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We analyse the 2-dimensional distribution and kinematics of the stars as well as molecular and ionised gas in the central few hundred parsecs of 5 active and 5 matched inactive galaxies. The equivalent widths of the Br-gamma line indicate there is no on-going 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 1-0S(1) H_2 kinematics exhibit significant deviations from simple circular rotation. In the active galaxies the H_2 kinematics reveal inflow and outflow superimposed on disk rotation. Steady-state circumnuclear inflow is seen in three AGN, and hydrodynamical models indicate it can be driven by a large scale bar. In three of the five AGN, 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_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., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 29 pages, including 18 figures

We have developed the "S_IX" statistic to identify bright, highly-likely Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) candidates solely on the basis of WISE, 2MASS and Rosat all-sky survey data. This statistic was optimized with data from the preliminary WISE survey and the SDSS, and tested with Lick 3-m Kast spectroscopy. We find that sources with S_IX < 0 have a, Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ; tentatively scheduled for the 2012 May 10 issue. This version contains data from the full WISE release of 13 March 2012, resulting in a W2R sample of 4,316 sources. Tables 3 and 5 can be downloaded from, e.g. http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~malkan/w2r/table3.xls

We present the Spitzer 10-37um IRS high resolution (R~600) spectroscopic survey of the Seyfert galaxies of the 12 micron Galaxy Sample. The new spectra of 61 galaxies, with those already published, gives us a total of 91 12micron Seyfert galaxies observed, out of 112. We use an improved AGN classification for Seyfert galaxies: instead of the type 1 and 2 classes, we use the spectropolarimetric data to divide them into "AGN 1" and "AGN 2", where AGN 1's include all broad-line objects, including the Seyfert 2's showing hidden broad lines in polarized light, while AGN 2's contains only Seyferts with no detectable broad lines at all. We present various mid-IR observables and we find that these properties characterize the AGN 1's objects as a single family, with strongly AGN-dominated spectra. In contrast, the AGN 2's can be divided in two groups, the first one with properties similar to the AGN 1's and the second similar to the non-Seyfert galaxies, such as LINERs or starburst galaxies. We computed a semianalytical model to estimate the AGN and the starburst contributions to the mid-IR galaxy emission at 19um. We find that AGN 1 have an AGN contribution >73% and AGN 2 >45% of their total emission at 19um. The detection of [NeV] lines is an almost perfect signature of energy production by an AGN. We present mean spectra of the various AGN categories. We derive the first local luminosity functions for the mid-infrared lines and the PAH feature. No statistical difference is found in the space densities for Seyfert 1's and 2's, nor for the new classes of AGN 1's and 2's. The global output of accretion-powered galactic nuclei in the local universe is derived from the correlation between [NeV] line and the nonstellar IR continuum luminosity.

To investigate the black hole mass versus stellar velocity dispersion (MBH-σ*) relation of active galaxies, we measured the velocity dispersions of a sample of local Seyfert 1 galaxies, for which we have recently determined black hole masses using reverberation mapping. For most objects, stellar velocity dispersions were measured from high signal-to-noise ratio optical spectra centered on the Ca II triplet region (∼ 8500 Å), obtained at the Keck, Palomar, and Lick Observatories. For two objects, in which the Ca II triplet region was contaminated by nuclear emission, the measurement was based on high-quality H-band spectra obtained with the OH-Suppressing Infrared Imaging Spectrograph at the Keck-II telescope. Combining our new measurements with data from the literature, we assemble a sample of 24 active galaxies with stellar velocity dispersions and reverberation-based black hole mass measurements in the range of black hole mass 106< MBH/M⊙< 109. We use this sample to obtain reverberation-mapping constraints on the slope and intrinsic scatter of the MBH-σ*relation of active galaxies. Assuming a constant virial coefficient f for the reverberation-mapping black hole masses, we find a slope β = 3.55 ± 0.60 and the intrinsic scatter σint= 0.43 ± 0.08 dex in the relation log(MBH/M⊙) = α + β log(σ*/200kms-1), which are consistent with those found for quiescent galaxies. We derive an updated value of the virial coefficient f by finding the value which places the reverberation masses in best agreement with the MBH-σ*relation of quiescent galaxies; using the quiescent MBH-σ*relation determined by Gültekin etal., we find log f = 0.72+0.09-0.10with an intrinsic scatter of 0.44 ± 0.07 dex. No strong correlations between f and parameters connected to the physics of accretion (such as the Eddington ratio or line-shape measurements) are found. The uncertainty of the virial coefficient remains one of the main sources of the uncertainty in black hole mass determinations using reverberation mapping, and therefore also in single-epoch spectroscopic estimates of black hole masses in active galaxies. © 2010 The American Astronomical Society.

We present spectroscopy of 15 star-forming BzK galaxies (sBzKs) with K(AB)

We report the discovery of a z ∼ 9 Lyman break galaxy candidate, selected from the NICMOS Parallel Imaging Survey as a J-dropout with J 110 - H160 = 1.7. Spitzer/IRAC photometry reveals that the galaxy has a blue H160 - 3.6 μm color and a spectral break between 3.6 and 4.5 μm. We interpret this break as the Balmer break and derive a best-fit photometric redshift of z ∼ 9. We use Monte Carlo simulations to test the significance of this photometric redshift, and we show that there is a 96% probability of z ≥ 7. We estimate that the lower limit to the comoving number density of such galaxies at z ∼ 9 is ø > 3.8 × 10-6 Mpc-3. If the high redshift of this galaxy is confirmed, this will indicate that the luminous end of the rest-frame UV luminosity function has not evolved substantially from z ∼ 9 to z ∼ 3. Still, some small degeneracy remains between this z ∼ 9 model and models at z ∼ 2-3; deep optical imaging (reaching IAB ∼ 29) can rule out the lower z models. © 2008. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

We report new follow-up spectroscopy of i′-dropout galaxies with an NB921-band depression found in the Subaru Deep Field. The NB921-depressed 1′-dropout selection method is expected to select galaxies with large equivalent-width Lyα emission over a wide redshift range, 6.0 ≲ z ≲ 6.5. Two of four observed targets show a strong emission line with a clear asymmetric profile, identified as Lyα emitters at z = 6.11 and 6.00. Their rest-frame equivalent widths are 153 Å and 114 Å, which are lower limits on the intrinsic equivalent widths. Through our spectroscopic observations (including previous ones) of NB921 -depressed i′-dropout galaxies, we identified 5 galaxies in total with a rest-frame equivalent width larger than 100 Å at 6.0 ≲ z ≲ 6.5 out of 8 photometric candidates, which suggests that the NB921 -depressed i′-dropout selection method is possibly an efficient way to search for Lyα emitters with a large Lyα equivalent width, in a wider redshift range than with usual narrow-band excess techniques. By combining these findings with our previous observational results, we infer that the fraction of broad-band selected galaxies having a rest-frame equivalent width larger than 100 Å is significantly higher at z ∼ 6 (the cosmic age of ∼1 Gyr) than that at z ∼ 3 (∼2 Gyr), being consistent with the idea that the typical stellar population of galaxies is significantly younger at z ∼ 6 than that at z ∼ 3. The NB921-depressed i′-dropout galaxies may be interesting candidates for hosts of massive, zero-metallicity Population III stars. © ESO 2007.

We test the evolution of the correlation between black hole mass and bulge velocity dispersion (MBH-σ), using a carefully selected sample of 14 Seyfert 1 galaxies at z = 0.36±0.01. We measure velocity dispersion from stellar absorption lines around Mg b (5175 Å) and Fe (5270 Å) using high-S/N Keck spectra and estimate black hole mass from the Hβ line width and the optical luminosity at 5100 Å, based on the empirically calibrated photoionization method. We find a significant offset from the local relation, in the sense that velocity dispersions were smaller for given black hole masses at z = 0.36 than locally. We investigate various sources of systematic uncertainties and find that those cannot account for the observed offset. The measured offset is Δlog MBH= 0.62 ±0.10±0.25; i.e., Δlog σ = 0.15±0.03±0. 06, where the error bars include a random component and an upper limit to the systematics. At face value, this result implies a substantial growth of bulges in the last 4 Gyr, assuming that the local MBH-σrelation is the universal evolutionary endpoint. Along with two samples of active galaxies with consistently determined black hole mass and stellar velocity dispersion taken from the literature, we quantify the observed evolution with the best-fit linear relation:Δlog MBH= (1-66±0.43)z + (0.04±0.09) with respect to the local relationship of Tremaine and coworkers, and Δlog MBH= (1-55 ±0.46)z + (0.01 ±0.12) with respect to that of Ferrarese. This result is consistent with the growth of black holes predating the final growth of bulges at these mass scales (〈σ〉 = 170 km s-1). © 2006. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

We present the properties of Ly Alpha emitters (LAEs) at z = 5.7 in the Subaru Deep Field. A photometric sample of 89 LAE candidates is constructed from narrow-band (NB816) data down to NB816 = 26.0 (AB) in a continuous 725 arcmin^2 area. Spectra of 39 objects satisfying the photometric selection criteria for LAEs were obtained with Subaru and Keck II Telescopes, among which 28 were confirmed LAEs, one was a nearby galaxy, and eight were unclassified. We also obtained spectra of another 24 NB816-excess objects in the field, identifying six additional LAEs. We find that the Ly Alpha luminosity function derived from the photometric sample is reproduced well by a Schechter function with L* = (7.9+3.0-2.2) x 10^42 erg/s and phi* = (6.3+3.0-2.0) x 10^-4 Mpc^-3 for alpha = -1.5 (fixed) over the whole luminosity range of L ~= 3x10^42 - 3x10^43 erg/s. We then measure rest-frame Ly Alpha equivalent widths (EWs) for the confirmed LAEs, to find that the median among the 28 objects satisfying the photometric selection criteria is W_0^i = 233 A. We infer that 30% - 40% of LAEs at z=5.7 exceed W_0^i = 240 A. These large-EW objects probably cannot be accounted for by ordinary star-forming populations with a Salpeter IMF. We also find that LAEs with fainter far-UV luminosities have larger EWs. Finally, we derive the far-UV luminosity function of LAEs down to M_UV ~= -19.6 using the photometric sample, and compare it with that of Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs). We find that as high as about 80% of LBGs at z ~ 6 have W_0^i >= 100 A, in sharp contrast to lower-z counterparts., 23 pages, 20 figs, accepted for PASJ, a high resolution version of Figs.7,8 is available at http://hikari.astron.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~shima/z57LAE/

We present 263 optical and near-infrared (NIR) images for 42 1s and 48 Seyfert 2s, selected from the Extended 12 μm Galaxy Sample. Elliptically averaged profiles are derived from the images, and isophotal radii and magnitudes are calculated from these. We also report virtual aperture photometry that, judging from comparison with previous work, is accurate to roughly 0.05 mag in the optical, and 0.07 mag in the NIR. Our B-band isophotal magnitude and radii, obtained from ellipse fitting, are in good agreement with those of Third Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies. When compared with the B band, V, I, J, and K isophotal diameters show that the colors in the outer regions of Seyfert galaxies are consistent with the colors of normal spirals. Differences in the integrated isophotal colors and comparison with a simple model show that the active nucleus + bulge are stronger and redder in the NIR than in the optical. Finally, roughly estimated Seyfert disk surface brightnesses are significantly brighter in B and K than those in normal spirals of similar morphological type.

Long-lived emission, known as afterglow, has now been detected from about a dozen gamma-ray bursts. Distance determinations place the bursts at cosmological distances, with redshifts,z, ranging from similar to 1 to 3, The energy required to produce these bright gamma-ray flashes is enormous: up to similar to 10(53) erg, or to per cent of the rest-mass energy of a neutron star, if the emission is isotropic. Here we present optical and near-infrared observations of the afterglow of GRB990123, and we determine a redshift of z greater than or equal to 1.6, This is to date the brightest gamma-ray burst with a well-localized position and if the gamma-rays were emitted isotropically, the energy release exceeds the rest-mass energy of a neutron st ar, so challenging current theoretical models of the sources. We argue, however, that our data may provide evidence of beamed (rather than isotropic) radiation, thereby reducing the total energy released to a lever where stellar-death models are still tenable.

An 8 month monitoring campaign on the Seyfert 1 galaxy Fairall 9 has been conducted with the International Ultraviolet Explorer in an attempt to obtain reliable estimates of continuum-continuum and continuum-emission-line delays for a high-luminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN). While the results of this campaign are more ambiguous than those of previous monitoring campaigns on lower luminosity sources, we find general agreement with the earlier results: (1) there is no measurable lag between ultraviolet continuum bands, and (2) the measured emission-line time lags are very short. It is especially notable that the Lyα + N v emission-line lag is about 1 order of magnitude smaller than determined from a previous campaign by Clavel, Wamsteker, & Glass (1989) when Fairall 9 was in a more luminous state. In other well-monitored sources, specifically NGC 5548 and NGC 3783, the highest ionization lines are found to respond to continuum variations more rapidly than the lower ionization lines, which suggests a radially ionization-stratified broad-line region. In this case, the results are less certain, since none of the emission-line lags are very well determined. The best-determined emission line lag is Lyα + N v, for which we find that the centroid of the continuum-emission-line cross-correlation function is τcent ≈ 14-20 days. We measure a lag τcent ≲ 4 days for He II λ1640; this result is consistent with the ionization-stratification pattern seen in lower luminosity sources, but the relatively large uncertainties in the emission-line lags measured here cannot rule out similar lags for Lyα + N v and He II λ1640 at a high level of significance. We are unable to determine a reliable lag for C IV λ1550, but we note that the profiles of the variable parts of Lyα and C IV λ1550 are not the same, which does not support the hypothesis that the strongest variations in these two lines arise in the same region.

We report on the results of intensive ultraviolet spectral monitoring of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 3783. The nucleus of NGC 3783 was observed with the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite on a regular basis for a total of 7 months, once every 4 days for the first 172 days and once every other day for the final 50 days. Significant variability was observed in both continuum and emission-line fluxes. The light curves for the continuum fluxes exhibited two well-defined local minima or 'dips,' the first lasting is less than or approximately 20 days and the second is less than or approximately 4 days, with additional episodes of relatively rapid flickering of approximately the same amplitude. As in the case of NGC 5548 (the only other Seyfert galaxy that has been the subject of such an intensive, sustained monitoring effort), the largest continuum variations were seen at the shortest wavelengths, so that the continuum became 'harder' when brighter. The variations in the continuum occurred simultaneously at all wavelengths (delta(t) is less than 2 days). Generally, the amplitude of variability of the emission lines was lower than (or comparable to) that of the continuum. Apart from Mg II (which varied little) and N V (which is relatively weak and badly blended with Ly(alpha), the light curves of the emission lines are very similar to the continuum light curves, in each case with a small systematic delay or 'lag.' As for NGC 5548, the highest ionization lines seem to respond with shorter lags than the lower ionization lines. The lags found for NGC 3783 are considerably shorter than those obtained for NGC 5548, with values of (formally) approximately 0 days for He II + O III), and approximately 4 days for Ly(alpha) and C IV. The data further suggest lags of approximately 4 days for Si IV + O IV) and 8-30 days for Si III + C III). Mg II lagged the 1460 A continuum by approximately 9 days, although this result depends on the method of measuring the line flux and may in fact be due to variability of the underlying Fe II lines. Correlation analysis further shows that the power density spectrum contains substantial unresolved power over timescales of is less than or approximately 2 days, and that the character of the continuum variability may change with time.