ABSTRACT
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 active galactic nuclei (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 characterized 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 S ii doublet is significantly lower 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 S ii 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⊙ yr−1 for our AGN sample. We compare these outflow rates to the relation between $\dot{M}_{\rm out}$ and LAGN in the literature, and argue that it may need to be modified and rescaled towards lower mass outflow rates.
ABSTRACT
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 ...active galactic nucleus (AGN). The data sets simultaneously probe the morphology, excitation, and kinematics of the stars, ionized gas, and molecular gas over a large range of spatial scales (10 pc to 10 kpc). NGC 5728 contains a large stellar bar that 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 H ii 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 disc. The outer regions of the disc, where the dust lanes meet the ring, show signatures of inflow at a rate of 1 M$\odot$ yr−1. Inside the ring, we observe three molecular gas components corresponding to the circular rotation of the outer ring, a warped disc, 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$\odot$ 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.
We analyze the two-dimensional distribution and kinematics of the stars as well as molecular and ionized gas in the central few hundred parsecs of five active and five matched inactive galaxies. The ...equivalent widths of the Brgamma line indicate that there is no ongoing star formation in their nuclei, although recent (terminated) starbursts are possible in the active galaxies. The stellar velocity fields show no signs of non-circular motions, while the 1-0 S(1) H sub(2) kinematics exhibit significant deviations from simple circular rotation. In the active galaxies the H sub(2) kinematics reveal inflow and outflow superimposed on disk rotation. Steady-state circumnuclear inflow is seen in three active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and hydrodynamical models indicate it can be driven by a large-scale bar. In three of the five AGNs, molecular outflows are spatially resolved. The outflows are oriented such that they intersect, or have an edge close to, the disk, which may be the source of molecular gas in the outflow. The relatively low speeds imply the gas will fall back onto the disk, and with moderate outflow rates, they will have only a local impact on the host galaxy. H sub(2) was detected in two inactive galaxies. These exhibit chaotic circumnuclear dust morphologies and have molecular structures that are counter-rotating with respect to the main gas component, which could lead to gas inflow in the near future. In our sample, all four galaxies with chaotic dust morphology in the circumnuclear region exist in moderately dense groups with 10-15 members where accretion of stripped gas can easily occur.
NMR spectroscopy is one of the most powerful and versatile analytic tools available to chemists. The discrete Fourier transform (DFT) played a seminal role in the development of modern NMR, including ...the multidimensional methods that are essential for characterizing complex biomolecules. However, it suffers from well-known limitations: chiefly the difficulty in obtaining high-resolution spectral estimates from short data records. Because the time required to perform an experiment is proportional to the number of data samples, this problem imposes a sampling burden for multidimensional NMR experiments. At high magnetic field, where spectral dispersion is greatest, the problem becomes particularly acute. Consequently multidimensional NMR experiments that rely on the DFT must either sacrifice resolution in order to be completed in reasonable time or use inordinate amounts of time to achieve the potential resolution afforded by high-field magnets. Maximum entropy (MaxEnt) reconstruction is a non-Fourier method of spectrum analysis that can provide high-resolution spectral estimates from short data records. It can also be used with nonuniformly sampled data sets. Since resolution is substantially determined by the largest evolution time sampled, nonuniform sampling enables high resolution while avoiding the need to uniformly sample at large numbers of evolution times. The Nyquist sampling theorem does not apply to nonuniformly sampled data, and artifacts that occur with the use of nonuniform sampling can be viewed as frequency-aliased signals. Strategies for suppressing nonuniform sampling artifacts include the careful design of the sampling scheme and special methods for computing the spectrum. Researchers now routinely report that they can complete an N-dimensional NMR experiment 3 N–1 times faster (a 3D experiment in one ninth of the time). As a result, high-resolution three- and four-dimensional experiments that were prohibitively time consuming are now practical. Conversely, tailored sampling in the indirect dimensions has led to improved sensitivity. Further advances in nonuniform sampling strategies could enable further reductions in sampling requirements for high resolution NMR spectra, and the combination of these strategies with robust non-Fourier methods of spectrum analysis (such as MaxEnt) represent a profound change in the way researchers conduct multidimensional experiments. The potential benefits will enable more advanced applications of multidimensional NMR spectroscopy to study biological macromolecules, metabolomics, natural products, dynamic systems, and other areas where resolution, sensitivity, or experiment time are limiting. Just as the development of multidimensional NMR methods presaged multidimensional methods in other areas of spectroscopy, we anticipate that nonuniform sampling approaches will find applications in other forms of spectroscopy.
Full text
Available for:
IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
In a matched sample of Seyfert and quiescent galaxies we simultaneously probe the stellar and molecular gas kinematics from 1 kpc down to 50 pc with the aim of identifying the dynamical processes ...dictating black hole accretion rates. This first paper compares the global characteristics of a sample of 10 galaxies. We find several differences within a radius of 500 pc that are correlated with active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity. The Seyferts have (1) a more centrally concentrated nuclear stellar surface brightness with lower stellar luminosities beyond a radius of 100 pc, (2) a lower stellar velocity dispersion within a radius of 200 pc, (3) elevated H sub(2) 1-0 S(1) luminosity out to a radius of at least 250 pc, and (4) more centrally concentrated H sub(2) surface brightness profiles. These observed differences can be interpreted as evidence for Seyfert galaxies having a dynamically cold (in comparison to the bulge) nuclear structure composed of a significant gas reservoir and a relatively young stellar population. This structure is undetected (and possibly does not exist) in quiescent galaxies. The presence of such a nuclear structure in Seyfert galaxies provides evidence for inflow of the surrounding interstellar medium since the nuclear stellar population requires a supply of gas from which to form. The fueling of a Seyfert AGN is thus associated with the formation of a dynamically cold component of gas and stars on scales of hundreds of parsecs.
Porphyromonas gingivalis is a Gram-negative anaerobic periodontal microorganism strongly associated with tissue-destructive processes in human periodontitis. Following oral infection with P. ...gingivalis, the periodontal bone loss in mice is reported to require the engagement of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2). Serine-glycine lipodipeptide or glycine aminolipid classes of P. gingivalis engage human and mouse TLR2, but a novel lipid class reported here is considerably more potent in engaging TLR2 and the heterodimer receptor TLR2/TLR6. The novel lipid class, termed Lipid 1256, consists of a diacylated phosphoglycerol moiety linked to a serine-glycine lipodipeptide previously termed Lipid 654. Lipid 1256 is approximately 50-fold more potent in engaging TLR2 than the previously reported serine-glycine lipid classes. Lipid 1256 also stimulates cytokine secretory responses from peripheral blood monocytes and is recovered in selected oral and intestinal Bacteroidetes organisms. Therefore, these findings suggest that Lipid 1256 may be a microbial TLR2 ligand relevant to chronic periodontitis in humans.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
ALMA observations have revealed nuclear dusty molecular disks or tori with characteristic sizes 15−40 pc in the few Seyferts and low -luminosity AGN that have been studied so far. These structures ...are generally decoupled both morphologically and kinematically from the host galaxy disk. We present ALMA observations of the CO(2–1) and CO(3–2) molecular gas transitions and associated (sub-) millimeter continua of the nearby Seyfert 1.5 galaxy NGC 3227 with angular resolutions 0.085 − 0.21″ (7–15 pc). On large scales, the cold molecular gas shows circular motions as well as streaming motions on scales of a few hundred parsecs that are associated with a large-scale bar. We fit the nuclear ALMA 1.3 mm emission with an unresolved component and an extended component. The 850 μm emission shows at least two extended components, one along the major axis of the nuclear disk, and the other along the axis of the ionization cone. The molecular gas in the central region (1″ ∼ 73 pc) shows several CO clumps with complex kinematics that appears to be dominated by noncircular motions. While we cannot conclusively demonstrate the presence of a warped nuclear disk, we also detected noncircular motions along the kinematic minor axis. They reach line-of-sight velocities of v − vsys = 150 − 200 km s−1. Assuming that the radial motions are in the plane of the galaxy, we interpret them as a nuclear molecular outflow due to molecular gas in the host galaxy that is entrained by the AGN wind. We derive molecular outflow rates of 5 M⊙ yr−1 and 0.6 M⊙ yr−1 at projected distances of up to 30 pc to the northeast and southwest of the AGN, respectively. At the AGN location we estimate a mass in molecular gas of 5 × 105 M⊙ and an equivalent average column density N(H2) = 2 − 3 × 1023 cm−2 in the inner 15 pc. The nuclear CO(2–1) and CO(3–2) molecular gas and submillimeter continuum emission of NGC 3227 do not resemble the classical compact torus. Rather, these emissions extend for several tens of parsecs and appear connected with the circumnuclear ring in the host galaxy disk, as found in other local AGN.
Full text
Available for:
FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
We use high-spectral resolution (R > 8000) data covering 3800–13 000 Å to study the physical conditions of the broad-line region (BLR) of nine nearby Seyfert 1 galaxies. Up to six broad H i lines are ...present in each spectrum. A comparison – for the first time using simultaneous optical to near-infrared observations – to photoionization 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 H i emitting gas of 1011 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-fitting intrinsic broad-line Hα/H β ratios being in the range 2.5–6.6 as derived with our photoionization modelling scheme. The extinction to the BLR, based on independent estimates from H i and He ii lines, is A
V
≤ 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.
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 disc-dominated and bulge-dominated galaxies are 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.
Advances in computation have been enabling many recent advances in biomolecular applications of NMR. Due to the wide diversity of applications of NMR, the number and variety of software packages for ...processing and analyzing NMR data is quite large, with labs relying on dozens, if not hundreds of software packages. Discovery, acquisition, installation, and maintenance of all these packages is a burdensome task. Because the majority of software packages originate in academic labs, persistence of the software is compromised when developers graduate, funding ceases, or investigators turn to other projects. To simplify access to and use of biomolecular NMR software, foster persistence, and enhance reproducibility of computational workflows, we have developed NMRbox, a shared resource for NMR software and computation. NMRbox employs virtualization to provide a comprehensive software environment preconfigured with hundreds of software packages, available as a downloadable virtual machine or as a Platform-as-a-Service supported by a dedicated compute cloud. Ongoing development includes a metadata harvester to regularize, annotate, and preserve workflows and facilitate and enhance data depositions to BioMagResBank, and tools for Bayesian inference to enhance the robustness and extensibility of computational analyses. In addition to facilitating use and preservation of the rich and dynamic software environment for biomolecular NMR, NMRbox fosters the development and deployment of a new class of metasoftware packages. NMRbox is freely available to not-for-profit users.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
PDF
