Bibcode
Robinson, A.; Vila-Vilaro, B.; Axon, D. J.; Perez, E.; Wagner, S. J.; Baum, S. A.; Boisson, C.; Durret, F.; Gonzalez-Delgado, R.; Moles, M.; Masegosa, J.; O'Brien, P. T.; O'Dea, C.; del Olmo, A.; Pedlar, A.; Penston, M. V.; Perea, J.; Perez-Fournon, I.; Rodriguez-Espinosa, J. M.; Tadhunter, C.; Terlevich, R. J.; Unger, S. W.; Ward, M. J.
Bibliographical reference
Astronomy and Astrophysics (ISSN 0004-6361), vol. 291, no. 2, p. 351-391
Advertised on:
11
1994
Citations
69
Refereed citations
63
Description
We present high quality long-slit spectra of the extended narrow line
region (ENLR) near the nucleus of NGC 4151. We have used these data to
map the spatial variations of the emission line intensities along three
slit positions: one passing radially through the nucleus along the main
NE-SW axis of the ENLR and two across this axis at offsets center on
bright knots 6 sec and 11 sec to the SW, respectively. We find that,
with the exception of some isolated H II regions, all the emitting
regions samples by our spectra have line intensities characteristic of
photoionization by an active galactic nuclei AGN-like continuum source.
Along the radial axis, there is a clear discontinuity at the boundary
between the nuclear narrow line region and the ENLR, where a factor
approximately 10 drop in gas density coincides with a corresponding
increase in the ionization level. Beyond this point there is an overal
decline in ionization along the ENLR, while the gas density remains
constant. The radial ionization structure is thus broadly consistent
with geometrical dilution of a centrally located ionizing continuum
source, presumably the active galactic nucleus. Taken together with the
kinematics and morphology, these results strongly support the hypothesis
that the ENLR arises from photoionization of gas in the galactic disk by
an anisotropic radiation field produced by the active nucleus. It is
also difficult to reconcile with the morphology of the nuclear narrow
line region as revealed by Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images, if this
is due solely to anisotropic illumination by the radiation field.
However, it is more likely that the configuration of the emitting gas in
the nucleus is the product of interactions with the radio ejecta.