Astronomy has evolved almost exclusively by the use of spectroscopic and imaging techniques, operated separately. With the development of modern technologies, it is possible to obtain data cubes in which one combines both techniques simultaneously, producing images with spectral resolution. To extract information from them can be quite complex, and hence the development of new methods of data analysis is desirable. We present a method of analysis of data cube (data from single field observations, containing two spatial and one spectral dimension) that uses Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to express the data in the form of reduced dimensionality, facilitating efficient information extraction from very large data sets. PCA transforms the system of correlated coordinates into a system of uncorrelated coordinates ordered by principal components of decreasing variance. The new coordinates are referred to as eigenvectors, and the projections of the data on to these coordinates produce images we will call tomograms. The association of the tomograms (images) to eigenvectors (spectra) is important for the interpretation of both. The eigenvectors are mutually orthogonal, and this information is fundamental for their handling and interpretation. When the data cube shows objects that present uncorrelated physical phenomena, the eigenvector's orthogonality may be instrumental in separating and identifying them. By handling eigenvectors and tomograms, one can enhance features, extract noise, compress data, extract spectra, etc. We applied the method, for illustration purpose only, to the central region of the low ionization nuclear emission region (LINER) galaxy NGC 4736, and demonstrate that it has a type 1 active nucleus, not known before. Furthermore, we show that it is displaced from the centre of its stellar bulge.

We present a detailed procedure for treating data cubes obtained with the Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS) of the Gemini North telescope. This process includes the following steps: correction of the differential atmospheric refraction, spatial re-sampling, Butterworth spatial filtering, 'instrumental fingerprint' removal and Richardson-Lucy deconvolution. The clearer contours of the structures obtained with the spatial re-sampling, the high spatial-frequency noise removed with the Butterworth spatial filtering, the removed 'instrumental fingerprints' (which take the form of vertical stripes along the images) and the improvement of the spatial resolution obtained with the Richardson-Lucy deconvolution result in images with a considerably higher quality. An image of the Brγ emission line from the treated data cube of NGC 4151 allows the detection of individual ionized-gas clouds (almost undetectable without the treatment procedure) of the narrow-line region of this galaxy, which are also seen in an [O III] image obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. The radial velocities determined for each one of these clouds seem to be compatible with models of biconical outflows proposed by previous studies. Considering the observed improvements, we believe that the procedure we describe in this work may result in more reliable analysis of data obtained with this instrument.

In this second paper of a series, we present a treatment procedure for data cubes obtained with the Spectrograph for Integral Field Observations in the Near Infrared of the Very Large Telescope. We verified that the treatment procedure improves significantly the quality of the images of the data cubes, allowing a more detailed analysis. The images of the Brγ and H 2 λ21218 emission lines from the treated data cube of the nuclear region of NGC 5643 reveal the existence of ionized and molecular-gas clouds around the nucleus, which cannot be seen clearly in the images from the non-treated data cube of this galaxy. The ionized-gas clouds represent the narrow-line region, in the form of a bicone. We observe a good correspondence between the positions of the ionized-gas clouds in the Brγ image and in an [O III] image, obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope, of the nuclear region of this galaxy convolved with an estimate of the point-spread function of the data cube of NGC 5643. The morphologies of the ionized and molecular gas seem to be compatible with the existence of a molecular torus/disc that collimates the active galactic nucleus (AGN) emission. The molecular gas may also flow along this torus/disc, feeding the AGN. This scenario is compatible with the unified model for AGNs.

NGC 3115 is an S0 galaxy that has always been considered to have a pure absorption-line spectrum. Some recent studies have detected a compact radioemitting nucleus in this object, coinciding with the photometric center and with a candidate for the X-ray nucleus. This is evidence of the existence of a lowluminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN) in the galaxy, although no emission line has ever been observed. We report the detection of an emission-line spectrum of a type 1 AGN in NGC 3115, with an Hα luminosity of L Hα = (4.2 ± 0.4) × 10 37 erg s −1 . Our analysis revealed that this AGN is located at a projected distance of ∼ 0 ′′ .29 ± 0 ′′ .05 (corresponding to ∼ 14.3 ± 2.5 pc) from the stellar bulge center, which is coincident with the kinematic center of this object's stellar velocity map. The black hole corresponding to the observed off-centered AGN may form a binary system with a black hole located at the stellar bulge center. However, it is also possible that the displaced black hole is the merged remnant of the binary system coalescence, after the "kick" caused by the asymmetric emission of gravitational waves. We propose that certain features in the stellar velocity dispersion map are the result of perturbations caused by the off-centered AGN.

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