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Mrk 609: resolving the circumnuclear structure with near-infrared integral field spectroscopy
Aims.We present first results of near-infrared (NIR) J and H + KESO-SINFONI integral field spectroscopy of the compositestarburst/Seyfert 1.8 galaxy Mrk 609. The data were taken during thescience verification period of SINFONI. We aim to investigate themorphology and excitation conditions within the central 2 kpc.Additional Nobeyama 45 m CO(1-0) data are presented, which we used toestimate the molecular gas mass. The source was selected from a sampleof SDSS/ROSAT-based, X-ray bright AGN with redshifts of 0.03 < z <1 that are suitable for adaptive optics observations. This sample allowsfor a detailed study of the NIR properties of the nuclear and hostenvironments with high spectral and spatial resolution. Methods:Integral field spectroscopy with SINFONI delivers simultaneous spatialand spectral coverage of the circumnuclear environment. The NIR light isinfluenced less by dust extinction than by optical light and issensitive to mass- dominating stellar populations. Furthermore, severalNIR emission lines allow us to distinguish between Seyfert and starburstactivities. Results: Our NIR data reveal a complex emission-linemorphology that is possibly associated with a nuclear bar seen in thereconstructed continuum images. The detections of [Si VI] and a broadPaα component are clear indicators of the presence of an accretingsuper-massive black hole at the center of Mrk 609. In agreement withprevious observations, we find that the circumnuclear emission is notsignificantly extincted. Analysis of the high angular-resolution,molecular hydrogen emission and [Fe II] emission reveals the LINERcharacter of the nucleus. The large H2 gas mass deduced from the CO(1-0)observation provides the fuel needed to feed the starburst and Seyfertactivity in Mrk 609. Conclusions: High angular resolution imagingspectroscopy provides an ideal tool for resolving the nuclear andstarburst contributions in active galaxies. We show that Mrk 609exhibits LINER features that appear to be hidden in visible/NIR spectrawith larger apertures.Based on ESO-VLT SINFONI science verification 60.A-9041(A) and NobeyamaRadio Observatory 45 m telescope observations.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Caelum |
| Right ascension: | 04h30m59.52s |
| Declination: | -39°10'44.1" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 9.191 |
| Proper motion RA: | 114.1 |
| Proper motion Dec: | 109 |
| B-T magnitude: | 9.92 |
| V-T magnitude: | 9.252 |
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