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Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph Long-Slit Spectroscopy of the Narrow-Line Region of NGC 4151Long-slit spectra of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151 from the UV to the near-infrared have been obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) to study the kinematics and physical conditions in the narrow-line region (NLR). The kinematics shows evidence for three components, a low-velocity system in normal disk rotation, a high-velocity system in radial outflow at a few hundred kilometers per second relative to the systemic velocity, and an additional high-velocity system also in outflow with velocities up to 1400 km s(-l), in agreement with results from STIS slitless spectroscopy. We have explored two simple kinematic models and suggest that radial outflow in the form of a wind is the most likely explanation. We also present evidence indicating that the wind may be decelerating with distance from the nucleus. We find that the emission-line ratios along our slits are all entirely consistent with photoionization from the nuclear continuum source. A decrease in the ratios [O III] lambda 5007/H beta and [O III] lambda 5007/[O II] lambda 3727 suggests that the density decreases with distance from the nucleus. This trend is borne out by the [S II] ratios as well. We find no strong evidence for interaction between the radio jet and the NLR gas in either the kinematics or the emission-line ratios, in agreement with the recent results of Kaiser et al., who found no spatial coincidence of NLR clouds and knots in the radio jet. These results are in contrast to other recent studies of nearby active galactic nuclei that find evidence for significant interaction between the radio source and the NLR gas.
Document ID
20040182257
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Nelson, C. H.
(Nevada Univ. Las Vegas, NV, United States)
Weistrop, D.
(Nevada Univ. Las Vegas, NV, United States)
Hutchinson, J. B.
(Dominion Astrophysical Observatory Victoria, British Columbia, Canada)
Crenshaw, D. M.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Gull, T. R.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Kaiser, M. E.
(Johns Hopkins Univ. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Kraemer, S. B.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Lindler, D.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 22, 2013
Publication Date
March 1, 2003
Publication Information
Publication: The Astrophysical Journal
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Volume: 531
Subject Category
Astronomy
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-31231
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-26555
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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