X-rays as the dominant excitation mechanism of [Fe ii] and H2 emission lines in active galaxies

Author： Dors   Jr Oli L.   Riffel Rogemar A.   Cardaci Mónica V.   Hägele Guillermo F.   Krabbe Ângela C.   Pérez-Montero Enrique   Rodrigues Irapuan  

Publisher： Oxford University Press

ISSN： 0035-8711

Source： Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol.422, Iss.1, 2012-05, pp. : 252-260

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Abstract

ABSTRACTWe investigate the excitation mechanisms of near-infrared [Fe ii] and H2 emission lines observed in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We built a photoionization model grid considering a two-component continuum: one component accounts for the ‘big bump’ component peaking at 1 Ryd and another represents the X-ray source that dominates the continuum emission at high energies. Photoionization models considering as ionizing source a spectral energy distribution obtained from photometric data of Seyert 2 Mrk 1066 taken from the literature were considered. Results of these models were compared with a large sample of observational long-slit and Integral field Unit (IFU) spectroscopy data of the nuclear region for a sample of active objects. We found that the correlation between the observational [Fe ii]λ 1.2570 μm/Paβ and m/Brγ is well reproduced by our models, as are the relationships that involve the H2 emission-line ratios observed in the spectroscopic data. We conclude that heating by X-rays produced by active nuclei can be considered a common and very important mechanism of excitation of [Fe ii] and H2.

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