The Survey of Nearby Nuclei with STIS (SUNNS):Emission-Line Nuclei at Hubble Space Telescope Resolution

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dc.creatorShields, Joseph C.
dc.creatorRix, Hans-Walter
dc.creatorSarzi, Marc
dc.creatorBarth, Aaron J.
dc.creatorFilippenko, Alexei V.
dc.creatorHo, Luis C.
dc.creatorMcIntosh, Daniel H.
dc.creatorRudnick, Gregory
dc.creatorSargent, Wallace L. W.
dc.date2004-10-12
dc.date2006-09-20
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T10:47:55Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T10:47:55Z
dc.descriptionWe present results from a program of optical spectroscopy for 23 nearby galaxy emission-line nuclei. This investigation takes advantage of the spatial resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope to study the structure and energetics of the central 10 - 20 pc, and the resulting data have value for quantifying central black hole masses, star formation histories, and nebular properties. This paper provides a description of the experimental design, and new findings from the study of emission lines. The sample targets span a range of nebular spectroscopic class, from HII to Seyfert nuclei. The line ratios indicative of nebular ionization show only modest variations over order-of-magnitude differences in radius, and demonstrate in a systematic way that geometrical dilution of the radiation field from a central source cannot be assumed as a primary driver of ionization structure. Comparisons between large- and small-aperture measurements for the HII/LINER transition objects provide a new test that challenges conventional wisdom concerning the composite nature of these systems. We also list a number of other quantitative results that are of interest for understanding galaxy nuclei, including (1) the spatial distribution/degree of concentration of H-alpha emission as a function of nebular type; (2) the radial variation in electron density as a function of nebular type; and (3) quantitative broad H-alpha estimates obtained at a second epoch for these low-luminosity nuclei. The resulting measurements provide a new basis for comparing the nuclei of other galaxies with that of the Milky Way. We find that the Galactic Center is representative across a wide span of properties as a low-luminosity emission-line nucleus.
dc.description28 pages, 7 figures, revised version accepted by ApJ
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0410321
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0410321
dc.identifierAstrophys.J.654:125-137,2006
dc.identifierdoi:10.1086/509059
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/183702
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleThe Survey of Nearby Nuclei with STIS (SUNNS):Emission-Line Nuclei at Hubble Space Telescope Resolution
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