and 1.49GHz VLA data. The HST images clearly reveal a mid-to-advanced stage major merger whose northwestern and southeastern nuclei have a projected separation of $\sim$8.5kpc. Our HST/H$\alpha$+[N{\sc ii}] image shows regions of ongoing star-formation across the envelope on $\sim$10kpc scales, which are aligned with radio features, supporting the interpretation that the radio emission originates from star-forming regions. The measured H$\alpha$ luminosities imply that the unobscured star-formation rate is $\sim$10-30\,M$_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$. The GMOS/IFU data reveal two structures in northwestern separated by 850\,pc and by a discontinuity in the velocity field of $\sim$~200~km~s$^{-1}$. We associate the blue-shifted and red-shifted components with, respectively, the distorted disk of northwestern and tidal debris, possibly a tail originating in southeastern. Star-formation is the main ionization source in both components, which have SFRs of $\sim$2.6-7.9\,M$_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$ and $\sim$1.5-4.5\,M$_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$, respectively. Fainter line emission bordering these main components is consistent with shock ionization at a velocity $\sim$200~km~s$^{-1}$ and may be the result of an interaction between the tidal tail and the northwestern galaxy's disk. IRAS17526+3253 is one of only a few systems known to host both luminous OH and H$_{2}$O masers. The velocities of the OH and H$_{2}$O maser lines suggest that they are associated with the northwestern and southeastern galaxies, respectively., Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present spatially resolved mass outflow rate measurements ($\dot M_{out}$) for the narrow line region of Markarian 34, the nearest Compton-thick type 2 quasar (QSO2). Spectra obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope and at Apache Point Observatory reveal complex kinematics, with distinct signatures of outflow and rotation within 2 kpc of the nucleus. Using multi-component photoionization models, we find that the outflow contains a total ionized gas mass of $M \approx 1.6 \times 10^6 M_{\odot}$. Combining this with the kinematics yields a peak outflow rate of $\dot M_{out} \approx 2.0 \pm 0.4~M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ at a distance of 470 pc from the nucleus, with a spatially integrated kinetic energy of $E \approx 1.4 \times 10^{55}$ erg. These outflows are more energetic than those observed in Mrk 573 and NGC 4151, supporting a correlation between luminosity and outflow strength even though they have similar peak outflow rates. The mix of rotational and outflowing components suggests that spatially resolved observations are required to determine accurate outflow parameters in systems with complex kinematics. (See appended erratum for updated values.), Comment: Accepted for Publication in ApJ on September 22, 2018. The paper has 23 pages and 13 figures. Version three appends an erratum published as Revalski et al. 2019, ApJ, 881, 167

We aim to map the distribution and kinematics of molecular and ionized gas in a sample of active galaxies, to quantify the nuclear inflows and outflows. Here, we analyze the nuclear kinematics of NGC 1566 via ALMA observations of the CO J:2-1 emission at 24 pc spatial and $\sim$2.6 km s$^{-1}$ spectral resolution, and Gemini-GMOS/IFU observations of ionized gas emission lines and stellar absorption lines at similar spatial resolution, and 123 km s$^{-1}$ of intrinsic spectral resolution. The morphology and kinematics of stellar, molecular (CO) and ionized ([N II]) emission lines are compared to the expectations from rotation, outflows, and streaming inflows. While both ionized and molecular gas show rotation signatures, there are significant non-circular motions in the innermost 200 pc and along spiral arms in the central kpc (CO). The nucleus shows a double-peaked CO profile (Full Width at Zero Intensity of 200 km s$^{-1}$), and prominent ($\sim$80 km s$^{-1}$) blue and redshifted lobes are found along the minor axis in the inner arcseconds. Perturbations by the large-scale bar can qualitatively explain all features in the observed velocity field. We thus favour the presence of a molecular outflow in the disk with true velocities of $\sim$180 km s$^{-1}$ in the nucleus and decelerating to 0 by $\sim$72 pc. The implied molecular outflow rate is $5.6~[M_{o}yr^{-1}]$, with this gas accumulating in the nuclear 2 arcsec arms. The ionized gas kinematics support an interpretation of a similar, but more spherical, outflow in the inner 100 pc, with no signs of deceleration. There is some evidence of streaming inflows of $\sim$50 km s$^{-1}$ along specific spiral arms, and the estimated molecular mass inflow rate, $\sim0.1~[M_{o}yr^{-1}]$, is significantly larger than the SMBH accretion rate ($\dot{m}=4.8\times10^{-5}~[M_{o}yr^{-1}]$)., Comment: 23 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

We present a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) survey of extended [O III] {\lambda}5007 emission for a sample of 12 nearby (z < 0.12), luminous Type 2 quasars (QSO2s), which we use to measure the extent and kinematics of their AGN-ionized gas. We find the size of the observed [O III] regions scale with luminosity in comparison to nearby, less luminous Seyfert galaxies and radially outflowing kinematics to exist in all targets. We report an average maximum outflow radius of $\sim$600 pc, with gas continuing to be kinematically influenced by the central AGN out to an average radius of $\sim$1130 pc. These findings question the effectiveness of AGN being capable of clearing material from their host bulge in the nearby universe and suggest that disruption of gas by AGN activity may prevent star formation without requiring evacuation. Additionally, we find a dichotomy in our targets when comparing [O III] radial extent and nuclear FWHM, where QSO2s with compact [O III] morphologies typically possess broader nuclear emission-lines., Comment: 24 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

We present two-dimensional maps of emission-line fluxes and kinematics, as well as of the stellar kinematics of the central few kpc of five bright nearby Seyfert galaxies -- Mrk\,6, Mrk\,79, Mrk\,348, Mrk\,607 and Mrk\,1058 -- obtained from observations with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) Integral Field Unit (IFU) on the Gemini North Telescope. The data cover the inner 3\farcs5$\times$5\farcs0 -- corresponding to physical scales in the range 0.6$\times$0.9 to 1.5$\times$2.2\,kpc$^2$ -- at a spatial resolution ranging from 110 to 280 pc with a spectral coverage of 4300 -- 7100\,\AA\ and velocity resolution of $\approx$ 90\,km\,s$^{-1}$. The gas excitation is Seyfert like everywhere but show excitation, but show excitation gradients that are correlated with the gas kinematics, reddening and/or the gas density. The gas kinematics show in all cases two components: a rotation one similar to that observed in the stellar velocity field, and an outflow component. In the case of Mrk607, the gas is counter-rotating relative to the stars. Enhanced gas velocity dispersion is observed in association to the outflows according to two patterns: at the locations of the highest outflow velocities along the ionization axis or perpendicularly to it in a strip centered at the nucleus that we attribute to an equatorial outflow. Bipolar outflows are observed in Mrk\,348 and Mrk\,79, while in Mrk\,1058 only the blueshifted part is clearly observed, while in the cases of Mrk\,6 and Mrk\,607 the geometry of the outflow needs further constraints from modeling to be presented in a forthcoming study, where the mass flow rate and powers will also be obtained., Comment: 20 pages, accepted by MNRAS

We present and characterize a sample of 20 nearby Seyfert galaxies selected for having BAT 14--195keV luminosities $L_X \ge 10^{41.5}$ erg s$^{-1}$, redshift $z\le$0.015, being accessible for observations with the Gemini Near-Infrared Field Spectrograph (NIFS) and showing extended [OIII]$\lambda$5007 emission. Our goal is to study Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) feeding and feedback processes from near-infrared integral-field spectra, that include both ionized (HII) and hot molecular (H$_2$) emission. This sample is complemented by other 9 Seyfert galaxies previously observed with NIFS. We show that the host galaxy properties (absolute magnitudes $M_B$, $M_H$, central stellar velocity dispersion and axial ratio) show a similar distribution to those of the 69 BAT AGN. For the 20 galaxies already observed, we present surface mass density ($\Sigma$) profiles for HII and H$_2$ in their inner $\sim$500 pc, showing that HII emission presents a steeper radial gradient than H$_2$. This can be attributed to the different excitation mechanisms: ionization by AGN radiation for HII and heating by X-rays for H$_2$. The mean surface mass densities are in the range ($0.2\le \Sigma_{HII} \le 35.9$)M$_\odot$pc$^{-2}$, and ($0.2\le \Sigma_{H2} \le 13.9$)$\times10^{-3}$M$_\odot$pc$^{-2}$, while the ratios between the HII and H$_2$ masses range between $\sim$200 to 8000. The sample presented here will be used in future papers to map AGN gas excitation and kinematics, providing a census of the mass inflow and outflow rates and power as well as their relation with the AGN luminosity., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Using new APEX and JCMT spectroscopy of the CO 2-1 line, we undertake a controlled study of cold molecular gas in moderately luminous Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and inactive galaxies from the Luminous Local AGN with Matched Analogs (LLAMA) survey. We use spatially resolved infrared photometry of the LLAMA galaxies from 2MASS, WISE, IRAS & Herschel, corrected for nuclear emission using multi-component spectral energy distribution (SED) fits, to examine the dust-reprocessed star-formation rates (SFRs), molecular gas fractions and star formation efficiencies (SFEs) over their central 1 - 3 kpc. We find that the gas fractions and central SFEs of both active and inactive galaxies are similar when controlling for host stellar mass and morphology (Hubble type). The equivalent central molecular gas depletion times are consistent with the discs of normal spiral galaxies in the local Universe. Despite energetic arguments that the AGN in LLAMA should be capable of disrupting the observable cold molecular gas in their central environments, our results indicate that nuclear radiation only couples weakly with this phase. We find a mild preference for obscured AGN to contain higher amounts of central molecular gas, which suggests a connection between AGN obscuration and the gaseous environment of the nucleus. Systems with depressed SFEs are not found among the LLAMA AGN. We speculate that the processes that sustain the collapse of molecular gas into dense pre-stellar cores may also be a prerequisite for the inflow of material on to AGN accretion disks., Comment: 24 pages, 18 figures, 2 part Appendix; accepted for publication in MNRAS

In a complete sample of local 14-195 keV selected AGNs and inactive galaxies, matched by their host galaxy properties, we study the spatially resolved stellar kinematics and luminosity distributions at near-infrared wavelengths on scales of 10-150 pc, using SINFONI on the VLT. In this paper, we present the first half of the sample, which comprises 13 galaxies, 8 AGNs and 5 inactive galaxies. The stellar velocity fields show a disk-like rotating pattern, for which the kinematic position angle is in agreement with the photometric position angle obtained from large scale images. For this set of galaxies, the stellar surface brightness of the inactive galaxy sample is generally comparable to the matched sample of AGN but extends to lower surface brightness. After removal of the bulge contribution, we find a nuclear stellar light excess with an extended nuclear disk structure, and which exhibits a size-luminosity relation. While we expect the excess luminosity to be associated with a dynamically cooler young stellar population, we do not typically see a matching drop in dispersion. This may be because these galaxies have pseudo-bulges in which the intrinsic dispersion increases towards the centre. And although the young stars may have an impact in the observed kinematics, their fraction is too small to dominate over the bulge and compensate the increase in dispersion at small radii, so no dispersion drop is seen. Finally, we find no evidence for a difference in the stellar kinematics and nuclear stellar luminosity excess between these active and inactive galaxies., Comment: 34 pages, 25 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present here the characterization of the main properties of a sample of 98 AGN host galaxies, both type-II and type-I, in comparison with those of about 2700 non-active galaxies observed by the MaNGA survey. We found that AGN hosts are morphologically early-type or early-spirals. For a given morphology AGN hosts are, in average, more massive, more compact, more central peaked and rather pressurethan rotational-supported systems. We confirm previous results indicating that AGN hosts are located in the intermediate/transition region between star-forming and non-star-forming galaxies (i.e., the so-called green valley), both in the ColorMagnitude and the star formation main sequence diagrams. Taking into account their relative distribution in terms of the stellar metallicity and oxygen gas abundance and a rough estimation of their molecular gas content, we consider that these galaxies are in the process of halting/quenching the star formation, in an actual transition between both groups. The analysis of the radial distributions of the starformation rate, specific star-formation rate, and molecular gas density shows that the quenching happens from inside-out involving both a decrease of the efficiency of the star formation and a deficit of molecular gas. All the intermediate data-products used to derive the results of our analysis are distributed in a database including the spatial distribution and average properties of the stellar populations and ionized gas, published as a Sloan Digital Sky Survey Value Added Catalog being part of the 14th Data Release: http://www.sdss.org/dr14/manga/manga-data/manga-pipe3d-value-added-catalog/, Comment: 48 pages, 14 figures, in press in RMxAA

We present observations of the double-peaked broad H$\alpha$ profile emitted by the active nucleus of NGC 7213 using the the Gemini South Telescope in 13 epochs between 2011 September 27 and 2013 July 23. This is the first time that the double-peaked line profile of this nucleus -- typical of gas emission from the outer parts of an accretion disk surrounding a supermassive black hole (SMBH) -- is reported to vary. From the analysis of the line profiles we find two variability timescales: (1) the shortest one, between 7 and 28 days, is consistent with the light travel time between the ionizing source and the part of the disk emitting the line; and (2) a longer one of $\gtrsim 3$ months corresponding to variations in the relative intensity of the blue and red sides of the profile, which can be identified with the dynamical timescale of this outer part of the the accretion disk. We modeled the line profiles as due to emission from a region between $\approx$ 300 and 3000 gravitational radii of a relativistic, Keplerian accretion disk surrounding the SMBH. Superposed on the disk emissivity, the model includes an asymmetric feature in the shape of a spiral arm with a rotation period of $\approx$ 21 months, which reproduces the variations in the relative intensity of the blue and red sides of the profile. Besides these variations, the $rms$ variation profile reveals the presence of another variable component in the broad line, with smaller velocity width W$_{68}$ (the width of the profile corresponding to 68$\%$ of the flux) of $\sim 2100$ km s$^{-1}$., Comment: 12 pages, 4 tables, 10 figures

We present a near infrared study of the spectral components of the continuum in the inner 500$\times$500 pc$^2$ of the nearby Seyfert galaxy Mrk573 using adaptive optics near-infrared integral field spectroscopy with the instrument NIFS of the Gemini North Telescope at a spatial resolution of $\sim$50 pc. We performed spectral synthesis using the {\sc starlight} code and constructed maps for the contributions of different age components of the stellar population: young ($age\leq100$ Myr), young-intermediate ($1002$ Gyr) to the near-IR K-band continuum, as well as their contribution to the total stellar mass. We found that the old stellar population is dominant within the inner 250 pc, while the intermediate age components dominate the continuum at larger distances. A young stellar component contributes up to $\sim$20% within the inner $\sim$70 pc, while hot dust emission and featureless continuum components are also necessary to fit the nuclear spectrum, contributing up to 20% of the K-band flux there. The radial distribution of the different age components in the inner kiloparsec of Mrk573 is similar to those obtained by our group for the Seyfert galaxies Mrk1066, Mrk1157 and NGC1068 in previous works using a similar methodology. Young stellar populations ($\leq$100 Myr) are seen in the inner 200-300 pc for all galaxies contributing with $\ge$20% of the K-band flux, while the near-IR continuum is dominated by the contribution of intermediate-age stars ($t=$100 Myr-2 Gyr) at larger distances. Older stellar populations dominate in the inner 250 pc.

We study the properties of 66 galaxies with kinematically misaligned gas and stars from MaNGA survey. The fraction of kinematically misaligned galaxies varies with galaxy physical parameters, i.e. M*, SFR and sSFR. According to their sSFR, we further classify these 66 galaxies into three categories, 10 star-forming, 26 "Green Valley" and 30 quiescent ones. The properties of different types of kinematically misaligned galaxies are different in that the star-forming ones have positive gradient in D4000 and higher gas-phase metallicity, while the green valley/quiescent ones have negative D4000 gradients and lower gas-phase metallicity on average. There is evidence that all types of the kinematically misaligned galaxies tend to live in more isolated environment. Based on all these observational results, we propose a scenario for the formation of star forming galaxies with kinematically misaligned gas and stars - the progenitor accretes misaligned gas from a gas-rich dwarf or cosmic web, the cancellation of angular momentum from gas-gas collisions between the pre-existing gas and the accreted gas largely accelerates gas inflow, leading to fast centrally-concentrated star-formation. The higher metallicity is due to enrichment from this star formation. For the kinematically misaligned green valley and quiescent galaxies, they might be formed through gas-poor progenitors accreting kinematically misaligned gas from satellites which are smaller in mass., Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, published in MNRAS

We discuss the environment of local hard X-ray selected active galaxies, with reference to two independent group catalogues. We find that the fraction of these AGN in S0 host galaxies decreases strongly as a function of galaxy group size (halo mass) - which contrasts with the increasing fraction of galaxies of S0 type in denser environments. However, there is no evidence for an environmental dependence of AGN in spiral galaxies. Because most AGN are found in spiral galaxies, this dilutes the signature of environmental dependence for the population as a whole. We argue that the differing results for AGN in disk-dominated and bulge-dominated galaxies is related to the source of the gas fuelling the AGN, and so may also impact the luminosity function, duty cycle, and obscuration. We find that there is a significant difference in the luminosity function for AGN in spiral and S0 galaxies, and tentative evidence for some difference in the fraction of obscured AGN., Comment: accepted for publication in MNRAS. 12 pages with 10 figures

Narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies have been identified by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope as a rare class of gamma-ray emitting active galactic nuclei (AGN). The lowest-redshift candidate among them is the source 1H 0323+342. Here we present quasi-simultaneous Gemini near-infrared and Keck optical spectroscopy for it, from which we derive a black hole mass based on both the broad Balmer and Paschen emission lines. We supplement these observations with a NuSTAR X-ray spectrum taken about two years earlier, from which we constrain the black hole mass based on the short timescale spectral variability. Our multiwavelength observations suggest a black hole mass of ~2x10^7 solar masses, which agrees well with previous estimates. We build the spectral energy distribution and show that it is dominated by the thermal and reprocessed emission from the accretion disc rather than the non-thermal jet component. A detailed spectral fitting with the energy-conserving accretion disc model of Done et al. constrains the Eddington ratio to L/L_Edd ~ 0.5 for a (non-rotating) Schwarzschild black hole and to L/L_Edd ~ 1 for a Kerr black hole with dimensionless spin of a*=0.8. Higher spin values and so higher Eddington ratios are excluded, since they would strongly overpredict the observed soft X-ray flux., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, accepted by MNRAS

We use high spectral resolution (R > 8000) data covering 3800-13000\r{A} to study the physical conditions of the broad line region (BLR) of nine nearby Seyfert 1 galaxies. Up to six broad HI lines are present in each spectrum. A comparison - for the first time using simultaneous optical to near-infrared observations - to photoionisation calculations with our devised simple scheme yields the extinction to the BLR at the same time as determining the density and photon flux, and hence distance from the nucleus, of the emitting gas. This points to a typical density for the HI emitting gas of 10$^{11}$cm$^{-3}$ and shows that a significant amount of this gas lies at regions near the dust sublimation radius, consistent with theoretical predictions. We also confirm that in many objects the line ratios are far from case B, the best-fit intrinsic broad-line H$\alpha$/H$\beta$ ratios being in the range 2.5-6.6 as derived with our photoionization modeling scheme. The extinction to the BLR, based on independent estimates from HI and HeII lines, is A$_V$ $\le$ 3 for Seyfert 1-1.5s, while Seyfert 1.8-1.9s have A$_V$ in the range 4-8. A comparison of the extinction towards the BLR and narrow line region (NLR) indicates that the structure obscuring the BLR exists on scales smaller than the NLR. This could be the dusty torus, but dusty nuclear spirals or filaments could also be responsible. The ratios between the X-ray absorbing column N$_H$ and the extinction to the BLR are consistent with the Galactic gas-to-dust ratio if N$_H$ variations are considered., Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

We present new maps of emission-line flux distributions and kinematics in both ionized (traced by HI and [FeII] lines) and molecular (H2) gas of the inner 0.7x0.7kpc2 of the galaxy NGC4303, with a spatial resolution 40-80pc and velocity resolution 90-150 km/s obtained from near-IR integral field specroscopy using the VLT instrument SINFONI. The most promiment feature is a 200-250pc ring of circum-nuclear star-forming regions. The emission from ionized and molecular gas shows distinct flux distributions: while the strongest HI and [FeII] emission comes from regions in the west side of the ring (ages~4Myr), the H2 emission is strongest at the nucleus and in the east side of the ring (ages>10Myr). We find that regions of enhanced hot H2 emission are anti-correlated with those of enhanced [FeII] and HI emission, which can be attributed to post starburst regions that do not have ionizing photons anymore but still are hot enough (~2000K) to excite the H2 molecule. The line ratios are consistent with the presence of an AGN at the nucleus. The youngest regions have stellar masses in the range 0.3-1.5E5 MSun and ionized and hot molecular gas masses of ~0.25-1.2E4 Msun and 2.5-5 Msun, respectively. The stellar and gas velocity fields show a rotation pattern, with the gas presenting larger velocity amplitudes than the stars, with a deviation observed for the H2 along the nuclear bar, where increased velocity dispersion is also observed, possibly associated with non circular motions along the bar. The stars in the ring show smaller velocity dispersion than the surroundings, that can be attributed to a cooler dynamics due to their recent formation from cool gas., Comment: 15 pages, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We describe a complete volume limited sample of nearby active galaxies selected by their 14-195keV luminosity, and outline its rationale for studying the mechanisms regulating gas inflow and outflow. We describe also a complementary sample of inactive galaxies, selected to match the AGN host galaxy properties. The active sample appears to have no bias in terms of AGN type, the only difference being the neutral absorbing column which is two orders of magnitude greater for the Seyfert 2s. In the luminosity range spanned by the sample, log L_{14-195keV} [erg/s] = 42.4-43.7, the optically obscured and X-ray absorbed fractions are 50-65%. The similarity of these fractions to more distant spectroscopic AGN samples, although over a limited luminosity range, suggests that the torus does not strongly evolve with redshift. Our sample confirms that X-ray unabsorbed Seyfert 2s are rare, comprising not more than a few percent of the Seyfert 2 population. At higher luminosities, the optically obscured fraction decreases (as expected for the increasing dust sublimation radius), but the X-ray absorbed fraction changes little. We argue that the cold X-ray absorption in these Seyfert 1s can be accounted for by neutral gas in clouds that also contribute to the broad line region (BLR) emission; and suggest that a geometrically thick neutral gas torus co-exists with the BLR and bridges the gap to the dusty torus., Comment: Accepted for ApJ; 15 pages with 10 figures

In recent observations by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) as part of a campaign to discover locations and kinematics of AGN outflows, we found that Mrk 509 contains a 3$''$ ($\sim$2100 {\it pc}) linear filament in its central region. Visible in both optical continuum and [OIII] imaging, this feature resembles a `check mark' of several knots of emission that travel northwest to southeast before jutting towards the nucleus from the southwest. Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS/HST) observations along the inner portion of the filament reveal redshifted velocities, indicating that the filament is inflowing. We present further observations of the nucleus in Mrk 509 using the Gemini Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS), from which we conclude that this structure cannot be related to previously studied, typical NLR outflows and instead embodies the remains of an ongoing minor merger with a gas-rich dwarf galaxy, therefore providing a great opportunity to study the fueling of an AGN by a minor merger in progress., Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ

We present near-infrared and optical emission-line and stellar kinematics of the Seyfert 2 galaxy Mrk 573 using the Near-Infrared Field Spectrograph (NIFS) at Gemini North and Dual Imaging Spectrograph at Apache Point Observatory, respectively. By obtaining full kinematic maps of the infrared ionized and molecular gas and stellar kinematics in approximately 700 x 2100 pc(exp 2) circumnuclear region of Mrk 573, we find that kinematics within the Narrow-Line Region are largely due to a combination of both rotation and in situ acceleration of material originating in the host disk. Combining these observations with large-scale, optical long-slit spectroscopy that traces ionized gas emission out to several kpcs, we find that rotation kinematics dominate the majority of the gas. We find that outflowing gas extends to distances less than 1 kpc, suggesting that outflows in Seyfert galaxies may not be powerful enough to evacuate their entire bulges.