arXiv subjects

Justin H. Robinson

Publications and source records attributed to Justin H. Robinson.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

On the Tully-Fisher Relation for Active Galaxies -- I: Evidence of Larger Scatter

We present an investigation of the Tully-Fisher (TF) relation solely for galaxies hosting an active galactic nucleus (AGN). Using 22 galaxies with primary, z-independent distances, we find that active galaxies exhibit significantly larger scatter about all TF relations compared to each respective calibration for (largely) inactive galaxies. The larger scatter persists despite removal of the AGN contamination from the photometry of the Type 1 AGNs via 1) careful surface brightness decompositions or 2) employing SEDs to constrain the light contribution of the AGN. These results suggest that the influence of an AGN on its host galaxy's surface brightness may extend beyond the nucleus. We also calculate the percentage difference between TF and primary distances, and find that TF-based distances are biased towards overestimation of the primary distances to active galaxies by anywhere from 5-10 percent for the optical/near-infrared and approximately 15 percent for distances predicted from inverting the Baryonic TF (BTF) relation. As TF-based distances (especially the I-band) are relied on heavily for analysis and modeling of the local peculiar velocity (Vpec) field, we suggest that active galaxies be removed from future Vpec modeling samples.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Investigating the Narrow Line Region Dynamics in Nearby Active Galaxies

We present dynamical models of the narrow line region (NLR) outflows in the nearby Seyfert galaxies Mrk 3, Mrk 78, NGC 1068, and NGC 4151 using observations from the Hubble Space Telescope and Apache Point Observatory. We employ long-slit spectroscopy to map the spatially-resolved outflow and rotational velocities of the ionized gas. We also perform surface brightness decompositions of host galaxy images to constrain the enclosed stellar mass distributions as functions of distance from the supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Assuming that the NLR gas is accelerated by AGN radiation pressure, and subsequently decelerated by the host galaxy and SMBH gravitational potentials, we derive outflow velocity profiles where the gas is launched in situ at multiple distances from the SMBH. We find a strong correlation between the turnover (from acceleration to deceleration) radii from our models, with the turnovers seen in the observed velocities and spatially-resolved mass outflow rates for the AGN with bolometric luminosities $>$ 10$^{44}$ erg sec$^{-1}$. This consistency indicates that radiation pressure is the dominant driving mechanism behind the NLR outflows in these moderate-luminosity AGN, with a force multiplier $\sim$500 yielding the best agreement between the modeled and observed turnover radii. However, in Meena2021 we found that this trend may not hold at lower luminosities, where our modeled turnover distance for NGC 4051 is much smaller than in the observed kinematics. This result may indicate that either additional force(s) are responsible for accelerating the NLR outflows in low-luminosity AGN, or higher spatial resolution observations are required to quantify their turnover radii.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Tully-Fisher Distances and Dynamical Mass Constraints for 24 Host Galaxies of Reverberation-Mapped AGN

We present Tully-Fisher distances for 24 AGN host galaxies with black hole mass ($M_\textrm{BH}$) measurements from reverberation mapping, as well as the first calibration of the $V-$band Tully-Fisher relation. Combining our measurements of HI 21cm emission with $HST$ and ground-based optical and near-infrared images allows multiple distance measurements for 19 galaxies and single measurements for the remaining 5. Separation of the nucleus from its host galaxy via surface brightness decomposition yields galaxy-only luminosities, thus allowing measurements of the distance moduli free of contamination from the AGN. For 14 AGN hosts, these are the first reported distances independent of redshift, and hence independent of peculiar velocities. For the remaining galaxies, we show good agreement between our distances and those previously reported from surface brightness fluctuations (SBF) and Cepheids. We also determine the total galaxy mass enclosed within the estimated HI radius, which when compared to the baryonic content allows for constraints on the dark matter masses. We find a typical mass fraction of $M_{\textrm{DM}}$/$M_{\textrm{DYN}}$ = 62\%, and find significant correlations between $M_{\textrm{BH}}$ $-$ $M_{\textrm{DYN}}$ and $M_{\textrm{BH}}$ $-$ $M_{\textrm{DM}}$. Finally, we scale our galaxy radii based on estimated relationships between visible and halo radii and assume a flat rotation curve out to the halo radius to approximate $M_{\textrm{HALO}}$. Over the range of $M_{\textrm{BH}}$ and $M_{\textrm{HALO}}$ in this sample, we find good agreement with observationally-constrained relationships between $M_{\textrm{BH}}$ and $M_{\textrm{HALO}}$ and with hydrodynamical simulations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

HI Spectroscopy of Reverberation-Mapped Active Galactic Nuclei

We present HI 21 cm spectroscopy from the GBT for the host galaxies of 31 nearby AGNs with direct M$_{\textrm{BH}}$ measurements from reverberation mapping. These are the first published HI detections for 12 galaxies, and the spectral quality is generally an improvement over archival data for the remainder of the sample. We present measurements of emission-line fluxes, velocity widths, and recessional velocities from which we derive HI mass, total gas mass, and redshifts. Combining M$_{\textrm{GAS}}$ with constraints on M$_{\textrm{STARS}}$ allows exploration of the baryonic content of these galaxies. We find a typical M$_{\textrm{GAS}}$/M$_{\textrm{STARS}}$ fraction of 10%, with a few reaching $\sim$30-50%. We also examined several relationships between M$_{\textrm{STARS}}$, M$_{\textrm{GAS}}$, M$_{\textrm{BH}}$, baryonic mass, and morphological type. We find a weak preference for galaxies with larger M$_{\textrm{GAS}}$ to host more massive black holes. We also find gas-to-stellar fractions to weakly correlate with later types in unbarred spirals, with an approximately constant fraction for barred spirals. Consistent with previous studies, we find declining M$_{\textrm{GAS}}$/M$_{\textrm{STARS}}$ with increasing M$_{\textrm{STARS}}$, with a slope suggesting the gas reservoirs have been replenished. Finally, we find a clear relationship for M$_{\textrm{BH}}$-M$_{\textrm{BARY}}$ with a similar slope as M$_{\textrm{BH}}$-M$_{\textrm{STARS}}$ reported by Bentz & Manne-Nicholas (2018). The dwarf Seyfert NGC 4395 appears to follow this relationship as well, even though it has a significantly higher gas fraction and smaller M$_{\textrm{BH}}$ than the remainder of our sample.

astro-ph.GA↗