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 The K-band properties of Seyfert 2 galaxiesAims. It is well known that the [O iii]λ5007 emission line andhard X-ray (2-10 keV) luminosities are good indicators of AGN activitiesand that the near and mid-infrared emission of AGN originates fromre-radiation of dusty clouds heated by the UV/optical radiation from theaccretion disk. In this paper we present a study of the near-infraredK-band (2.2 μm) properties for a sample of 65 Seyfert 2 galaxies. Methods: .By using the AGN/Bulge/Disk decomposition technique, weanalyzed the 2MASS K_S-band images for Seyfert 2 galaxies in order toderive the K_S-band magnitudes for the central engine, bulge, and diskcomponents. Results: .We find that the K_S-band magnitudes of thecentral AGN component in Seyfert 2 galaxies are tightly correlated withthe [O iii]λ5007 and the hard X-ray luminosities, which suggeststhat the AGN K-band emission is also an excellent indicator of thenuclear activities at least for Seyfert 2 galaxies. We also confirm thegood relation between the central black hole masses and bulge's K-bandmagnitudes for Seyfert 2s. Extragalactic H_2O masers and X-ray absorbing column densitiesHaving conducted a search for the λ 1.3 cm (22 GHz) water vaporline towards galaxies with nuclear activity, large nuclear columndensities or high infrared luminosities, we present H2O spectra for NGC2273, UGC 5101, and NGC 3393 with isotropic luminosities of 7, 1500, and400 Lȯ. The H2O maser in UGC 5101 is by far the mostluminous yet found in an ultraluminous infrared galaxy. NGC 3393 revealsthe classic spectrum of a "disk maser", represented by three distinctgroups of Doppler components. As in all other known cases except NGC4258, the rotation velocity of the putative masing disk is well below1000 km s-1. Based on the literature and archive data, X-rayabsorbing column densities are compiled for the 64 galaxies withreported maser sources beyond the Magellanic Clouds. For NGC 2782 andNGC 5728, we present Chandra archive data that indicate the presence ofan active galactic nucleus in both galaxies. Modeling the hard nuclearX-ray emission, NGC 2782 is best fit by a high energy reflectionspectrum with NH  1024 cm-2. ForNGC 5728, partial absorption with a power law spectrum indicatesNH 8 × 1023 cm-2. Thecorrelation between absorbing column and H2O emission is analyzed. Thereis a striking difference between kilo- and megamasers with megamasersbeing associated with higher column densities. All kilomasers (L_H_2O< 10 Lȯ) except NGC 2273 and NGC 5194 areCompton-thin, i.e. their absorbing columns are <1024cm-2. Among the H{2}O megamasers, 50% arise fromCompton-thick and 85% from heavily obscured (>1023cm-2) active galactic nuclei. These values are not larger butconsistent with those from samples of Seyfert 2 galaxies not selected onthe basis of maser emission. The similarity in column densities can beexplained by small deviations in position between maser spots andnuclear X-ray source and a high degree of clumpiness in thecircumnuclear interstellar medium. Supermassive Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei: Past, Present and Future ResearchThis review discusses the current status of supermassive black holeresearch, as seen from a purely observational standpoint. Since theearly ‘90s, rapid technological advances, most notably the launchof the Hubble Space Telescope, the commissioning of the VLBA andimprovements in near-infrared speckle imaging techniques, have not onlygiven us incontrovertible proof of the existence of supermassive blackholes, but have unveiled fundamental connections between the mass of thecentral singularity and the global properties of the host galaxy. It isthanks to these observations that we are now, for the first time, in aposition to understand the origin, evolution and cosmic relevance ofthese fascinating objects. New H2O masers in Seyfert and FIR bright galaxiesUsing the Effelsberg 100-m telescope, detections of four extragalacticwater vapor masers are reported. Isotropic luminosities are ~50, 1000, 1and 230 Lȯ for Mrk 1066 (UGC 2456), Mrk 34, NGC 3556 andArp 299, respectively. Mrk 34 contains by far the most distant and oneof the most luminous water vapor megamasers so far reported in a Seyfertgalaxy. The interacting system Arp 299 appears to show two maserhotspots separated by approximately 20´´. With these newresults and even more recent data from Braatz et al. (2004, ApJ, 617,L29), the detection rate in our sample of Seyferts with known jet-NarrowLine Region interactions becomes 50% (7/14), while in star forminggalaxies with high (S100~μ m>50 Jy) far infrared fluxesthe detection rate is 22% (10/45). The jet-NLR interaction sample maynot only contain “jet-masers” but also a significant numberof accretion “disk-masers” like those seen in NGC 4258. Astatistical analysis of 53 extragalactic H2O sources (excluding theGalaxy and the Magellanic Clouds) indicates (1) that the correlationbetween IRAS Point Source and H2O luminosities, established forindividual star forming regions in the galactic disk, also holds forAGN-dominated megamaser galaxies; (2) that maser luminosities are notcorrelated with 60 μm/100 μm color temperatures; and (3) that onlya small fraction of the luminous megamasers (L_H_2O > 100Lȯ) detectable with 100-m sized telescopes have so farbeen identified. The H2O luminosity function (LF) suggests that thenumber of galaxies with 1 Lȯ < L_H_2O < 10Lȯ, the transition range between“kilomasers” (mostly star formation) and“megamasers” (active galactic nuclei), is small. The overallslope of the LF, ~-1.5, indicates that the number of detectable masersis almost independent of their luminosity. If the LF is not steepeningat very high maser luminosities and if it is possible to find suitablecandidate sources, H2O megamasers at significant redshifts should bedetectable even with present day state-of-the-art facilities. The star formation history of Seyfert 2 nucleiWe present a study of the stellar populations in the central ~200 pc ofa large and homogeneous sample comprising 79 nearby galaxies, most ofwhich are Seyfert 2s. The star formation history of these nuclei isreconstructed by means of state-of-the-art population synthesismodelling of their spectra in the 3500-5200 Åinterval. Aquasar-like featureless continuum (FC) is added to the models to accountfor possible scattered light from a hidden active galactic nucleus(AGN).We find the following. (1) The star formation history of Seyfert 2nuclei is remarkably heterogeneous: young starbursts, intermediate-ageand old stellar populations all appear in significant and widely varyingproportions. (2) A significant fraction of the nuclei show a strong FCcomponent, but this FC is not always an indication of a hidden AGN: itcan also betray the presence of a young, dusty starburst. (3) We detectweak broad Hβ emission in several Seyfert 2s after cleaning theobserved spectrum by subtracting the synthesis model. These are mostlikely the weak scattered lines from the hidden broad-line regionenvisaged in the unified model, given that in most of these casesindependent spectropolarimetry data find a hidden Seyfert 1. (4) The FCstrengths obtained by the spectral decomposition are substantiallylarger for the Seyfert 2s which present evidence of broad lines,implying that the scattered non-stellar continuum is also detected. (5)There is no correlation between the star formation in the nucleus andeither the central or overall morphology of the parent galaxies. The Discovery of H2O Maser Emission in Seven Active Galactic Nuclei and at High Velocities in the Circinus GalaxyWe report the discovery of H2O maser emission at 1.35 cmwavelength in seven active galactic nuclei (at distances of up to 80Mpc) during a survey conducted at the 70 m diameter antenna of the NASADeep Space Network near Canberra, Australia. The detection rate was ~4%.Two of the maser sources are particularly interesting because theydisplay satellite high-velocity emission lines, which are a signature ofemission from the accretion disks of supermassive black holes when seenedge-on. Three of the masers are coincident, to within uncertainties of0.2", with continuum emission sources that we observed at aboutλ=1.3 cm. We also report the discovery of new spectral featuresin the Circinus galaxy H2O maser that broaden the knownvelocity range of emission therein by a factor of ~1.7. If the newspectral features originate in the Circinus accretion disk, thenmolecular material must survive at radii ~3 times smaller than had beenbelieved previously (~0.03 pc or ~2×105 Schwarzschildradii). HYPERLEDA. II. The homogenized HI dataAfter a compilation of HI data from 611 references and new observationsmade in Nançay, we produce a catalog of homogenized HI data for16781 galaxies. The homogenization is made using the EPIDEMIC methodfrom which all data are progressively converted into the adoptedstandard. The result is a catalog giving: 1) the logarithm of twice themaximum rotation velocity, log 2V_Msin i, converted to thesystem of Mathewson et al. (\cite{Mathewson1996}). This quantity isgiven without correction for inclination; 2) the HI magnitude,m21, (area of the 21-cm line width expressed in magnitude)converted to the flux system of Theureau et al. (\cite{Theureau1998});3) the HI velocity, V_HI, expressed with the optical definition (i.e.,using wavelengths instead frequencies). The typical uncertainties are:0.04 for log 2V_Msin i, 0.25 mag for m21 and 9 kms-1 for V_HI.Full Tables \ref{epidemicw}, \ref{epidemicw2}, \ref{epidemicf},\ref{epidemicf2} and Fig. \ref{profiles} are available in electronicform at http://www.edpsciences.org. Full Tables \ref{references},\ref{cataf}, \ref{newdata} and \ref{notes} are available in electronicform at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5)or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/412/57 Stellar populations in Seyfert 2 galaxies. I. Atlas of near-UV spectraWe have carried out a uniform spectroscopic survey of Seyfert 2 galaxiesto study the stellar populations of the host galaxies. New spectra havebeen obtained for 79 Southern galaxies classified as Seyfert 2 galaxies,7 normal galaxies, and 73 stars at a resolution of 2.2 Å over thewavelength region 3500-5300 Å. Cross-correlation between thestellar spectra is performed to group the individual observations into44 synthesis standard spectra. The standard groups include a solarabundance sequence of spectral types from O5 to M3 for dwarfs, giants,and supergiants. Metal-rich and metal-weak F-K giants and dwarfs arealso included. A comparison of the stellar data with previouslypublished spectra is performed both with the individual spectra and thestandard groups. For each galaxy, two distinct spatial regions areconsidered: the nucleus and the external bulge. Spectroscopic variationsfrom one galaxy to another and from the central to the external regionare briefly discussed. It is found that the central region of a Seyfert2 galaxy, after subtracting the bulge stellar population, always shows anear-UV spectrum similar to one of three representative categories: a)many strong emission lines and only two visible absorption lines (Ca IiK and G band) (Sey2e); b) few emission lines, many absorption lines, anda redder continuum than the previous category (Sey2a); c) an almost flatcontinuum and high-order Balmer lines seen in absorption (Sey2b). Theproportion of Seyfert 2 galaxies belonging to each class is found to be22%, 28%, and 50% respectively. We find no significative differencesbetween morphology distributions of Seyfert 2 galaxies with Balmer linesdetected in absorption and the rest of the sample. This quick lookthrough the atlas indicates that half of Seyfert 2 galaxies harbour ayoung stellar population (about or less than 100 Myr) in their centralregion, clearly unveiled by the high order Balmer series seen inabsorption. Based on observations collected at the European SouthernObservatory, Chile (ESO 65.P-0014(A)). Tables 1-3 and 8 and Fig. A.1(Appendix A) are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of GroupsIn this paper we describe the Nearby Optical Galaxy (NOG) sample, whichis a complete, distance-limited (cz<=6000 km s-1) andmagnitude-limited (B<=14) sample of ~7000 optical galaxies. Thesample covers 2/3 (8.27 sr) of the sky (|b|>20deg) andappears to have a good completeness in redshift (97%). We select thesample on the basis of homogenized corrected total blue magnitudes inorder to minimize systematic effects in galaxy sampling. We identify thegroups in this sample by means of both the hierarchical and thepercolation friends-of-friends'' methods. The resulting catalogs ofloose groups appear to be similar and are among the largest catalogs ofgroups currently available. Most of the NOG galaxies (~60%) are found tobe members of galaxy pairs (~580 pairs for a total of ~15% of objects)or groups with at least three members (~500 groups for a total of ~45%of objects). About 40% of galaxies are left ungrouped (field galaxies).We illustrate the main features of the NOG galaxy distribution. Comparedto previous optical and IRAS galaxy samples, the NOG provides a densersampling of the galaxy distribution in the nearby universe. Given itslarge sky coverage, the identification of groups, and its high-densitysampling, the NOG is suited to the analysis of the galaxy density fieldof the nearby universe, especially on small scales. The Mass-to-Light Ratio of Binary GalaxiesWe report on the mass-to-light ratio determination based on a newlyselected binary galaxy sample, which includes a large number of pairswhose separations exceed a few hundred kpc. The probabilitydistributions of the projected separation and the velocity differencehave been calculated considering the contamination of optical pairs, andthe mass-to-light (M/L) ratio has been determined based on the maximumlikelihood method. The best estimate of the M/L in the B band for 57pairs is found to be 28-36 depending on the orbital parameters and thedistribution of optical pairs (solar unit: H_0=50 km s^-1 Mpc^-1). Thebest estimate of the M/L for 30 pure spiral pairs is found to be 12-16.These results are relatively smaller than those obtained in previousstudies but are consistent with each other within the errors. Althoughthe number of pairs with large separation is significantly increasedcompared with previous samples, the M/L does not show any tendency ofincrease but is found to be almost independent of the separation ofpairs beyond 100 kpc. The constancy of the M/L beyond 100 kpc mayindicate that the typical halo size of spiral galaxies is less than ~100kpc. An image database. II. Catalogue between δ=-30deg and δ=70deg.A preliminary list of 68.040 galaxies was built from extraction of35.841 digitized images of the Palomar Sky Survey (Paper I). For eachgalaxy, the basic parameters are obtained: coordinates, diameter, axisratio, total magnitude, position angle. On this preliminary list, weapply severe selection rules to get a catalog of 28.000 galaxies, wellidentified and well documented. For each parameter, a comparison is madewith standard measurements. The accuracy of the raw photometricparameters is quite good despite of the simplicity of the method.Without any local correction, the standard error on the total magnitudeis about 0.5 magnitude up to a total magnitude of B_T_=17. Significantsecondary effects are detected concerning the magnitudes: distance toplate center effect and air-mass effect. A comparative study of morphological classifications of APM galaxiesWe investigate the consistency of visual morphological classificationsof galaxies by comparing classifications for 831 galaxies from sixindependent observers. The galaxies were classified on laser print copyimages or on computer screen using scans made with the Automated PlateMeasuring (APM) machine. Classifications are compared using the RevisedHubble numerical type index T. We find that individual observers agreewith one another with rms combined dispersions of between 1.3 and 2.3type units, typically about 1.8 units. The dispersions tend to decreaseslightly with increasing angular diameter and, in some cases, withincreasing axial ratio (b/a). The agreement between independentobservers is reasonably good but the scatter is non-negligible. In spiteof the scatter, the Revised Hubble T system can be used to train anautomated galaxy classifier, e.g. an artificial neural network, tohandle the large number of galaxy images that are being compiled in theAPM and other surveys. CCD calibration of the magnitude scale for the SSRS2 sample: The equatorial regionIn this paper we continue our investigation on the isophotal nature,accuracy, and uniformity of the magnitude system adopted in the SouthernSky Redshift Survey extension (SSRS2). Extending our earlier work, weexamine galaxies in the equatorial region, primarily in the declinationrange delta greater than or equal to -17.5 deg and less than or equal to0 deg, over a large range of right ascension, covering the southern andnorthern Galactic caps. For this purpose, we have obtained CCD isophotalmagnitudes in the B and R bands for 265 galaxies of differentmorphological types. Using the larger sample we confirm our earlierclaim that the mSSRS2 magnitudes are very nearly themagnitude measured within the isophote muB = 26 mag/sqarcsec, with a dispersion of about 0.30 mag. The relative zero-pointoffset between our mSSRS2 magnitudes and the CCD photometryis -0.02 mag from all data we have obtained. However, we detect avariation of the zero-point across different regions of the sky of +/-0.10 mag for regions at large angular separations. We also estimate thatthe zero-point offset between the mSSRS2 and Zwicky systemsis relatively small (approximately 0.10 mag), which should allow us tocombine the data from the SSRS2 and the CfA2 Redshift Survey. Redshift observations in the Hydra-Centaurus regionThe paper reports 406 redshifts for galaxies in the northern galactichemisphere, south of delta = 0 deg. A substantial fraction of theobserved galaxies are located in the equatorial zone between deltavalues of -17.5 and 0 deg. By combining these new data with thoseavailable in the literature, it is possible to extend the original CfAredshift survey of galaxies brighter than m(B(0)) = 14.5 to b = 30 deg,south of delta = 0. New data taken at lower galactic latitudes alsocontribute to the existing surveys of the Hydra-Centaurus complex. Less probable IRR II candidateasThe paper presents a list of 89 less probable Irr candidates in whichthe presence of dust is suspected. In a commentary to this list, theshape of the galaxies is described and their location in relation toneighboring background galaxies is noted.
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