Circumnuclear molecular gas in megamaser disk galaxies NGC 4388 and NGC 1194

Jenny E. Greene, Anil Seth, Mariya Lyubenova, Jonelle Walsh, Glenn Van De Ven, Ronald Läsker

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

We explore the warm molecular and ionized gas in the centers of two megamaser disk galaxies using K-band spectroscopy. Our ultimate goal is to determine how gas is funneled onto the accretion disk, here traced by megamaser spots on sub-parsec scales. We present NIR IFU data with a resolution of 50 pc for two galaxies: NGC 4388 with VLT/SINFONI and NGC 1194 with Keck/OSIRIS+AO. The high spatial resolution and rich spectral diagnostics allow us to study both the stellar and gas kinematics as well as gas excitation on scales only an order of magnitude larger than the maser disk. We find a drop in the stellar velocity dispersion in the inner 100 pc of NGC 4388, a common signature of a dynamically cold central component seen in many active nuclei. We also see evidence for noncircular gas motions in the molecular hydrogen on similar scales, with the gas kinematics on 100 parsec scales aligned with the megamaser disk. In contrast, the high ionization lines and Brγ trace outflow along the 100 parsec-scale jet. In NGC 1194, the continuum from the accreting black hole is very strong, making it difficult to measure robust two-dimensional kinematics, but the spatial distribution and line ratios of the molecular hydrogen and Brγ have consistent properties between the two galaxies.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number145
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume788
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 20 2014

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

Keywords

  • galaxies: ISM
  • galaxies: Seyfert
  • galaxies: nuclei

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