A B S T R A C TWe have observed emission from the nucleus of the closest radio galaxy, Centaurus A, from the radio to the gamma-ray band. We construct, for the first time, its overall spectral energy distribution (SED) which appears to be intriguingly similar to those of blazars, showing two broad peaks located in the far-infrared band and at ,0.1 MeV respectively. The whole nuclear emission of Centaurus A is successfully reproduced with a synchrotron self-Compton model. The estimated physical parameters of the emitting source are similar to those of BL Lacs, except for a much smaller beaming factor, as qualitatively expected when a relativistic jet is orientated at a large angle to the line of sight. These results represent strong evidence that Centaurus A is indeed a misoriented BL Lac, and provide strong support in favour of the unification scheme for low-luminosity radio-loud active galactic nuclei. Modelling of the SED of Centaurus A also provides further and independent indications of the presence of velocity structures in sub-parsec-scale jets.

We have obtained long-slit observations of the circumnuclear region of M87 at three different locations, with a spatial sampling of 0. ′′ 028 using the Faint Object Camera f/48 spectrograph on board HST. These data allow us to determine the rotation curve of the inner ∼ 1 ′′ of the ionized gas disk in [O II]λ3727 to a distance as close as 0. ′′ 07 (≃ 5pc) to the dynamic center, thereby significantly improving on both the spatial resolution and coverage of previous FOS observations. We have modeled the kinematics of the gas under the assumption of the existence of both a central black hole and an extended central mass distribution, taking into account the effects of the instrumental PSF, the intrinsic luminosity distribution of the line, and the finite size of the slit. We find that the central mass must be concentrated within a sphere whose -2maximum radius is 0. ′′ 05 (≃3.5pc) and show that both the observed rotation curve and line profiles are consistent with a thin-disk in keplerian motion. We conclude that the most likely explanation for the observed motions is the presence of a supermassive black hole and derive a value of M BH = (3.2 ± 0.9)×10 9 M ⊙ for its mass.Subject headings: Galaxies -individual (M87); Galaxies -Seyfert; Galaxies -active; Black -Holes * Positions are nominally the same as the preceding ones but there was a small misplacement during observations.

In a previous paper we presented a homogeneous and 92% complete optical spectral dataset of the 3CR radio sources with redshift <0.3. Here we use the emission line measurements to explore the spectroscopic properties of the sample. The 3CR sources show a bimodal distribution of excitation index, a new spectroscopic indicator that measures the relative intensity of low and high excitation lines. This unveils the presence of two main sub-populations of radio-loud AGN to which we refer to, following previous studies, as high and low excitation galaxies (HEG and LEG, respectively). In addition to the two main classes, we find one source with a spectrum typical of star forming galaxies, and 3 objects of extremely low level of excitation. All broad-line objects are HEG from the point of view of their narrow emission line ratios and all HEG are FR II radio-galaxies with log L 178 [erg s −1 ] > ∼ 32.8. Conversely LEG cover the whole range of radio power encompassed by this 3CR subsample (30.7 < ∼ log L 178 < ∼ 35.4) and they are of both FR I and FR II type. The brightest LEG are all FR II. HEG and LEG obey to two (quasi) linear correlations between the optical line and extended radio luminosities, with HEG being brighter than LEG in the [O III] line by a factor of ∼10. HEG and LEG are offset also in a plane that compares the black hole mass and the ionizing nuclear luminosity. However, although HEG are associated with higher nuclear luminosities, we find LEG among the brightest radio sources of the sample and with a clear FR II morphology, indistinguishable from those seen in HEG. This suggests that LEG are not simply objects with a lower level of accretion. We speculate that the differences between LEG and HEG are related to a different mode of accretion: LEG are powered by hot gas, while HEG require the presence of cold accreting material. The high temperature of the accreting gas in LEG accounts for the lack of "cold" structures (i.e. molecular torus and broad line region), for the reduced radiative output of the accretion disk, and for the lower gas excitation.

We present the results of a pilot JVLA project aimed at studying the bulk of the radio-emitting AGN population, that was unveiled by the NVSS/FIRST and SDSS surveys. The key questions are related to the origin of their radio-emission and to its connection with the properties of their hosts. We obtained A-array observations at the JVLA at 1.4, 4.5, and 7.5 GHz for 12 sources, a small but representative subsample. The radio maps reveal compact unresolved or only slightly resolved radio structures on a scale of 1−3 kpc, with the one exception of a hybrid FR I/FR II source extended over ∼40 kpc. Thanks to either the new high-resolution maps or to the radio spectra, we isolated the radio core component in most of them. We split the sample into two groups. Four sources have low black hole (BH) masses (mostly ∼10 7 M ) and are hosted by blue galaxies, often showing evidence of a contamination from star formation to their radio emission, and are associated with radio-quiet (RQ) AGN. The second group consists in seven radio-loud (RL) AGN, which are located in red massive (∼10 11 M ) early-type galaxies, have high BH masses ( 10 8 M ), and are spectroscopically classified as low excitation galaxies (LEG). These are all characteristics typical of FR I radio galaxies. They also lie on the correlation between radio core power and [O III] line luminosity defined by FR Is. However, they are more core-dominated (by a factor of ∼30) than FR Is and show a deficit of extended radio emission. We dub these sources "FR 0" to emphasize their lack of prominent extended radio emission, which is their single distinguishing feature with respect to FR Is. The differences in radio properties between FR 0s and FR Is might be ascribed to an evolutionary effect, with the FR 0 sources undergoing rapid intermittency that prevents the growth of large-scale structures. However, this contrasts with the scenario in which low-luminosity radio-galaxies are fed by continuous accretion of gas from their hot coronae. In our preferred scenario the lack of extended radio emission in FR 0s is due to their lower jet Lorentz Γ factor with respect to FR Is. The slower jets in FR 0s are more subject to instabilities and entrainment, which causes their premature disruption.

We present a homogeneous and 92% complete dataset of optical nuclear spectra for the 113 3CR radio sources with redshifts <0.3, obtained with the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. For these sources we could obtain uniform and uninterrupted coverage of the key spectroscopic optical diagnostics. The observed sample, including powerful classical FR II radio-galaxies and FR I, together spanning four orders of magnitude in radio-luminosity, provides a broad representation of the spectroscopic properties of radio galaxies. In this first paper we present an atlas of the spectra obtained, provide measurements of the diagnostic emission line ratios, and identify active nuclei with broad line emission. These data will be used in follow-up papers to address the connection between the optical spectral characteristics and the multiwavelength properties of the sample.

We have used GMOS-IFU and high resolution HST-ACS observations to map, in unprecedented detail, the gas velocity field and structure within the 0.7 kpc circumnuclear ring of the SBb LINER/Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 1097. We find clear evidence of radial streaming motions associated with spiral structures leading to the unresolved (< 3.5 parsecs) nucleus, which we interpret as part of the fueling chain by which gas is transported to the nuclear starburst and supermassive black hole.

Abstract. A significant fraction of extended radio sources presents a peculiar X-shaped radio morphology: in addition to the classical double lobed structure, radio emission is also observed along a second axis of symmetry in the form of diffuse wings or tails. We re-examine the origin of these extensions relating the radio morphology to the properties of their host galaxies. The orientation of the wings shows a striking connection with the structure of the host galaxy as they are preferentially aligned with its minor axis. Furthermore, wings are only observed in galaxies of high projected ellipticity. Hydrodynamical simulations of the radio-source evolution show that X-shaped radio-sources naturally form in this geometrical situation: as a jet propagates in a non-spherical gas distribution, the cocoon surrounding the radio-jets expands laterally at a high rate producing wings of radio emission, in a way that is reminiscent of the twin-exhaust model for radio-sources.

We study the ionization and kinematics of the ionized gas in the nuclear region of the barred Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 5643 using MUSE integral field observations in the framework of the MAGNUM (Measuring Active Galactic Nuclei Under MUSE Microscope) survey. The data were used to identify regions with different ionization conditions and to map the gas density and the dust extinction. We find evidence for a double sided ionization cone, possibly collimated by a dusty structure surrounding the nucleus. At the center of the ionization cone, outflowing ionized gas is revealed as a blueshifted, asymmetric wing of the [OIII] emission line, up to projected velocity v 10 ∼ −450 km s −1 . The outflow is also seen as a diffuse, low luminosity radio and X-ray jet, with similar extension. The outflowing material points in the direction of two clumps characterized by prominent line emission with spectra typical of HII regions, located at the edge of the dust lane of the bar. We propose that the star formation in the clumps is due to 'positive feedback' induced by gas compression by the nuclear outflow, providing the first candidate for outflow induced star formation in a Seyfert-like radio quiet AGN. This suggests that positive feedback may be a relevant mechanism in shaping the black hole-host galaxy coevolution.