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We present new optical and radio spectroscopic observations of the remarkable galaxy Malin 1. This galaxy has unique features that include an extremely low surface brightness disk with an enormous mass of neutral hydrogen, and a low luminosity Seyfert nucleus. Malin 1 is exceptional in its values of MHO, LB, and MHI /Ln, and modest in its surface mass density of gas and stars. Spirals with large Min /LB tend to have low mean column densities of HI, and are close to the threshold for star formation due to instabilities in a rotating gas disk. In these terms, Malin 1 has a disk with extremely inefficient star formation. The bulge spectrum is dominated by the absorption features of an old, metal rich stellar population, although there is some evidence for hot (young) stars. The emission line excitations and widths in the nucleus are typical of a Seyfert galaxy; but Malin 1 is in the lowest 5% of the luminosity function of Seyferts, despite a copious fuel supply. Malin 1 is in a low density region of the universe. We propose it as an unevolving disk galaxy, where the surface mass density is so low that the chemical composition and mass fraction in gas change very slowly over a Hubble time. Its properties are similar to those of the damped Lyman -a absorption systems seen in the spectra of high redshift quasars. We emphasize that there are strong observational selection effects against finding gas -rich galaxies that are both massive and diffuse. Finally, we suggest that large and massive HI disks may have formed as early as z - 2, and remained quiescent to the present day. Subject headings : individual (Malin 1) - galaxies : photometry - galaxies : Seyfert - galaxies : stellar content - radio sources : 21 cm radiation - stars : formation

A study of the Galactic Center stellar population is continuing with a sensitive 2μm CCD camera. Using a 64 x 64 detector array, background limited images are recorded with modest amounts of observing time (tob, 20 sec to reach K =13). Magnitudes have been extracted using DAOPHOT from repeated imaging of the central 5' x 5' to search among approximately 1500 stars for long period variables (LPV's, P > 200d), particularily Miras. Miras have a well defined period - luminosity relationship as well as one in period -mass. This program investigates the nature of highly luminous stars at the Galactic Center. Presently 12 variables have been found and have several characteristics consistant with Miras. They have a maximum bolometric luminosity of -4.4 mag which supports the case that high luminosity stars in the central 6 pc are young supergiants.

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are axisymmetric systems to first order; their observed properties are likely strong functions of inclination with respect to our line of sight. However, except for a few special cases, the specific inclinations of individual AGN are unknown. We have developed a promising technique for determining the inclinations of nearby AGN by mapping the kinematics of their narrow-line regions (NLRs), which are easily resolved with Hubble Space Telescope (HST) [O III] imaging and long-slit spectra from the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). Our studies indicate that NLR kinematics dominated by radial outflow can be fit with simple biconical outflow models that can be used to determine the inclination of the bicone axis, and hence the obscuring torus, with respect to our line of sight. We present NLR analysis of 52 Seyfert galaxies and resultant inclinations from models of 17 individual AGN with clear signatures of biconical outflow. From these AGN, we can for the first time assess the effect of inclination on other observable properties in radio-quiet AGN, including the discovery of a distinct correlation between AGN inclination and X-ray column density.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Astrophysics and Astronomy, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on July 6, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-141). Also issued in print.

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) ubiquitously show outflows. It is now widely recognized that these outflows are key components in the evolution of super-massive black holes and their host galaxies. As important as these outflows are, we still lack sufficient understanding of their structure and energetics. The majority of the work presented in this thesis involved photoionization modeling of AGN outflows along with analysis of density diagnostics in order to determine the distances and energetics of observed outflows. The main findings of these analyses are that 1) outflows are often at distances of hundreds to thousands of parsecs from the central supermassive black hole and 2) quasars outflows can be sufficiently powerful to provide feedback in galactic evolution scenarios. We also find in some cases that the recombination timescales of metal ions are long compared with the flux variability timescales. The large distances we find provide a challenge to current outflow models. For example, these outflows cannot be connected with an accretion disk surrounding the supermassive black hole as assumed in some models. Furthermore, the outflows may be out of equilibrium as we find in Mrk 509. In this case, a thorough understanding of time-dependent photoionization effects is necessary. In this thesis, I include early steps toward understanding time-dependent photoionization as well as ionization studies of accretion disk winds. The main results of these theoretical studies is that 1) the appearance of multiple ionization components in an outflow can be an artifact of the incorrect assumption that the outflow is in ionization equilibrium and 2) the shielding gas required in accretion-disk-wind models should have a clear signature in UV spectra, but none has been observed to date. / Ph. D.

It has become clear in recent years that the study of interacting/merging galaxies plays an important role in understanding important astrophysical phenomena. This thesis presents an observational study of interacting/merging galaxies at radio frequencies. The observations have been carried out at extremely high resolution using very long baseline interferometry. The observations described here include: (1) A study of the high velocity Hi absorption associated with the peculiar galaxy NGC 1275; (2) A study of the radio continuum and Hi absorption of the ULIRG IRAS 172080014; (3) A study of the radio continuum and Hi absorption of the LIRG NGC 7674. Some of the most prominent results of these observations include: Detection of several narrow Hi absorption features in the high velocity system associated with NGC 1275. These Hi absorption lines were observed toward the strong radio nucleus 3C 84. The results indicate the existence of several Hi clouds with velocity differences and widths similar to those seen in Galactic neutral hydrogen absorption and similar to some of the Hi absorption seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The discovery of an extreme nuclear starburst region in the advanced merger system IRAS 172080014. Our results suggest a star formation rate of 84 M yr-1, and a supernova rate of 4 yr-1. Hi absorption is detected in multiple components with optical depths ranging between 0.3 and 2.5, and velocity widths between 58 and 232 km s-1. The detection of complex jet structures in the inner 1 kpc region of the galaxy NGC 7674. At full resolution, several compact sources are observed with brightness temperatures on the order of 107 K. While it is possible that one of these compact structures could host an AGN, they could also be shock-like features formed by the interaction of the jet with compact interstellar clouds in the nuclear region of this galaxy. At least eight Hi absorption lines are detected toward some of the continuum emission regions in NGC 7674. If the widest Hi feature in our observations is rotationally broadened by a central supermassive black hole, the implied dynamical mass is about 107 M.

The recent discovery of a new population of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) – the Radio Loud Narrow Line Seyfert 1 (RL NLS1) galaxies – at g-ray energies by Fermi has prompted intense interest among researchers, as evidence mounts that these objects may in fact compose a new class of blazars. If RL NLS1s are indeed a new class of blazars, or at least analogous to them, then the detection of certain blazar-like properties would be expected. These properties include significant variability at all wavelengths across the electromagnetic spectrum and on timescales from minutes to years, significant & variable polarization in the radio and optical regimes, significant & variable high-energy emissions (especially in the g-ray regime), and a double-peaked structure of their spectral energy distributions. This dissertation seeks to characterize several of these properties for RL NLS1s as a class. These include the degree to which these objects are polarized and the variability of this property, the detection and characterization of these sources at g-ray energies with the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi spacecraft, and the degree to which these properties are interdependent. A photopolarimetric survey (the first of its kind for this class of objects) and g-ray monitoring program were conducted by the author in order to obtain the data necessary for this project. The measurements obtained via these observations are used to characterize this interesting class of objects with respect to a sample of blazars. In general, it was found that the polarizations of these objects fall between radio-quiet NLS1s and FSRQ-type blazars, and were most similar to HBL-type blazars. The 7 RL NLS1s in this sample that had been detected above a Test Statistic (TS) of 25 by Fermi/LAT were most similar to FSRQs, while 9 objects detected in the interval 9 < TS < 25 shared several properties with HBLs. Two RL NLS1s - J1443+4725 and J1644+2619 - are identified as high-confidence (TS > 25) g-ray sources for the first time, bringing the total number of members of this class firmly detected at g-ray energies to 8. The gamma-ray spectra of RL NLS1s are similar to FSRQs, though some have steeper spectra.

We focus on determining the underlying physical cause of a Seyfert galaxy's appearance as type a 1.8 or 1.9. Are these "intermediate" Seyfert types typical Seyfert 1 nuclei reddened by central dusty tori or by nuclear dust lanes/spirals in the narrow-line region? Or, are they similar to NGC 2992, objects that have intrinsically weak continua and weak broad emission lines? Our study compares measurements of the reddenings of the narrow and broad-line regions with each other and with the X-ray column derived from XMM Newton 0.5-10 keV spectra to determine the presence and location of dust in the line of sight for a sample of 35 Seyfert 1.8s and 1.9s. From this, we find that Seyfert 1.9s are an almost equal mix of low-flux objects with unreddened broad line regions, and objects with broad line regions reddened by an internal dust source, either the torus or dust structures on the same size scale as the narrow line region. The 1.9s that recieved this designation due to a low continuum flux state showed variable type classifications. All three of the Seyfert 1.8s in our study are probably in low continuum states. Many objects have been misclassified as Seyfert 1.8/1.9s in the past, probably due to improper [N II]/H-alpha deconvolution leading to a false detection of weak broad H-alpha.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio University, August, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-185).