We report the discovery of a secondary pair of radio lobes in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 2639 with polarization-sensitive observations with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). The presence of these lobes, which are aligned nearly perpendicular to the known set of radio lobes observed in the east-west direction, has not been reported previously in the literature. The in-band rotation measure image shows gradients in both the lobes indicative of organised magnetic field structures on kpc-scales. The magnetic field structure is aligned with the jet/lobe direction in both the lobes. Based on the settled optical morphology of the host galaxy, it is likely that a minor merger that did not disrupt the host galaxy structure is responsible for the observed features in NGC 2639. This also explains the near 90$^o$ change in the jet direction; the current jet direction being the result of a new accretion disk formed by the minor merger, whose direction was a result of the angular momentum of the inflowing merger gas.
We report the complex radio properties of the radio galaxy NGC 2329 that resides in the centre of the galaxy cluster Abell 569. For this study, we have used archival data from the Very Large Array (VLA) at various resolutions and frequencies, as well as the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). While the wide-angle tailed (WAT) Fanaroff-Riley type I (FR I) radio morphology of the source has been discussed widely in the literature, the nature of the inner lobes has not been as widely discussed. In particular, we note that the inner lobes resemble the bubble-like radio structures observed in Seyfert …
Among the large varieties of active galactic nuclei (AGN) known, narrow line Seyfert 1 (NLSy1) galaxies are a puzzling class, particularly after the discovery of $γ$-ray emission in a handful of them using observations from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Here, we report the discovery of a rare large double lobed radio source with its radio core associated with a NLSy1 galaxy SDSS J103024.95+551622.7 at z = 0.435. The lobe separation is 116 kpc which is the second largest known projected size among NLSy1 radio sources. This finding is based on the analysis of 1.4 GHz data from the Faint I…
Low frequency observations at 325 and 610 MHz have been carried out for two "radio-loud" Seyfert galaxies, NGC4235 and NGC4594 (Sombrero galaxy), using the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT). The 610 MHz total intensity and 325-610 MHz spectral index images of NGC4235 tentatively suggest the presence of a "relic" radio lobe, most likely from a previous episode of AGN activity. This makes NGC4235 only the second known Seyfert galaxy after Mrk6 to show signatures of episodic activity. Spitzer and Herschel infrared spectral energy distribution (SED) modelling using the clumpyDREAM code predic…
Seyfert galaxies have traditionally been classified as radio-quiet active galactic nuclei. A proper consideration of the nuclear optical emission however proves that a majority of Seyferts are radio-loud. Kpc-scale radio lobes/bubbles are in fact revealed in sensitive observations at low radio frequencies of several Seyferts. Through the use of very long baseline interferometry, we have been able to determine the direction of the parsec-scale jets in some of these Seyfert galaxies. The misalignment between the parsec-scale jets and the kpc-scale lobes that is typically observed, is either sugg…
New Gemini mid-infrared spectroscopic observations together with Spitzer Space telescope archival data, are used to study the properties of the dusty torus and circumnuclear star formation in the active galaxies NGC 7213 and NGC 1386. Our main conclusions can be summarised as follows. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission is absent in the T-ReCS nuclear spectra but is ubiquitous in the data from Spitzer at distances above 100 pc. Star formation rates surface densities are estimated from the 12.8 $μm$ [Ne{\sc ii}] line strengths leading to values close to 0.1M$_\odot\,\,{\rm yr}^{-1}\,…
To understand the origin of radio emission in radio-quiet AGN and differentiate between the contributions from star formation, AGN accretion, and jets, we have observed a nearby sample of Seyfert galaxies along with a comparison sample of starburst galaxies using the EVLA in full-polarization mode in the B-array configuration. The radio morphologies of the Seyfert galaxies show lobe/bubble-like features or prominent cores in radio emission whereas the starburst galaxies show radio emission spatially coincident with the star-forming regions seen in optical images. There is tentative evidence th…
The role of starburst winds versus active galactic nuclei (AGN) jets/winds in the formation of the kiloparsec scale radio emission seen in Seyferts is not yet well understood. In order to be able to disentangle the role of various components, we have observed a sample of Seyfert galaxies exhibiting kpc-scale radio emission suggesting outflows, along with a comparison sample of starburst galaxies, with the EVLA B-array in polarimetric mode at 1.4 GHz and 5~GHz. Polarization is clearly detected in three Seyfert galaxies and one starburst galaxy. The Seyfert galaxy NGC\,2639, shows highly polariz…
We present results from multi-frequency polarization-sensitive Very Large Array observations of the Seyfert-starburst composite galaxy NGC3079. Our sensitive radio observations reveal a plethora of radio filaments comprising the radio lobes in this galaxy. We analyze the origin of these radio filaments in the context of existing Chandra X-ray and HST emission-line data. We do not find a one-to-one correlation of the radio filaments with the emission line filaments. The north-eastern lobe is highly polarized with polarization fractions $\sim$33% at 5 GHz. The magnetic fields are aligned with th…
We present a Cepheid-based distance to the nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC\,6814 from {\it Hubble Space Telescope} observations. We obtained F555W and F814W imaging over the course of 12 visits with logarithmic time spacing in 2013 August$-$October. We detected and made photometric measurements for 16,469 unique sources across all images in both filters, from which we identify 90 excellent Cepheid candidates spanning a range of periods of $13-84$ days. We find evidence for incompleteness in the detection of candidates at periods <21 days. Based on the analysis of Cepheid candidates above the incompl…
Context. The putative tori surrounding the accretion disks of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) play a fundamental role in the unification scheme of AGNs. Infrared long-baseline interferometry allows us to study the inner dust distribution in AGNs with unprecedented spatial resolution over a wide infrared wavelength range. Aims. Near- and mid-infrared interferometry is used to investigate the milli-arcsecond-scale dust distribution in the type 1.5 Seyfert nucleus of NGC 3783. Methods. We observed NGC 3783 with the VLTI/AMBER instrument in the K-band and compared our observations with models. Resul…
A strong effort has been devoted to understand the physical origin of radio emission from low-luminosity AGN (LLAGN), but a comprehensive picture is still missing. We used high-resolution ($\le$1 arcsec), multi-frequency (1.5, 5.5, 9 and 14 GHz) NSF's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) observations to characterise the state of the nuclear region of ten Seyfert nuclei, which are the faintest members of a complete, distance-limited sample of 28 sources. With the sensitivity and resolution guaranteed by the VLA-A configuration, we measured radio emission for six sources (NGC3185, NGC3941, NGC4…
The discovery of two active black holes in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 3393, separated by about 490 light years, revealed a merging event. This led us to look for other evidences of galaxy collision and merging through the analysis of the observed spectra in different frequency ranges. We found preshock densities higher by a factor of about 10 in the NGC 3393 NLR than in other AGN and patches of ionized matter beyond the observed NLR bulk. They can be explained by compression and heating of the gas downstream of shock waves created by collision. Metallicity in terms of the O/H relative abundance, i…
(Abridged) Based on UV to X-ray and radio to UV flux ratios, some argue that low ionization emission line regions (LINERs) and low luminosity AGN (LLAGN) are a scaled-down version of their more luminous predecessors Seyfert galaxies. Others, based on the lack of X-ray short (hours) time-scale variability, the non-detection of an iron line at 6.4 keV, and the faint UV emission, suggest the truncation of the classical thin accretion disk in the inner regions of the AGN where a radiatively inefficient accretion flow (RIAF) structure forms. We investigate the LINER-Seyfert connection by studying t…
We present the results of a reverberation-mapping program targeting NGC5273, a nearby early-type galaxy with a broad-lined active galactic nucleus. Over the course of the monitoring program, NGC5273 showed strong variability that allowed us to measure time delays in the responses of the broad optical recombination lines to changes in the continuum flux. A weighted average of these measurements results in a black hole mass determination of $M_{\rm BH} = (4.7 \pm 1.6) \times 10^6$ M$_{\odot}$. An estimate of the size of the black hole sphere of influence in NGC5273 puts it just at the limit of t…
We study the nearby lenticular galaxy NGC 3998. This galaxy is known to host a low-power radio AGN with a kpc-size one-sided jet and a large, nearly polar HI disc. It is therefore a good system to study to understand the relation between the availability of cold-gas and the triggering of AGNs in galaxies. Our new WSRT data reveal two faint, S-shaped radio lobes extending out to $\sim$10 kpc from the galaxy centre. Remarkably, we find that the inner HI disc warps back towards the stellar mid-plane in a way that mirrors the warping of the radio lobes. We suggest that the polar HI disc was accret…
We report the discovery of a ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX; CXO J133815.6+043255) in NGC 5252. This ULX is an off-nuclear point-source, which is 22$^{\prime\prime}$ away from the center of NGC 5252, and has an X-ray luminosity of 1.5 $\times$ $10^{40}$erg s$^{-1}$. It is one of the rare examples of ULX, which exhibits clear counterparts in radio, optical, UV bands. Follow-up optical spectrum of the ULX shows strong emission lines. The redshift of [O III] emission line coincides with the systematic velocity of NGC 5252, suggesting the ULX is gravitationally bound to NGC 5252. The flux of [O I…
We report an exceptional mid-infrared flare in the Seyfert 1.8 NGC 3786. In the multi-epoch data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the nuclear mid-infrared brightness of NGC 3786 appears to vary substantially up to $0.5-0.8$ mag around mid-2020. However, there is no evidence of significant variation in the corresponding light curve of the optical band from the Zwicky Transient Facility. This implies that the flare may have been heavily obscured by nuclear dust. Through follow-up spectroscopic observations with Gemini-North after the flare, we find that broad emission lines in ${\rm…
We use Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) Integral Field Unit (IFU) observations of the inner 285$\times$400 pc$^2$ region of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 5643 to map the [SIII]$\lambda9069$ emission-line flux distribution and kinematics, as well as the stellar kinematics, derived by fitting the CaII$λλλ$8498,8542,8662 triplet, at a spatial resolution of 45 pc. The stellar velocity field shows regular rotation, with a projected velocity of 100 km/s and kinematic major axis along Position Angle $PA=-36^\circ$. A ring of low stellar velocity dispersion values ($\sim$70 km/s), attributed to youn…
The origin of narrow line region (NLR) outflows remains unknown. In this paper, we explore the scenario in which these outflows are circumnuclear clouds driven by energetic accretion disk winds. We choose the well-studied nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151 as an example. By performing 3D hydrodynamical simulations, we are able to reproduce the radial distributions of velocity, mass outflow rate and kinetic luminosity of NLR outflows in the inner 100 pc deduced from spatial resolved spectroscopic observations. The demanded kinetic luminosity of disk winds is about two orders of magnitude higher tha…
We derive a distance of $15.8\pm0.4$ Mpc to the archetypical Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151 based on the near-infrared Cepheid Period-Luminosity relation and new Hubble Space Telescope multiband imaging. This distance determination, based on measurements of 35 long-period ($P > 25$d) Cepheids, will support the absolute calibration of the supermassive black hole mass in this system, as well as studies of the dynamics of the feedback or feeding of its active galactic nucleus.
We report B, V, and R band CCD photometry of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151 obtained with the 1.0-m telescope at Weihai Observatory of Shandong University and the 1.56-m telescope at Shanghai Astronomical Observatory from 2005 December to 2013 February. Combining all available data from literature, we have constructed a historical light curve from 1910 to 2013 to study the periodicity of the source using three different methods (the Jurkevich method, the Lomb-Scargle periodogram method and the Discrete Correlation Function method). We find possible periods of P_1=4\pm0.1, P_2=7.5\pm0.3 and P_3=15…
We derive a distance of $D = 16.6 \pm 0.3$~Mpc ($μ=31.10\pm0.04$~mag) to the archetypal narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4051 based on Cepheid Period--Luminosity relations and new Hubble Space Telescope multiband imaging. We identify 419 Cepheid candidates and estimate the distance at both optical and near-infrared wavelengths using subsamples of precisely-photometered variables (123 and 47 in the optical and near-infrared subsamples, respectively). We compare our independent photometric procedures and distance-estimation methods to those used by the SH0ES team and find agreement to 0.01~mag. …
We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations at $\approx100$ GHz with $0.05$ arcsec (3 pc) resolution of the kiloparsec-scale jet seen in the nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068, and we report the presence of parsec-scale blobs at the head of the jet. The combination of the detected radio flux ($\approx0.8$ mJy), spectral index ($\approx0.5$), and the blob size ($\approx10$ pc) suggests a strong magnetic field of $B\approx240\,μ$G. Such a strong magnetic field most likely implies magnetic field amplification by streaming cosmic rays. The estimated cosmic-ray power by the jet…
We have mapped the extended narrow line region (ENLR) of NGC 3393 on scales of $r\lesssim4^{\prime\prime}$ ($\sim1\,$kpc) from the nucleus using emission line images of H$α\,\lambda6563$, [O III]$\lambda5007$, and [S II]$λ\lambda6717,6731$ taken with HST as part of the CHandra survey of Extended Emission line Regions in nearby Seyfert galaxies (CHEERS). By mapping these lines onto a spatially resolved Baldwin-Phillips-Terlevich (BPT) diagram, we investigate the impact of feedback from a Compton-thick AGN on its circumnuclear ISM. We find the expected Seyfert-like emission within the ionization…
We present a polarization and Faraday rotation study of the hybrid morphology radio galaxy NGC 612 (PKS 0131-36), using Australian Telescope Compact Array observations from 1 to 3 GHz. In general, the results are consistent with an external Faraday screen close to the radio source. In the eastern FRII lobe, the RM of the hotspot increases in magnitude towards the leading edge, as well as changing sign (compared to the rest of the lobe). The Faraday depolarization is also ~3 times larger at the hotspot than elsewhere. A plausible explanation for this is significant compression of ambient magnet…
The first detection of the silicate absorption feature in AGNs was made at 9.7 micrometer for the prototypical Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068 over 30 years ago, indicating the presence of a large column of silicate dust in the line-of-sight to the nucleus. It is now well recognized that type 2 AGNs exhibit prominent silicate absorption bands, while the silicate bands of type 1 AGNs appear in emission. More recently, using the Mid-Infrared Interferometric Instrument on the Very Large Telescope Interferometer, Jaffe et al. (2004) by the first time spatially resolved the parsec-sized dust torus around…
We present the results of a comprehensive, near-UV-to-near-IR Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 imaging study of the young planetary nebula (PN) NGC 6302, the archetype of the class of extreme bi-lobed, pinched-waist PNe that are rich in dust and molecular gas. The new WFC3 emission-line image suite clearly defines the dusty toroidal equatorial structure that bisects NGC 6302's polar lobes, and the fine structures (clumps, knots, and filaments) within the lobes. The most striking aspect of the new WFC3 image suite is the bright, S-shaped 1.64 micron [Fe II] emission that traces the southern interior…
The latest observations of line and continuum spectra emitted from the extended narrow line region (ENLR) of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 7212 are analysed using models accounting for photoionization from the active nucleus and shocks. The results show that relatively high (500--800 \kms) shock velocities appear on the edge of the cone and outside of it. The model-inferred AGN flux, which is lower than $10^{-11}$ photons cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ eV$^{-1}$ at the Lyman limit, is more typical of low-luminosity AGN, and less so for Seyfert 2 galaxies. The preshock densities are characteristic of the ENLR a…
We present optical photometric observations of SN 2018aoq from 2 to 100 days after explosion, and 7 spectra at epochs from 11 to 71 days. The light curves and spectra are typical for SNe II-P. As previously reported, SN 2018aoq appears to be of intermediate brightness between subluminous and normal SNe II-P. SN 2018aoq was discovered in Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151, for which the distance is uncertain. We utilised the Expanding Photosphere Method using three sets of filter combinations and velocities derived from the absorption minima of FeII lines and obtained a distance of 20.0 +-1.6 Mpc. The Sta…
We present results of a long-term optical, UV and X-ray study of variability of the nearby changing-look (CL) Seyfert NGC 1566 which was observed with the Swift Observatory from 2007 to 2020. We summarize our previously published spectroscopic and photometric results and present new observations. We reported on the alteration in the spectral type of NGC 1566 in 2018 (REF1). Moreover, we focused on the exceptional postmaximum behavior after 2018 July, when all bands dropped with some fluctuations (REF2). We observed four significant re-brightenings in the post-maximum period. We have found diff…
Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are powered by accreting supermassive black holes, surrounded by a torus of obscuring material. Recent studies have shown how the torus structure, formerly thought to be homogeneous, appears to be 'patchy': the detection of variability in the line-of-sight hydrogen column density, in fact, matches the description of an obscurer with a complex structure made of clouds with different column density. In this work, we perform a multi-epoch analysis of the X-ray spectra of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 7479 in order to estimate its torus properties, such as the average colum…
We present the first NuSTAR observation of a 'true' Type 2 Seyfert galaxy. The 3-40 keV X-ray spectrum of NGC3147 is characterised by a simple power-law, with a standard Γ~1.7 and an iron emission line, with no need for any further component up to ~40 keV. These spectral properties, together with significant variability on time-scales as short as weeks (as shown in a 2014 Swift monitoring campaign), strongly support an unobscured line-of-sight for this source. An alternative scenario in terms of a Compton-thick source is strongly disfavoured, requiring an exceptional geometrical configuration,…
We present the variability analysis of a 100 ks XMM-Newton observation of the Seyfert 1.5 active galaxy NGC 3227. The observation found NGC 3227 in a period where its hard power-law component displayed remarkably little long-term variability. This lucky event allows us to observe clearly a soft spectral component undergoing a large-amplitude but slow flux variation. Using combined spectral and timing analysis we isolate two independent variable continuum components and characterize their behavior as a function of timescale. Rapid and coherent variations throughout the 0.2-10 keV band reveal a …
