Prof. Dimitra Rigopoulou

Abstract:

We present combined James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) NIRSpec and MIRI/MRS integral field spectroscopy data of the nuclear and circumnuclear regions of the highly dust obscured Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 7582, which is part of the sample of active galactic nucleaus (AGN) in the Galaxy Activity, Torus and Outflow Survey (GATOS). Spatially resolved analysis of the pure rotational H lines (S(1)–S(7)) reveals a characteristic power-law temperature distribution in different apertures, with the two prominent southern star-forming regions exhibiting unexpectedly high molecular gas temperatures, comparable to those in the AGN powered nuclear region. We investigate potential heating mechanisms including direct AGN photoionization, UV fluorescent excitation from young star clusters, and shock excitation. We find that shock heating gives the most plausible explanation, consistent with multiple near- and mid-IR tracers and diagnostics. Using photoionization models from the PhotoDissociation Region Toolbox, we quantify the ISM conditions in the different regions, determining that the southern star-forming regions have a high density ( cm) and are irradiated by a moderate UV radiation field ( Habing). Fitting a suite of Paris-Durham shock models to the rotational H lines, as well as rovibrational 1-0 S(1), 1-0 S(2), and 2-1 S(1) H emission lines, we find that a slow ( km s−1) C-type shock is likely responsible for the elevated temperatures. Our analysis loosely favours local starburst activity as the driver of the shocks and circumnuclear gas dynamics in NGC 7582, though the possibility of an AGN jet contribution cannot be excluded.

Abstract:

We present JWST/MIRI spectra from the Medium-resolution Spectrometer of I Zw 18, a nearby dwarf galaxy with a metallicity of ∼3% Solar. Here, we investigate warm molecular hydrogen, H2, observed in spectra extracted in ∼120 pc apertures centered on eleven regions of interest. We detect seven H2 rotational lines, some of which are among the weakest ever measured. The H2 population diagrams are fit with local-thermodynamic-equilibrium models and models of photodissociation regions. We also fit the ortho-/para-H2 ratios (OPRs); in three of the six regions for which it was possible to fit the OPR, we find values significantly greater than 3, the maximum value for local thermodynamic equilibrium. To our knowledge, although predicted theoretically, this is the first time that OPR significantly >3 has been measured in interstellar gas. We find that an OPR tends to increase with decreasing H2 column density, consistent with the expected effects of self-shielding in advancing photodissociation fronts. The population diagrams are consistent with H nucleon densities of ∼105 cm−3, and an interstellar radiation field scaling factor, G0, of ∼103. This warm, dense H2 gas coexists with the same highly ionized gas that emits [O IV] and [Ne V]. Emission from T ≳ 50 K dust is detected, including an as-yet-unidentified dust emission feature near 14 μm; possible identification of Al2O3 is discussed. The continuum emission from several regions requires that a considerable fraction of the refractory elements be incorporated in dust. Despite stacking spectra in the SE where H2 is found, no significant emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is detected.

Abstract:

ABSTRACT Broad-band mid-infrared (MIR) imaging with high-spatial resolution is useful to study extended dust structures in the circumnuclear regions of nearby active galactic nuclei. However, broad-band imaging filters cannot distinguish dust continuum emission from emission lines, and so accounting for the emission line contamination becomes crucial in studying extended dust in these environments. This paper uses Cycle 1 MIR imaging from the James Webb Space Telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument (JWST/MIRI) and spectroscopy from the Medium-Resolution Spectrometer (JWST/MRS) for 11 local Seyfert galaxies, as part of the Galactic Activity, Torus and Outflow Survey (GATOS). Three of the objects (NGC 3081, NGC 5728, and NGC 7172) exist in both data sets, allowing direct measurement of the line emission using the spectroscopy for these objects. We find that extended MIR emission persists on scales of 100 s of parsecs after the removal of contamination from emission lines. Further, the line contamination levels vary greatly between objects (from 5 per cent to 30 per cent in the F1000W filter), and across filters, so cannot be generalized across a sample and must be carefully treated for each object and band. We also test methods to estimate the line contamination when only MRS spectroscopy or MIRI imaging is available, using pre-JWST ancillary data. We find that these methods estimate the contamination within 10 percentage points. This paper serves as a useful guide for methods to quantify and mitigate for emission line contamination in MIRI broad-band imaging.