2006ApJ...646..754D -
Astrophys. J., 646, 754-773 (2006/August-1)
The star-forming torus and stellar dynamical black hole mass in the Seyfert 1 nucleus of NGC 3227.
DAVIES R.I., THOMAS J., GENZEL R., MUELLER SANCHEZ F., TACCONI L.J., STERNBERG A., EISENHAUER F., ABUTER R., SAGLIA R. and BENDER R.
Abstract (from CDS):
We report R∼4300 VLT SINFONI adaptive optics integral field K-band spectroscopy of the nucleus of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 3227 at a spatial resolution of 0".085 (7 pc). We present the morphologies and kinematics of emission lines and absorption features and give the first derivation of a black hole mass in a Seyfert 1 nucleus from stellar dynamics (marginally resolving the black hole's sphere of influence). We show that the gas in the nucleus has a mean column density of order 1024 cm–2 and that it is geometrically thick, in agreement with the standard ``molecular torus'' scenario. We discuss possible heating processes responsible for maintaining the vertical height of the torus. We also resolve the nuclear stellar distribution and find that within a few parsecs of the AGN there has been an intense starburst, the most recent episode of which began ∼40 Myr ago but has now ceased. The current luminosity of stars within 30 pc of the AGN, ∼3x109 L☉, is comparable to that of the AGN. We argue that the star formation has been occurring in the obscuring material. Finally, we apply Schwarzschild orbit superposition models to our full two-dimensional data and derive the mass of the black hole, paying careful attention to the input parameters, which are often uncertain. Our models yield a 1 σ range for the black hole mass of MBH=7x106-2x107 M☉.
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Journal keyword(s):
Galaxies: Active - Galaxies: Individual: NGC Number: NGC 3227 - Galaxies: Nuclei - Galaxies: Seyfert - Galaxies: Starburst - Infrared: Galaxies
Simbad objects:
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