Title:
Uncovering the origin of activity in galaxies using
Integral Field Spectroscopy
Authors:
R. F. Pelletier
Abstract:
The conditions driving nuclear activity in galaxies are
being addressed, through the analysis of SAURON data dealing
with the gaseous kinematics on the 100-parsec scale in a sample
of nearby E and S0 galaxies. Comparing Active Galactic Nuclei, AGN,
with Inactive Galactic Nuclei, IGN -- isolating the active objects on
the basis of high resolution radio data -- significant differences in
the ionized gas kinematics are seen: almost uniformly the AGN stand
out as harbouring gas which is kinematically decoupled from the
stellar potential. It seems that active early-type galaxies can be subdivided
into two categories: radio-loud AGNs generally associated with massive
round ellipticals in the centers of clusters, and radio-quiet AGNs, objects
with fainter AGNs with strong evidence for infall of external gas.