IRAS observations of extragalactic objects are analyzed, supplemented by optical spectroscopy and 10 μm photometry. The relationship between various forms of activity in the nuclei of spiral galaxies and their mid- to far-infrared spectral energy distributions is explored. It is shown that more than 70% of galaxies with F₆₀/F₂₅ ≤ 3 are Seyferts, while the remainder have bright optical emission lines in their nuclear spectra. It is argued that most Seyferts are powered by their active nuclei at 25 μm, while there is some indication that Seyferts with large F₆₀/F₂₅ flux ratios are undergoing starbursts in the vicinity of their nuclei. The properties of a sample of bright, extragalactic IRAS sources are studied. A catalog containing total infrared and blue fluxes, distance estimates, recession velocities, and morphological classifications for these objects is presented. The brightest sources at mid- to far-infrared wavelengths are (in order of frequency) nearby, normal spiral galaxies; galaxies with disturbed or irregular morphology (often known as interacting galaxies); type 2 Seyferts; and dust-embedded type 1 Seyferts. All of these sources are dominated by thermal emission from dust. The dust in the peculiar, irregular, and Seyfert galaxies is exposed to a higher mean intensity of radiation. Moreover, these IR-active galaxies tend to have strong, compact nuclear sources at 11 μm, whether or not they contain a known Seyfert nucleus. The distinctive spectral behavior of IR-luminous galaxies is shown to result from the presence of compact, dust-dominated IR nuclear sources, which are the predominant cause of IR luminosities above 10¹¹ L(⊙). Compact IR sources are always associated with a dust-embedded region of ionized gas in the galaxy's nucleus, which may exhibit Seyfert, LINER, or H II region characteristics. The luminosity of the compact nuclear source is well correlated with its 60/100 μm color. This relationship is a vital clue to the nature of these sources and has potential application as a standard candle.

Our aim in this thesis is to use the clustering of QSOs to investigate large- scale structure and cosmology. We are particularly concerned with estimating the cosmological parameters which govern the evolution of structure in the Universe. We first investigate how QSOs trace the distribution of 'normal' galaxies by measuring the correlation between a sample of ~ 150 QSOs and faint, b(_j) < 23 galaxies. At z < 1.5 we find that the cross-correlation amplitude is marginally negative. This low signal clearly rules out models in which QSOs inhabit rich environments. The environments of QSOs are more similar to those of average galaxies. The slight negative correlation can be explained by gravitational lensing, but this has no effect on our conclusions concerning QSO environments. We determine the clustering properties of a combined sample of > 1500 QSOs including the LBQS and Durham/AAT QSO surveys. This data set has a clustering amplitude Ɛ(10 h(^-1) Mpc) = 0.83 ± 0.29 for Ωₒ = 1 at z = 1.27. On ~ 100 – 1000 h(^-1) Mpc scales the limit on detected signals in Ɛ is ±0.025. A model of clustering evolution which includes the effect of bias was used to compare QSO clustering to the clustering of low redshift galaxies and Seyfert galaxies. If Seyferts and QSOs are similarly clustered, then the data prefer a low Ωₒ or high bias for QSOs and galaxies. In contrast, comparisons to the CMB measurements of COBE assuming a CDM-type power spectrum suggest low bias. This might be taken as evidence for low do, but the data is still consistent with Ωₒ = 1 and b(_gp) ~ b(gp) ~ 2..We consider the possibility that nearby galaxy clusters can gravitationally lense background QSOs. We apply the lensing hypothesis to the result of Boyle et al., (1988) and find that cluster masses required are too large. A small dust component could retrieve the lensing model and allow more reasonable mass estimates for clusters from this method. The requirement for a new, deep, wide-field, QSO survey is clear. We discuss the construction of the candidate catalogue for the 2dF QSO Redshift Survey, which will contain ~ 25000 QSOs. We calibrate the photographic plates used for the candidate catalogue and assess the sources of errors and incompleteness. From preliminary spectroscopic observations we conclude that the completeness of the 2dF catalogue is ~ 71.1 ± 7.1%, compared with an estimated completeness of ~ 80%. We propose to substantially increase the catalogue completeness (to ~ 90%), by the introduction of UKST r plates into our candidate catalogue.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Physics and Mathematical Physics, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (8 p. ).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

It has become increasingly clear that a complete picture of galaxy evolution requires a better understanding of the role of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). In particular, they could be responsible for regulating star formation and galaxy growth via feedback processes. There are also competing views about the main modes of stellar growth and supermassive black hole growth in galaxies that need to be resolved. With high infrared luminosities (thus star formation rates) and a frequent occurrence of AGN, galaxies selected in the far-infrared wavebands form an ideal sample to search for a connection between AGN and star formation. The first part of this thesis contains a detailed analysis of the molecular gas properties of nearby infrared luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs and ULIRGs). We find that the enhanced molecular gas density in the most IR-luminous systems can be explained by major galaxy mergers, and that AGN are more likely to reside in higher-density systems. While the frequent concurrence of AGN and galaxy mergers in ULIRGs was already established, this work provides a coherent framework that explains trends observed with five molecular gas tracers with a broad range of critical densities, and a comparison with simulations that reproduce observed molecular line ratios without invoking AGN-induced chemistry. The second part of the thesis presents an analysis of the AGN content of intermediate redshift galaxies (0.3<z<1). However, identifying complete AGN samples at these redshift is challenging because it is difficult to find X-ray weak or absorbed AGN. To alleviate this problem, we developed the Mass-Excitation (MEx) diagram, which is applicable out to redshift of 1 with existing optical spectra. It improves the overall AGN census by detecting AGN that are missed in even the most sensitive X-ray surveys. The new diagnostic was used to study the concurrence of star formation and AGN in 70 micron-selected galaxies from the Far-Infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy survey. When multiple AGN diagnostics are combined, we find not only a high AGN fraction in FIR-selected galaxies (as high as for nearby FIR-selected galaxies), but a high incidence of X-ray absorbed AGN. These findings may have considerable implications for current views about the main mode of AGN growth.

Narrow Line Type-1 Seyfert active galaxies can exhibit a high degree of variability in the X-ray regime. This thesis examines that variability in the context of reverberation models, in which a flare in activity has an extended, energy dependent, response. A novel method is developed for estimating the response function in different energy bands. This method is then applied to three AGN: Ark 564, 1H 0707{495, and NGC 4051. The striking evidence for reverberation revealed in Ark 564 leads to a more thorough examination of that object, combining spectral and temporal approaches to develop a plausible physical model for its behaviour. The preferred model is one in which the reverberation is due to scattering from hot Comptonizing material approximately 1500 light-seconds from the central source. This conclusion is reinforced by a simulation of the angular dependence of reflection by Comptonizing gas.

Includes bibliographical references (8 p.) Examines some of the consequences of the acceleration and production, and propagation, of high energy electrons and positrons in the Galaxy. In particular, predictions are made of the diffuse photon signals arising from the interactions of electrons and positrons with gas, low energy photons, and the galactic magnetic field during their transport in the Galaxy.

The question as to whether the distribution of radio loudness in active galactic nuclei (AGN) is actually bimodal has been discussed extensively in the literature. Furthermore, there have been claims that radio loudness depends on black hole mass and Eddington ratio. We investigate these claims using the low redshift broad line AGN sample of Greene & Ho 2007, which consists of 8434 objects at z < 0.35 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Fourth Data Release. We obtained radio fluxes from the Very Large Array Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters (FIRST) survey for the SDSS AGN. Out of the 8434 SDSS AGN, 846 have radio emission within 4" of the optical counterpart and are considered to be core emission. We also perform a systematic search for extended emission in FIRST that can be positively associated with the optical counterparts and find 51 out of the 846 previously detected core sources have extended emission that must be taken into account when calculating the total radio luminosity. Further, we find an additional 12 objects that have extended radio emission but no detectable radio core and have classic FR II type morphologies. Using these data, the question of radio bimodality and the dependence of radio-loudness on physical parameters are investigated for different subsets of the total sample. We find modest trends in the radio-loud fraction as a function of black hole mass and Eddington ratio, where the fraction of RL AGN increases for the largest black hole mass group and decreases with increasing Eddington ratio. With extended emission taken into account, we find strong evidence for a bimodal distribution in radio-loudness, where the lower radio luminosity core-only sources appear as a population separate from the extended sources with a dividing line at log(R) = 1.75. This dividing line is interesting in that it requires the radio luminosity to be 50 times the optical luminosity, ensuring that these are indeed the most RL AGN, which may have different or extreme physical conditions in their central engines when compared to the more numerous radio quiet AGN in this sample.

Includes bibliographical references (8 p.) / ix, 173, [8] p. : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Examines some of the consequences of the acceleration and production, and propagation, of high energy electrons and positrons in the Galaxy. In particular, predictions are made of the diffuse photon signals arising from the interactions of electrons and positrons with gas, low energy photons, and the galactic magnetic field during their transport in the Galaxy. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Physics and Mathematical Physics, 1999