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# Magnetization Switching in Nanowires: Monte Carlo Study with Fast Fourier Transformation for Dipolar Fields

## I Introduction

Small magnetic particles in the nanometer regime are interesting for fundamental research as well as for applications in magnetic devices. With decreasing size thermal activation becomes more and more important for the stability of nanoparticles and is hence investigated experimentally as well as theoretically. Wernsdorfer et al. studied magnetization reversal in nanowires  as well as in nanoparticles  experimentally. They found that for very small particles the magnetic moments rotate coherently as in the Stoner-Wohlfarth model  while for larger system sizes more complicated nucleation processes occur.

Numerical studies of the thermal activation in magnetic systems base either on Langevin dynamics  or on Monte Carlo methods. With the second method, mainly nucleation processes in Ising systems have been studied , but also vector spin models have been used to investigate the switching behavior in systems with continuous degrees of freedom . In these numerical studies the dipole-dipole interaction is often neglected or at least approximated due to its large computational effort.

In this work, we will use Monte Carlo methods in order to investigate the thermally activated magnetization behavior of a systems of magnetic moments including the dipole-dipole interactions. Since the calculation of these long-range interaction is extremely time consuming when performed straightforward it is necessary to develop efficient numerical methods for this task. We will demonstrate that the implementation of fast Fourier transformation (FFT) methods — which are already established in the context of micromagnetic simulations based on the Landau-Lifshitz equation of motion  — is possible also in a Monte Carlo algorithm where a single-spin-flip method is used.

Our approach is applied to the important problems of thermally activated magnetization reversal in a model for nanowires. Depending on the system geometry, material parameters, and the magnetic field different reversal mechanisms occur. Very small wires reverse by a coherent rotation mode while for sufficiently long wires the reversal is dominated by nucleation . With increasing system width an additional crossover sets in to a reversal by a curling-like mode. Our numerical results based on Monte Carlo simulations are supplemented by Langevin dynamics simulations for comparison.

## II Model for a nanowire

We consider a classical Heisenberg Hamiltonian for localized spins on a lattice,

$``$ $`=`$ $`J{\displaystyle \underset{ij}{}}𝐒_i𝐒_j\mu _s𝐁{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}𝐒_i`$ (1)
$``$ $`w{\displaystyle \underset{i<j}{}}{\displaystyle \frac{3(𝐒_i𝐞_{ij})(𝐞_{ij}𝐒_j)𝐒_i𝐒_j}{r_{ij}^3}},`$ (2)
where the $`𝐒_i=𝝁_i/\mu _s`$ are three dimensional magnetic moments of unit length. The first sum represents the ferromagnetic exchange of the moments where $`J`$ is the coupling constant, the second sum is the coupling of the magnetic moments to an external magnetic field $`B`$, and the last sum represents the dipolar interaction. $`w=\mu _0\mu _s^2/(4\pi a^3)`$ describes the strength of the dipole-dipole interaction with $`\mu _0=4\pi 10^7\mathrm{V}s(\mathrm{A}m)^1`$. We consider a cubic lattice with lattice constant $`a`$. The $`𝐞_{ij}`$ are unit vectors pointing from lattice site $`i`$ to $`j`$.

We model a finite, cylindric system with diameter $`D`$ and length $`L`$ (in number of lattice sites). All our simulations start with a configuration where all spins point up (into $`z`$ direction). The external magnetic field is antiparallel to the magnetic moments, hence favoring a reversal process. As in earlier publications  we measure the characteristic time of the reversal process, i. e. the time when the $`z`$ component of the magnetization of the system changes its sign averaged over either 100 (Langevin dynamics) or 1000 (Monte Carlo) simulation runs.

## III Numerical Methods

In the following we will mainly use a Monte Carlo method with a time step quantification as derived in  and later further discussed in . The method is based on a single-spin-flip algorithm. The trial step of the algorithm is a random movement of the magnetic moment within a certain maximum angle. In order to achieve this efficiently we construct a random vector with constant probability distribution within a sphere of radius $`R`$ and add this vector to the initial moment. Subsequently the resulting vector is normalized. The trial step width $`R`$ is connected to a time scale $`\mathrm{\Delta }t`$ according to the relation

$$R^2=\frac{20k_\mathrm{B}T\alpha \gamma }{(1+\alpha ^2)\mu _s}\mathrm{\Delta }t.$$
(3)
Using this relation one Monte Carlo step per spin (MCS) corresponds to the time interval $`\mathrm{\Delta }t`$ of the corresponding Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation in the high damping limit . Throughout the paper we set $`\mathrm{\Delta }t=\frac{1}{40}\mu _s/\gamma `$ and adjust $`R`$, except of the simulations for Fig. 1 where we have to fix $`R`$ and calculate $`\mathrm{\Delta }t`$.

In order to compute the dipole-dipole interaction efficiently we use FFT methods  for the calculation of the long-range interactions . This method uses the discrete convolution theorem for the calculation of the dipolar field

$$𝐇_i=\underset{ji}{}\frac{3𝐞_{ij}(𝐞_{ij}𝐒_j)𝐒_j}{r_{ij}^3}.$$
(4)
This dipolar field can be rewritten in the form

$$H_i^\eta =\underset{\theta ,j}{}W_{ij}^{\eta \theta }S_j^\theta $$
(5)
where the Greek symbols $`\eta ,\theta `$ denote the Cartesian components $`x,y,z`$ and the Latin symbols $`i,j`$ denote the lattice sites. $`(W^{\eta \theta })_{ij}`$ are interaction matrices which only depend on the lattice. Since the lattice is translational invariant one can apply the discrete convolution theorem in order to calculate the Fourier transform of the dipolar field as

$$H_k^\eta =\underset{\theta }{}W_k^{\eta \theta }S_k^\eta .$$
(6)
Thus one first computes the interaction matrices $`(W^{\eta \theta })_{ij}`$ and its Fourier transform $`(W^{\eta \theta })_k`$. This task has to be performed only once before the simulation starts since the interaction matrices depend only on the lattice structure and, hence, remain constant during the simulation. For each given spin configuration the dipolar field can then be calculated by first performing the Fourier transform of the $`𝐒_i`$, second calculating the product above following Eq. 6, and third transforming the fields $`𝐇_k`$ back into real space resulting in the dipolar fields $`𝐇_i`$. Using FFT techniques the algorithm needs only of the order of $`N\mathrm{log}N`$ calculations  instead of $`N^2`$ calculations which one would need for the straightforward calculation of the double sum in Eq. 1.

In order to apply the convolution theorem the system has to be periodically and the range of the interaction has to be identical to the system size. Since we are interested in finite systems with open boundary conditions we use the zero padding method . This method is based on a duplication of the system size where the original system is wrapped up with zero spins.

The FFT methods is well established as containing no further approximation in the context of micromagnetism . There is however an additional problem concerning the implementation of this method to Monte Carlo algorithms since here the spins are not updated in parallel. Principally, in a Monte Carlo simulation the dipolar field has to be calculated after each single spin flip since the dipolar field at any site of the lattice depends on all other magnetic moments. Thus if one magnetic moment moves, the value of the whole dipolar field changes. Hence, in a usual Monte Carlo algorithm one would store the dipolar fields in an array which is updated after every accepted spin flip . Here, only the changes of the dipolar field due to the single spin update are calculated ($`N`$ operations) resulting in a need of computation time which scales with $`N^2`$ per MCS.

Nevertheless, in the following we will show that alternatively one can also recalculate the whole dipolar field at once after a certain number of MCS taking advantage from the FFT method. This can be a good approximation as long as the changes of the system configuration during this update interval are small enough.

In order to investigate the validity of this idea systematically, we consider thermally activated magnetization reversal in a spin chain, in other words, in a cylinder with diameter $`D=1`$. First, we calculate the “correct” value of the reduced characteristic time following from a Monte Carlo simulation where the dipolar field is calculated after each accepted spin flip. This value is shown as solid line in Fig. 1. The data points represent the dependence of the reduced characteristic time on the length of the update interval $`\mathrm{\Delta }t_u`$ after which the dipolar field is calculated. We used two different trial step widths $`R`$ for comparison.

As is demonstrated our method converges already for update intervals clearly longer than 1MCS, depending on the trial step width $`R`$. The dependence on $`R`$ can be understood as follows. The vertical lines represent the minimal number of MCS which one spin needs to reverse. This can be estimated from the mean step width of a magnetic moment  assuming that each trial step is accepted following a strong external field. The mean step width within our Monte Carlo procedure is $`R/\sqrt{5}`$ and thus the minimal number of MCS for a spin reversal is $`\pi \sqrt{5}/R`$. We conclude from this considerations that it is a good approximation to update the whole dipolar field after a certain interval of the Monte Carlo procedure which has to be smaller than the minimum number of MCS needed for a spin reversal. Note that it follows, that this method should never work for an Ising system.

Now we will turn to an investigation of the efficiency and capability characteristics of the method. A comparison of the computation time needed when the dipolar field is either calculated straightforward by updating the field after each accepted spin flip or with the FFT method after each MCS is shown in Fig. 2. Here, the computation time is the CPU time needed on an IBM RS6000/590 workstation for 100MCS. Using the FFT method the computation time is proportional to $`L\mathrm{ln}L`$ while for the usual method the computer time scales like $`L^2`$. For the chain of length $`2^{18}=262144`$ the gain of efficiency of the FFT method is roughly a factor 5000 (note that the FFT algorithm is most efficient for the system sizes which are products of small prime numbers) which is a rather impressing result.

As a test of the FFT method as well as the time quantification of the Monte Carlo algorithm we use for comparison also another numerical method namely Langevin dynamics simulations. Here we solve numerically the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation of motion with Langevin dynamics using the Heun method . This equation has the form

$$\frac{(1+\alpha ^2)\mu _s}{\gamma }\frac{𝐒_i}{t}=𝐒_i\times \left(𝐇_i(t)+\alpha \left(𝐒_i\times 𝐇_i(t)\right)\right)$$
(7)
with the internal field $`𝐇_i(t)=𝜻_i\frac{}{𝐒_i}`$, the gyromagnetic ratio $`\gamma =1.76\times 10^{11}(\mathrm{T}s)^1`$ and the dimensionless damping constant $`\alpha `$. The noise $`𝜻_i`$ represents thermal fluctuations, with $`𝜻_i(t)=0`$ and $`\zeta _i^\eta (t)\zeta _j^\theta (t^{})=2\delta _{ij}\delta _{\eta \theta }\delta (tt^{})\alpha k_\mathrm{B}T\mu _s/\gamma `$ where $`i,j`$ denote once again lattice sites and $`\eta ,\theta `$ Cartesian components. The implementation of the FFT method is straightforward for a Langevin dynamics simulation since here a parallel update of spin configurations is appropriate.

In order to compare our different methods, in Fig. 3 the $`\alpha `$ dependence of the characteristic time for the reversal of a spin chain is shown. Monte Carlo data are compared with those from Langevin dynamics simulations. Interestingly, for the whole range of $`\alpha `$ values the Monte Carlo and Langevin dynamics data coincide. This is in contrast to earlier tests  where this agreement was achieved only in the high damping limit. Seemingly, there exist certain systems which show only a simple $`\alpha `$ dependence of the form $`\tau (1+\alpha ^2)/\alpha `$. This $`\alpha `$ dependence usually describes the high damping limit which is rendered by the time quantified Monte Carlo algorithm. In our model this $`\alpha `$ dependence is obviously valid in the whole range of damping constants which we considered, leading to the remarkable agreement. In general, this is not necessarily the case since for other models different low and high damping limits appear (see e. g. ), depending on the systems properties. In the following we set $`\alpha =1`$.

## IV Nucleation and Curling

As application of the methods described in the previous section we start with a simple chain of classical magnetic moments of length $`L=128`$ as extreme case of a cylindrical system with $`D=1`$. Thermally activated magnetization reversal in a spin chain was treated analytically by Braun  who proposed a soliton-antisoliton nucleation process as reversal mechanism. For a finite system with open boundary conditions the nucleation will originate at the sample ends leading to an energy barrier

$$\mathrm{\Delta }E=2\sqrt{2d}(\mathrm{tanh}rhr)$$
(8)
with $`h=\mu _sB_z/(2d)`$ and $`r=\mathrm{a}rcosh\sqrt{1/h}`$. Here, the dipole-dipole interaction is approximated by a uniaxial anisotropy of the form $`d_i(S_i^z)^2`$ with $`wd/\pi `$ . This estimate follows from a comparison of the stray field energy of an elongated ellipsoid  with the energy of a chain with uniaxial anisotropy. In  the occurrence of soliton-antisoliton nucleation was confirmed and Eq.8 was verified as well as the asymptotic form of the corresponding characteristic time

$$\tau =\tau _0\mathrm{exp}\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }E}{k_\mathrm{B}T},$$
(9)
where $`\tau _0`$ is a prefactor depending on the system parameters, the applied magnetic field, and the damping constant. This prefactor was also derived asymptotically for a periodic chain for the case of nucleation  as well as for coherent rotation . The latter is energetically favorable for low enough system size. However, for a finite chain the prefactor is still unknown.

Fig. 4 shows the temperature dependence of the reduced characteristic time for our spin chain where the dipole-dipole interaction is not approximated by a uniaxial anisotropy as discussed before  but taken into account using FFT methods. Data from Monte Carlo simulations are shown as well as from Langevin dynamics. Both methods yield identical results. The slope of the curve in the low temperature limit which represents the energy barrier is 12% lower than the predicted one. This deviation is probably due to the local approximation of the dipole-dipole interaction underlying Eq. 8.

We will now turn to the question whether such a nucleation mode will also be found in an extended system. Therefore we consider cylindrical systems of length 128 with varying diameter $`D`$. Fig. 5 shows snapshots of two simulated systems at the characteristic time. For $`D=8`$ (left side) two nuclei originate at the sample ends leading to two domain walls which pass the system. This is comparable to the nucleation process in a spin chain since all spins in a plane of the cylinder are more or less parallel (also shown in the figure) and can be describe as one effective magnetic moment leading to the above mentioned model of Braun .

The behavior changes for larger diameter above the so-called exchange length $`l_{ex}`$. For a reversal mode with inhomogeneous magnetization within the planes a domain wall has to be created. The loss of energy due to the existence of a $`180^{}`$ domain wall on the length scale $`l`$ in a spin chain is

$$\mathrm{\Delta }E=J\underset{i,j}{}(1\mathrm{cos}(\theta _i\theta _j))\frac{J\pi ^2}{2l}$$
(10)
under the assumption that the change of the angle $`\theta `$ between the next nearest magnetic moments is constant (in a continuum description one can also prove that this resembles the minimum energy configuration by minimizing the Euler Lagrange equations).

The dipolar field energy of a chain of length $`l`$ is at most $`3wl\zeta (3)`$ where we used Riemann’s Zeta function

$$\zeta (3)=\underset{i}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{1}{i^3}$$
(11)
(see also  for a corresponding calculation in two dimensions). A comparison of Eq. 10 and Eq. 11 yields the exchange length

$$l_{\mathrm{e}x}=\pi \sqrt{\frac{J}{6w\zeta (3)}}.$$
(12)
Usually  the exchange length is calculated in the continuum limit where $`3\zeta (3)3.6`$ is replaced by $`\pi `$. However, we prefer the slightly deviating expression above since its derivation is closer to the spin model which we discuss here. The exchange length for our material parameters is $`l_{ex}7`$, so that for systems with smaller diameter it cannot be energetically favorable for the system to build up inhomogeneous magnetization distributions within the planes while for wider systems another reversal process can occur namely curling .

A snapshot during the reversal process in a wider particle ($`D=16`$) is also shown in Fig. 5. The middle part of the cylinder is in the curling mode consisting of a magnetization vortex with a central axis which is still magnetized up. The reversal mode shown in this figure is still mixed up with an additional nucleation process which started first at the sample ends. Note, that in the clipping plane on the right hand side one can find the exchange length as typical length scale of the domain wall in the vortex.

## V conclusions

We considered thermal activation in classical spin systems using Monte Carlo methods with a time quantified algorithm as well as Langevin dynamics simulations. We combined both techniques with FFT methods for the calculation of the dipolar field. Whereas this method is established in the context of micromagnetic equations of motion it is less obviously applicable to Monte Carlo methods with single spin flip dynamics. We show that it can be a good approximation for vector spins to update dipolar fields during a Monte Carlo procedure only after certain intervals the length of which depend on the trial step width of the algorithm. Since Monte Carlo methods need less computational effort as compared to Langevin dynamics simulations its combination with FFT methods strongly enhances the capabilities for the numerical investigation of thermal activation.

As application we consider a model for nanowires. We compare numerical results for the characteristic time of the magnetization reversal in a spin chain with the theoretical formula for the energy barrier of soliton-antisoliton nucleation. We found small deviations probably due to the fact that Braun in his model approximated the dipole-dipole interaction by a uniaxial anisotropy . Varying the diameter in a cylindrical system we observe a crossover from nucleation to a curling-like mode.

## ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank H. B. Braun and K. D. Usadel for helpful discussions. The work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and by the EU within the framework of the COST action P3 working group 4.


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# The Elusive Active Nucleus of NGC 4945. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by AURA, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5–26555. Also based on observation collected at European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile.

## 1 Introduction

A key problem in studies of objects emitting most of their energy in the FIR/submm is to establish the relative importance of highly obscured Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and starburst activity. In particular, it is important to know if it is still possible to hide an AGN, contributing significantly to the bolometric emission, when optical to mid-IR spectroscopy and imaging reveal only a starburst component.

Several pieces of evidence suggest that most cosmic AGN activity is obscured. Most, and possibly all, cores of large galaxies host a supermassive black hole ($`10^6`$$`10^9`$$`\mathrm{M}_{}`$; e.g. Richstone et al. richstone (1998)). To complete the formation process in a Hubble time, accretion must proceed at high rates, producing quasar luminosities ($`L10^{12}\mathrm{L}_{}`$). However the observed black hole density is an order of magnitude greater than that expected from the observed quasar light, assuming accretion efficiency of 10%, suggesting that most of the accretion history is obscured (e.g. Fabian & Iwasawa fabian99 (1999), and references therein). It is estimated either that 85% of all AGNs are obscured (type 2) or that 85% of the accretion history of an object is hidden from view.

In addition, the hard X-ray background ($`>1\mathrm{keV}`$) requires a large population of obscured AGNs at higher redshifts ($`z1`$) since the observed spectral energy distribution cannot be explained with the continua of Quasars, i.e. un–obscured (type 1) AGNs (Comastri et al. comastri (1995), Gilli et al. gilli99 (1999)). Despite the above evidence, detections of obscured AGNs at cosmological distances are still sparse (e.g. Akiyama et al. akiyama (1999)).

Ultra Luminous Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs; see Sanders & Mirabel sanders96 (1996) for a review) and the sources detected in recent far-infrared and submm surveys performed with ISO and SCUBA (e.g. Rowan-Robinson et al. rowanrob (1997), Blain et al. blain (1999) and references therein) are candidate to host the missing population of type 2 AGNs. However, mid-IR ISO spectroscopy has recently shown that ULIRGs are mostly powered by starbursts and that no trace of AGNs is found in the majority of cases (Genzel et al. genzel98 (1998); Lutz et al. lutz98 (1998)). Yet, the emission of a hidden AGN could be heavily absorbed even in the mid-IR. Indeed, the obscuration of the AGN could be related to the starburst phenomenon, as observed for Seyfert 2s (Maiolino et al. maiolino95 (1995)). Fabian et al. (fabian98 (1998)) proposed that the energy input from supernovae and stellar winds prevents interstellar clouds from collapsing into a thin disk, thus maintaining them in orbits that intercept the majority of the lines of sight from an active nucleus.

In this paper, we investigate the existence of completely obscured AGNs and the Starburst-AGN connection through observations of NGC 4945, one of the closest galaxies where an AGN and starburst coexist. NGC 4945 is an edge-on ($`i80^{}`$), nearby ($`D=3.7\mathrm{Mpc}`$) SB spiral galaxy hosting a powerful nuclear starburst (Koornneef koorn (1993); Moorwood & Oliva 1994a ). It is a member of the Centaurus group and, like the more famous Centaurus A (NGC 5128), its optical image is marked by dust extinction in the nuclear regions. The ONLY evidence for a hidden AGN comes from the hard X-rays where NGC 4945 is characterized by a Compton-thick spectrum (with an absorbing column density of $`N_\mathrm{H}=5\times 10^{24}\mathrm{cm}^2`$, Iwasawa et al. iwasawa93 (1993)) and one of the brightest 100$`\mathrm{keV}`$ emissions among extragalactic sources (Done et al. done96 (1996)). Recently, BeppoSAX clearly detected variability in the 13-200$`\mathrm{keV}`$ band (Guainazzi et al., guainazzi (2000)).

Its total infrared luminosity derived from IRAS data is $`2.4\times 10^{10}\mathrm{L}_{}`$ (Rice et al. rice88 (1988)), $`75\%`$ of which arises from a region of $`12\mathrm{}\times 9\mathrm{}`$ centered on the nucleus (Brock et al. brock88 (1988)). Although its star formation and supernova rates are moderate, $`0.4\mathrm{M}_{}\mathrm{yr}^1`$ and $`0.05\mathrm{yr}^1`$ (Moorwood & Oliva 1994a ), the starburst activity is concentrated in the central $`100\mathrm{pc}`$ and has spectacular consequences on the circumnuclear region which is characterized by a conical cavity evacuated by a supernova-driven wind (Moorwood et al. 1996a ).

The radio emission is characterized by a compact non-thermal core with a luminosity of $`8\times 10^{38}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$ (Elmouttie et al. elmouttie (1997)). It is one of the first H2O and OH megamaser sources detected (dos Santos & Lepine dossantos (1979); Baan baan85 (1985)) and the H2O maser was mapped by Greenhill et al. (greenhill (1997)) who found the emission linearly distributed along the position angle of the galactic disk and with a velocity pattern suggesting the presence of a $`10^6\mathrm{M}_{}`$ black hole. Mauersberger et al. (mauersberger (1996)) mapped the $`J=32`$ line of 12CO which is mostly concentrated within the nuclear $`200\mathrm{pc}`$.

We present new line and continuum images obtained with the Near Infrared Camera and Multi Object Spectrograph (NICMOS) on-board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), aimed at detecting AGN activity in the near-infrared. These observations are complemented by recent ground based near- and mid-IR observations obtained at the European Southern Observatory. Section 2 describes the observations and data reduction techniques. Results are presented in Section 3 and discussed in Section 4. Finally, conclusions will be drawn in Sec. 5. Throughout the paper we assume a distance of 3.7$`\mathrm{Mpc}`$ (Mauersberger et al. mauersberger (1996)), whence 1″ corresponds to $`18`$$`\mathrm{pc}`$.

## 2  Observations and Data Reduction

The nuclear region of NGC 4945 was observed on March 17th and 25th, 1998, with NICMOS Camera 2 (MacKenty et al. mackenty (1997)) using narrow and broad band filters for imaging in lines and continuum. HST observations are logged in Tab. 1. All observations were carried out with a MULTIACCUM sequence (MacKenty et al. mackenty (1997)) and the detector was read out non-destructively several times during each integration to remove cosmic rays hits and correct saturated pixels. For each filter we obtained several exposures with the object shifted by $`1\mathrm{}`$ on the detector to remove bad pixels. The observations in the F222M and F237M filters were also repeated on a blank sky area several arcminutes away from the source to remove thermal background emission. For narrow band images, we obtained subsequent exposures in line and near continuum filters with the object at several positions on the detector.

The data were re-calibrated using the pipeline software CALNICA v3.2 (Bushouse et al. bushouse (1997)). A small (few percent) drift in the NICMOS bias level caused an error in the flat-fielding procedure which resulted in spurious artifacts in the final images (the so-called ”pedestal problem” – Skinner, Bergeron & Daou skinner (1998)). Given the strong signal from the galaxy, such artifacts are only visible in ratio or difference images. This effect was effectively removed using the pedestal estimation and quadrant equalization software developed by Roeland P. van der Marel which subtracts a constant bias level times the flat-field, minimizing the standard deviation in the images. For each filter, the corrected images were then aligned via cross-correlation and combined. Flux calibration of the images was achieved by multiplying the count rates (adu$`\mathrm{s}`$-1) for the PHOTFLAM ($`\mathrm{erg}`$$`\mathrm{cm}`$-2 adu-1) conversion factors (MacKenty et al. mackenty (1997)).

The narrow band images obtained at wavelengths adjacent to the $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$ and $`\mathrm{H}_2`$ lines where used for continuum subtraction. The procedure was verified by rescaling the continuum by up to $`\pm 10\%`$ before subtraction and establishing that this did not significantly affect the observed emission-line structure.

WFPC2 observations in the F606W (R band) filter were retrieved from the Hubble Data Archive and
re-calibrated with the standard pipeline software (Biretta et al. biretta (1996)).

Ground-based observations were obtained at the European Southern Observatory at La Silla (Chile) in the continuum L (3.8$`\mu \mathrm{m}`$) and N (10$`\mu \mathrm{m}`$) bands, and in the $`[\mathrm{Fe}\text{ii}]`$ 1.64$`\mu \mathrm{m}`$ emission line and are logged in Tab. 2. The L image was obtained with IRAC1 (Moorwood et al. 1994b ) at the ESO/MPI 2.2 m telescope on May 30, 1996 using an SBRC 58$`\times `$62 pixel InSb array with a pixel size of 0$`\stackrel{}{.}`$45. Double beam-switching was used, chopping the telescope secondary mirror every 0.24$`\mathrm{s}`$ and nodding the telescope every 24$`\mathrm{s}`$ to build up a total on-source integration time of 10 minutes in a seeing of 0$`\stackrel{}{.}`$9. The N-band image was obtained with TIMMI (Käufl et al. kaufl (1994)) at the ESO 3.6m telescope on May 27, 1996 using a 64$`\times `$64 Si:Ga array with 0$`\stackrel{}{.}`$46 pixels. Again using double beam switching, total on-source integration time was 40 minutes in 1″ seeing. The $`[\mathrm{Fe}\text{ii}]`$ 1.64$`\mu \mathrm{m}`$ image was taken with with the IRAC2B camera (Moorwood et al. moorwood92 (1992)) on the ESO/MPI 2.2m telescope on April 1, 1998, using a 256$`\times `$256 Rockwell NICMOS3 HgCdTe array with 0$`\stackrel{}{.}`$51 pixels. The $`[\mathrm{Fe}\text{ii}]`$ line was scanned with a $`\lambda /\mathrm{\Delta }\lambda =1500`$ Fabry-Perot etalon covering three independent wavelength settings on the line and two on the continuum on either side of the line, for a total integration times of 24 minutes on the line in 0$`\stackrel{}{.}`$9 seeing. Standard procedures were used for sky subtraction, flat fielding, interpolation of hot and cold pixels at fixed positions on the array, recentering and averaging of the data. For the $`[\mathrm{Fe}\text{ii}]`$ data, the continuum was determined from the two off-line channels and subtracted from the on-line data. The integrated $`[\mathrm{Fe}\text{ii}]`$ line flux is in excellent agreement with the value determined by Moorwood and Oliva (1994a ).

## 3 Results

### 3.1 Morphology

Panels a–d in Figure 1 are the continuum images in the NICMOS K, H, J and WFPC2 R filters111Color images are also available at http://www.arcetri.astro.it/$``$marconi. The cross marks the position of the K band peak and the circle is the position of the H2O maser measured by Greenhill et al. (greenhill (1997)). The radius of the circle is the $`\pm 1`$″ r.m.s. uncertainty of the astrometry performed on the images and based on the Guide Star Catalogue (Voit et al. voit (1997)). The position of the K peak is offset by $`0\stackrel{}{.}5`$ from the location of the H2O maser, hereafter identified with the location of the nucleus of the galaxy. Note that this offset is still within the absolute astrometric uncertainties of the GSC and the K peak could be coincident with the nucleus. The continuum images are also shown with a ”true color” RGB representation in Fig. 1f (Red=F222M, Green=F110W, Blue=F606W). A comparison of photometry between our data and earlier published results is not straightforward since the NICMOS filters are different from the ones commonly used. However, as shown in table 3, our measured fluxes in 6″ and 18″ circular apertures centered on the K band peak are within 15-30% of the ones by Moorwood & Glass (moorwood84 (1984)) measured in the same areas.

Figure 1e is the H-K color map. H-K contours are also overlayed on the J image in Fig. 1c. At the location of the maser, South-East of the K band peak, emission from galactic stars is obscured by a dust lane oriented along the major axis of the galactic disk. The morphology of this resembles an edge-on disk with a 4$`\stackrel{}{.}`$5 radius (80$`\mathrm{pc}`$) and probably marks the region where high density molecular material detected in CO is concentrated (e.g. Mauersberger et al. mauersberger (1996)). The average H-K color is $`1.7`$ with a peak value of 2.3. The dust lane has a sharp southern edge which is not very evident in the color map and can be explained by saturated absorption: background H and K emission becomes completely undetectable and the color is dominated by foreground stars. Therefore, the sharp K edge is evidence for a region with such high extinction that it is not detected even in the near-IR. With this dust distribution, the observed morphology in the continuum images is the result of an extinction gradient in the direction perpendicular to the galactic disk. Patchy extinction is also present all over the field of view. At shorter wavelengths, the morphology is more irregular because dust extinction is more effective (the same effect seen so obviously in Centaurus A, cf. Schreier et al. schreier98 (1998), Marconi et al. marconi99 (2000)) and the conical cavity extensively mapped by Moorwood et al. (1996a ) becomes more prominent: there, the dust has been swept away by supernova-driven winds. Indeed, in the R image, significant emission is detected only in the wind-blown cavity which presents a clear conical morphology with well defined edges and apex lying $`3\mathrm{}`$ from the K peak. Due to the above mentioned reddening gradient, the apex of the cone gets closer to the nucleus with increasing wavelength (compare with R band and Pa$`\alpha `$/H2 images – see below).

The continuum-subtracted Paschen $`\alpha `$ image (Fig. 2a) shows the presence of several strong emission line knots along the galactic plane, very likely resulting from a circumnuclear ring of star formation seen almost edge-on. ”Knot B” of Moorwood et al. (1996a ) is clearly observed South East of the nucleus while ”Knot C”, North-West of the nucleus, is barely detected. Both knots are also marked on the figure.

Dust extinction strongly affects the $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$ morphology making very difficult to trace the ring and locate its center; a likely consequence is the apparent misalignment between the galaxy nucleus and the ring center. The observed ring of star formation is similar to what has been found in other starburst galaxies (cf. Moorwood 1996b ). The starburst ring could result from two alternative scenarios: either the starburst originates at the nucleus, and then propagates outward forming a ring in the galactic disk; or the ring corresponds to the position of the inner Lindblad resonance where the gas density is naturally increased by flow from both sides (see the review in Moorwood 1996b ).

Panel b shows the continuum-subtracted H2 image which traces the edges of the wind-blown cavity. As expected, the morphology is completely different from that of $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$ which traces mainly starburst activity. Note the strong H2 emission close to the nucleus at the apex of the cavity with an elongated, arc-like morphology. The $`\mathrm{H}_2`$ flux in a $`6\mathrm{}\times 6\mathrm{}`$ aperture centered on the K band peak is 1.1$`\times 10^{13}`$$`\mathrm{erg}`$$`\mathrm{cm}`$-2$`\mathrm{s}`$-1 and corresponds to $`70\%`$ of the total integrated emission in the NICMOS field of view. This is in good agreement with the 1.29$`\pm 0.05`$ found by Koornneef & Israel (koorn96 (1996)) in an equally sized aperture and the integrated 3.1$`\times 10^{13}`$$`\mathrm{erg}`$$`\mathrm{cm}`$-2$`\mathrm{s}`$-1 from the map by Moorwood & Oliva (1994a ). We remark that contamination of $`\mathrm{H}_2`$ emission by $`\mathrm{He}\text{i}`$$`\lambda `$2.112$`\mu \mathrm{m}`$ is unlikely since the line was detected neither by Koornneef (koorn (1993)) nor by Moorwood & Oliva (1994a ) and from their spectra we can set an upper limit of 5-10% to the $`\mathrm{He}\text{i}`$/$`\mathrm{H}_2`$ ratio.

Panel c in Figure 2 shows that the equivalent width of $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$ is up to 150–200Å in the star forming regions, but much lower in the wind-blown cavity. Since near-IR continuum emission within the cone is not significantly higher than in the surrounding medium, the low equivalent width within the cone is due to weaker $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$ emission, the likely consequence of low gas density.

Panel d in Figure 2 is the Pa$`\alpha `$/H2 ratio image which also traces the wind-blown cavity. Note that the cone traced by Pa$`\alpha `$ and H2 is offset with respect to the light cone observed in R: this is a result of the reddening gradient in the direction perpendicular to the galactic plane.

Fig. 2f is a true color RGB representation of line and continuum images (Red=F222M, Green=$`\mathrm{H}_2`$, Blue=$`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$).

L and N band ground based images are shown in Fig. 3 a and b with contours overlayed on the NICMOS K band image. No obvious point source is detected at the location of the nucleus and the extended emission is smooth and regular, elongated as the galactic disk.

The $`[\mathrm{Fe}\text{ii}]`$ emission shown in contours in Fig. 2b deviates from the $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$ image in a number of interesting ways. First, the northern edge of the cavity outlined most clearly in $`\mathrm{H}_2`$ emission is also detected, although more faintly, in $`[\mathrm{Fe}\text{ii}]`$, presumably excited by the shocks resulting from the superwind. Otherwise, the $`[\mathrm{Fe}\text{ii}]`$ emission displays two prominent peaks in the starburst region traced by $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$, one peak close to the nucleus and one offset at a position angle of about 250 degrees (counterclockwise from North). In both of these regions the $`[\mathrm{Fe}\text{ii}]`$/$`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$ ratio is much higher than in the rest of the starburst region. The $`[\mathrm{Fe}\text{ii}]`$ emission likely originates in radiative supernova remnants (SNRs). In the dense nuclear region of NGC4945 the radiative phase of the SNRs will be short, and hence the $`[\mathrm{Fe}\text{ii}]`$ emission will be much more strongly affected by the stochastic nature of supernova explosions in the starburst ring than $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$. The regions of high $`[\mathrm{Fe}\text{ii}]`$/$`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$ ratios thus simply trace recent supernova activity.

### 3.2 Reddening

A lower limit and a reasonable estimate of reddening can be obtained from the H–K color image in the case of foreground screen extinction. In this case, the extinction is simply

$$A_\mathrm{V}=\frac{E(HK)}{c(H)c(K)}$$
(1)
where the color excess is given by the difference between observed and intrinsic colour, $`E(HK)=(HK)(HK)_{}`$ and the $`c`$ coefficients represent the wavelength dependence of the extinction law; $`A_\lambda =c(\lambda )A_\mathrm{V}`$. We have assumed $`A_\lambda =A_{1\mu \mathrm{m}}(\lambda /1\mu \mathrm{m})^{1.75}`$ ($`\lambda >1\mu \mathrm{m}`$) and $`A_\mathrm{V}=2.42A_{1\mu \mathrm{m}}`$. Spiral and elliptical galaxies have average intrinsic colours $`(HK)_{}0.22`$ with 0.1$`\mathrm{mag}`$ dispersion (Hunt et al. hunt (1997)) and the color correction due to the non-standard filters used by NICMOS is negligible – $`(HK)_{}0.26`$ instead of 0.22. In the region of the $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$ ring, the average color $`HK=1.1`$ yields $`A_\mathrm{V}11`$, in fair agreement with the estimate $`A_\mathrm{V}>13`$ from the Balmer decrement presented below. In knot B $`(HK)=1.2`$ yields $`A_\mathrm{V}=12.5`$, while in knot C $`(HK)=0.64`$ yields $`A_\mathrm{V}=5.2`$.

A different reddening estimate can be derived from the analysis of Hydrogen line ratios. We can estimate the reddening to ”Knot B” and ”Knot C” by using the images and spectra published by Moorwood et al. (1996a ). The inferred reddening (assuming an intrinsic ratio Pa$`\alpha `$/H$`\alpha `$=0.18, and $`A(\mathrm{H}\alpha )=0.81A_\mathrm{V}`$, $`A(\mathrm{Pa}\alpha )=0.137A_\mathrm{V}`$) is $`A_\mathrm{V}`$=3.2 for Knot B and $`A_\mathrm{V}`$=3.8 for Knot C. We can also estimate a lower limit to the reddening on the $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$ ring. Considering a region $`11\mathrm{}\times 5\mathrm{}`$ aligned along the galactic plane, including all the stronger $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$ emission, we find $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha /\mathrm{H}\alpha >500`$ which corresponds to $`A_\mathrm{V}>13`$mag, a value in agreement with the estimate given by Moorwood & Oliva (moorwood88 (1988)), $`A_\mathrm{V}=14\pm 3`$, from the $`\mathrm{Br}\alpha `$/$`\mathrm{Br}\gamma `$ ratio in a $`6\mathrm{}\times 6\mathrm{}`$ aperture centered on the IR peak.

We note that the first approach measures the mean extinction of the starlight, while the second one measures the extinction toward the HII regions. Therefore, these $`A_\mathrm{V}`$ estimates indicate that in the case of Knot C the star light and the emitting gas are located behind the same screen. Conversely, Knot B has a lower extinction and must therefore be located in front of the screen hiding the star light. A likely interpretation is that Knot C is located within the galactic plane on the walls of the cavity farthest from us. whereas Knot B is located above the galactic plane, toward the observer

It appears that the hypothesis of screen extinction can provide reasonable results. Of course the true extinction, i.e. the optical depth at a given wavelength, is larger if dust is mixed with the emitting regions. However, it should be noted that the case in which dust is completely and uniformly mixed with the emitting regions does not apply here because the observed color excesses are larger than the maximum value expected in that case ($`E(HK)0.6`$).

### 3.3 CO Index

A straight computation of the CO stellar index as
$`W(CO)=m(CO)m(K)`$, where $`m(CO)`$ and $`m(K)`$ are the magnitudes in the CO and K filters, is hindered by the high extinction gradients. Therefore we have corrected for the reddening using the prescription described above:

$$W(CO)=m(CO)m(K)+\frac{c(K)c(CO)}{c(H)c(K)}E(HK)$$
(2)
where, as above, the $`c`$ coefficients represent the wavelength dependence of the reddening law. The correction is $`0.145E(HK)`$ which is important since the expected CO index is $`0.2`$.

The ”corrected” photometric CO index map is displayed in Fig. 2e.

As a check, in the central $`4\mathrm{}\times 4\mathrm{}`$ we derive a photometric CO index of 0.18 which is in good agreement with the value 0.22 obtained from spectroscopic observations by Oliva et al. (oliva95 (1995)), when one takes into account the uncertainties of reddening correction.

In the central region there are three knots where the CO index reaches values $`0.25`$ aligned along the galactic disk. However, we do not detect any clear indication of dilution by a spatially unresolved source, that would be expected in the case of emission by hot ($`1000\mathrm{K}`$) dust heated by the AGN. There are regions close to the location of the H2O maser where the CO index is as low as 0.08 but that value is still consistent with pure stellar emission or, more likely, with an imperfect reddening correction.

### 3.4 AGN activity

The NICMOS observations presented in this paper were aimed at detecting near-IR traces of AGN activity in the central ($`R<10\mathrm{}`$) region of NGC 4945. Indeed, recent NICMOS studies exploiting the high spatial resolution of HST show that active galactic nuclei are usually characterized by prominent point sources in K, detected e.g. in the Seyfert 2 galaxies Circinus (Maiolino et al. 1999a ) and NGC 1068, and the radio galaxy Centaurus A (Schreier et al. schreier98 (1998)). NGC 4945 does not show any point-like emission at the position of the nucleus (identified by the $`\mathrm{H}_2\mathrm{O}`$ maser) and the upper limit to the nuclear emission is $`F_\lambda (\mathrm{F222M})<2\times 10^{13}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1\mu \mathrm{m}^1`$.

We also do not detect any dilution of the CO absorption features by hot dust emission, as observed in many active galaxies (Oliva et al. 1999b ). From the analysis of the CO index image, non-stellar light contributes less than $`F_\lambda (\mathrm{F222M})<6\times 10^{14}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1\mu \mathrm{m}^1`$ thus providing a tighter upper limit than above.

The lack of a point source in the ground based L and N observations also places upper limits on the mid-IR emission, though less tight due to the lower sensitivity and spatial resolution ($`F_\lambda (\mathrm{L})<1.2\times 10^{12}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1\mu \mathrm{m}^1`$ and $`F_\lambda (\mathrm{N})<6.0\times 10^{13}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1\mu \mathrm{m}^1`$).

Finally, type 2 AGNs are usually characterized by ionization cones detected either in line images or in excitation maps, i.e. ratios between high and low excitation lines (usually $`[\mathrm{O}\text{iii}]`$ and $`\mathrm{H}\alpha `$) revealing higher excitation than the surrounding medium. In NGC 4945 the equivalent width of $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$ and the $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$/$`\mathrm{H}_2`$ ratio indeed show a cone morphology but the behaviour is the opposite of what expected, i.e. the excitation within the cone is lower than in the surroundings and the H2/Pa$`\alpha `$ ratio increases up to $`5`$ (see Fig. 2d). Two processes could be responsible for the enhanced $`\mathrm{H}_2`$ emission – either shocks caused by the interaction between the supernova-driven wind and the interstellar medium or exposure to a strong X-ray dominated photon flux emitted by the AGN. But in any case there is absolutely no indication of the strong UV flux which produces “standard” AGN ionization cones.

We find, therefore, no evidence for the expected AGN markers in our NICMOS data.

## 4 Discussion

Although no trace of its presence has been found in these data, the existence of an obscured AGN in the nucleus of NGC 4945 is unquestionably indicated by the X-rays (Iwasawa et al. iwasawa93 (1993), Done et al. done96 (1996)). Recent, high signal-to-noise observations by BeppoSAX (Guainazzi et al., guainazzi (2000)) have confirmed the previous indications of variability from Ginga observations (Iwasawa et al. iwasawa93 (1993)): in the 13-200 keV band, where the transmitted spectrum is observed, the light curve shows fluctuations with an extrapolated doubling/halving time scale of $`\tau 35\times 10^4\mathrm{s}`$. These time scales and amplitudes essentially exclude any known process for producing the high energy X-rays other than accretion onto a supermassive black hole.

Making the 3$`\times 10^{42}`$$`\mathrm{erg}`$$`\mathrm{s}`$-1 observed in the 2-10$`\mathrm{keV}`$ band with BeppoSAX would require about 10000 of the most luminous X-ray binaries observed in our Galaxy (e.g. Scorpio-X1) and only a few of this objects are known.

Alternatively, very hot plasma ($`KT`$ a few $`\mathrm{keV}`$), due to supernovae, has been observed in the 2-10$`\mathrm{keV}`$ spectrum of starburst galaxies, but at higher energies ($`>30\mathrm{keV}`$) the emission is essentially negligible (Cappi et al. cappi (1999); Persic et al. persic (1998)); whereas the emission of NGC4945 peaks between 30 and 100$`\mathrm{keV}`$. Also, given that the X-ray emission is observed through a gaseous absorbing column density of a few times $`10^{24}`$$`\mathrm{cm}`$-2, both the 10000 superluminous X-ray binaries and the very hot SN wind should be hidden by this huge gaseous column. It is very difficult to find a geometry for the gas distribution that could produce this effect. We therefore conclude that the presence of an AGN provides the only plausible origin of the hard X-ray emission.

The above considerations combined with the absence of any evidence for the presence of an AGN at other wavelengths has important consequences irrespective of the relative, and unknown, contributions of the starburst and AGN to the total bolometric luminosity. This is illustrated below by considering the extreme possibilities that the luminosity is dominated either by the starburst or the AGN.

### 4.1 NGC 4945 as a starburst dominated object

Most previous studies have concluded that the FIR emission in NGC 4945 can be attributed solely to starburst activity (e.g. Koornneef koorn (1993), Moorwood & Oliva 1994a ) without invoking the presence of an AGN.

We note that, on average, active galaxies are characterized by $`L_{FIR}/L_{Br\gamma }`$ ratios much larger than starbursts and this fact was sometimes invoked to discern starbursts from AGNs (see the discussion in Genzel et al. genzel98 (1998)). In this regard, NGC 4945 has a starburst-like ratio: $`L_{\mathrm{FIR}}/L_{\mathrm{Br}\gamma }1.4\times 10^5`$ (from observed $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$ with $`A_\mathrm{V}`$=15mag). This is similar to the value for the prototypical starburst galaxy M82 ($`L_{\mathrm{FIR}}/L_{\mathrm{Br}\gamma }3.4\times 10^5`$, Rieke et al. rieke80 (1980)), suggesting that the FIR emission of NGC 4945 may arise from the starburst.

Genzel et al. (genzel98 (1998)) showed that, when considering the reddening correction derived from the mid-IR – usually much larger than from the optical and near-IR – the observed H line emission from the starburst translates into an ionizing luminosity comparable to the FIR luminosity. Indeed, if in NGC 4945 the bulk of H emission is hidden by just $`A_\mathrm{V}`$=45mag, $`L_{\mathrm{FIR}}/L_{\mathrm{ion}}1`$ and the observed starburst activity is entirely responsible for the FIR.

Although all the bolometric luminosity could be generated by a starburst it is also possible to construct starburst models which are consistent with the observed near infrared properties but generate a much lower total luminosity. It is important to recall that $`L_{\mathrm{FIR}}/L_{\mathrm{Br}\gamma }`$ represents the ratio between star formation rates averaged over two different timescales, i.e. $`>10^8`$yrs and $`<10^7`$yrs, respectively. Therefore, this ratio strongly depends on the past star formation history. For example, objects which have not experienced star formation in the past $`10^7`$yrs will emit little $`\mathrm{Br}\gamma `$, but significant FIR radiation. A more quantitative approach is presented in Fig. 4 where we compare the observed nuclear properties of NGC 4945 with synthesis models by Leitherer et al. (leitherer (1999)). We have considered two extreme cases of star formation history. The thick solid line in the figure represents an instantaneous burst with mass $`3.5\times 10^7\mathrm{M}_{}`$ whereas the thick dashed line is a continuous star formation rate of $`0.13\mathrm{M}_{}\mathrm{yr}^1`$. In both cases a Salpeter initial mass function (i.e. $`M^{2.35}`$), upper mass cutoff of 100$`\mathrm{M}_{}`$ and abundances $`Z=\mathrm{Z}_{}`$ are chosen. Panel 1 shows the evolution of the ionizing photon rate ($`Q(\mathrm{H})`$) as a function of time after the beginning of the burst. The shaded region limits the values compatible with the observations; $`Q(\mathrm{H})`$ is estimated from the total $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$ flux in the NICMOS images ($`5.6\times 10^{13}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1\mathrm{cm}^2`$), dereddened with $`A_V=5`$mag and $`A_V=20`$mag and converted using case B approximation for H recombinations. Panel 2 gives the equivalent width of $`\mathrm{Br}\gamma `$ ($`W_\lambda (\mathrm{Br}\gamma )`$); the observed value outlined by the shaded area is a lower limit for the starburst models and was derived by rescaling the observed $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$ flux and dividing by the flux observed in the same aperture with the F222M filter. Panel 3 is the evolution of the SuperNova Rate (SNR). Estimates of SNR from radio observations suggest values $`>0.3\mathrm{yr}^1`$ (Koornneef koorn (1993)), $`0.2\mathrm{yr}^1`$ (Forbes & Norris forbes (1998)), down to 0.05$`\mathrm{yr}`$-1 (Moorwood & Oliva 1994a ). The shaded region covers the 0.01-0.4$`\mathrm{yr}`$-1 range. Panel 4 is the mechanical luminosity produced by the Supernovae. Finally, panels 5 and 6 give the K-band and bolometric luminosity, respectively. The allowed range for the K monochromatic luminosity is given by the total observed flux in a $`6\mathrm{}\times 6\mathrm{}`$ aperture centered on the K peak where photospheric emission from supergiants is known to dominate (Oliva et al. 1999b ). The upper and lower limits represent the values obtained after dereddening by $`A_V=5`$mag and $`A_V=20`$mag. The upper limit to the bolometric luminosity is the total NGC 4945 luminosity derived from IRAS observations (Rice et al. rice88 (1988)). In all cases the thin dotted line represents the time at which the properties of the instantaneous burst meet the observational constraints. The crossed square represent the combination of the two models at $`t=10^{7.4}\mathrm{yr}`$.

It is clear from the figure that an instantaneous burst of $`t10^{6.8}\mathrm{yr}`$ is capable of meeting all the observational constraints. It reproduces the correct supernova rate and K band luminosity and its bolometric luminosity dominates the total bolometric luminosity of the galaxy. Conversely the continuous burst fails to reproduce the SNR and K luminosity. Just considering these two models alone it is tempting to infer that the starburst powers the bolometric emission of NGC4945. However, the instantaneous and continuous SFR are two extreme and simplistic cases. More realistically the SF history is more complex since bursts have a finite and limited length or are the combination of several different events. As an example we consider the case of two bursts of star formation taking place at the same time: one instantaneous and the other continuous. Both have the same characteristics as the bursts presented above. The properties of this double burst model at $`t=10^{7.4}\mathrm{yr}`$ are shown in the figure by the crossed squares. The choice of the time is arbitrary and any other value between $`10^{7.2}\mathrm{yr}`$ and $`10^{7.5}\mathrm{yr}`$ might do. Even in this case the starburst model meets all the observational constraints: $`Q(\mathrm{H})`$ is provided for by the continuous burst while SNR and K luminosity come from the instantaneous burst. The important difference with respect to the single instantaneous burst is that the bolometric luminosity of the burst is now $`20\%`$ of the total bolometric luminosity of the galaxy.

The mechanical luminosity injected by the SN in the ”instantaneous” burst (which dominates also in the double burst model) is $`10^{8.5}\mathrm{L}_{}`$ over $`10^{7.4}\mathrm{yr}`$. This results in a total injected energy of $`10^{57}\mathrm{erg}`$ which is more than enough to account for the observed superwind. Indeed Heckman et al. (heckman (1990)) estimate an energy content of the winds blown cavity of $`1.5\times 10^{55}\mathrm{erg}`$ (after rescaling for the different adopted distance of NGC 4945). Both models agree with the constraints imposed by dynamical measurements that the central mass in stars must be less than 6.6$`\times 10^8`$$`\mathrm{M}_{}`$ (Koornneef koorn (1993), after rescaling for the different assumed distances of the galaxy): the continuous SFR would require 5$`\times 10^9`$$`\mathrm{yr}`$ to produce that mass of stars.

In conclusion, two different star formation histories can reproduce the observed starburst properties but only in one case does the starburst dominate the bolometric luminosity of the galaxy. Therefore the available data do not allow any constraints on the bolometric luminosity of the starburst.

As shown in the next section, the observed ($`L_{\mathrm{FIR}}`$/$`L_\mathrm{X}`$) ratio of NGC 4945 is equal to that of a ”normal” AGN in which the $`L_{\mathrm{FIR}}`$ is reprocessed UV radiation. If the $`L_{\mathrm{FIR}}`$ in NGC 4945 is actually dominated by the starburst, therefore, it is clear that the AGN must be strongly deficient in UV relative to X-rays.

In this starburst-dominant scenario for NGC4945, with the black hole mass inferred from the $`\mathrm{H}_2\mathrm{O}`$ maser measurements (Greenhill. et al. greenhill (1997)), the AGN is emitting at ≲10% of its Eddington Luminosity.

### 4.2 NGC 4945 as an AGN dominated object

By fitting the simultaneous 0.1-200 keV spectrum from BeppoSAX, the absorption corrected luminosity in the 2-10 keV band is $`L_\mathrm{X}(210\mathrm{keV})=3\times 10^{42}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$ (Guainazzi et al., guainazzi (2000)). If the AGN in NGC 4945 has an intrinsic spectral energy distribution similar to a quasar, then $`L_\mathrm{X}(210\mathrm{keV})/L_{\mathrm{bol}}0.03`$ (Elvis et al. elvis (1994)) therefore $`(L_{\mathrm{bol}})_{\mathrm{AGN}}10^{44}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1=2.6\times 10^{10}\mathrm{L}_{}`$ which is the total far-IR luminosity of NGC 4945, measured by IRAS (Rice et al., rice88 (1988)). Thus, a ”normal” AGN in NGC 4945 could in principle power the total bolometric luminosity.

For this scenario, we compare NGC 4945 with a nearby obscured object, the Circinus galaxy, now considered an example of a “standard” Seyfert 2 galaxy (c.f. Oliva et al. oliva94 (1994), Oliva et al. oliva98 (1998), Maiolino et al. 1998a , Matt et al. matt99 (1999), Storchi-Bergmann et al. storchi99 (1999), Curran et al. curran (1999)). In particular, Oliva, Marconi & Moorwood (1999a ) and, previously, Moorwood et al. (1996c ) showed that the total energy output from the AGN required to explain the observed emission line spectrum is comparable to the total FIR luminosity, concluding that any starburst contribution to the bolometric luminosity is small (≲10%). The choice of the Circinus galaxy is motivated by the similar distance (D=4$`\mathrm{Mpc}`$), FIR and hard X-ray luminosities as NGC 4945 ($`L_{\mathrm{FIR}}1.2\times 10^{10}\mathrm{L}_{}`$; Siebenmorgen et al., sieben (1997)$`L_\mathrm{X}(210\mathrm{keV})3.417\times 10^{41}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$; Matt et al., matt99 (1999)). Note that its $`L_\mathrm{X}(210\mathrm{keV})/L_{\mathrm{FIR}}`$ ratio ($`0.010.05`$) is consistent with the average value for quasars (Elvis et al., elvis (1994)).

The overall spectral energy distributions of NGC 4945 and Circinus are compared in Fig. 5. The ”stars” represent the IRAS photometric points (except for the points with the largest wavelength which are the 150$`\mu \mathrm{m}`$ measurements by Ghosh et al. ghosh92 (1992)). In NGC 4945 the points labeled with ”K”, ”L” and ”N” are the upper limits derived from our observations, while in Circinus they represent emission from the unresolved nuclear source corrected for stellar emission (Maiolino et al. 1998a ). The points labeled ”100 keV” are from Done et al. done96 (1996) (NGC 4945) and Matt et al. matt99 (1999) (Circinus). The bars between 13.6 and 54.4 eV are at a level given by $`\nu L_\nu Q(\mathrm{H})<h\nu >`$, where $`Q(\mathrm{H})`$ is the rate of H-ionizing photons and $`<h\nu >`$ is the mean photon energy of the ionizing spectrum. For NGC 4945, $`Q(\mathrm{H})`$ is derived from H recombination lines and thus represent the energy which is radiated by the young starburst; we assumed $`<h\nu >=16\mathrm{ev}`$. For Circinus, the point labeled with ”Starburst” is similarly derived from Br$`\gamma `$ emission associated with the starburst (Oliva et al. oliva94 (1994)) while that labeled ”AGN” is from the estimate made by Oliva, Marconi & Moorwood (1999a ).

In the lower panel, we represent the IR spectrum of Circinus by connecting the photometric points just described. We plot this same spectrum as a dotted line in the upper panel, rescaling to match the 100 keV points. NGC 4945 and Circinus have similar X/FIR ratios:
$`\nu L_\nu (100keV)/L_{FIR}2\times 10^3`$ for Circinus and $`3\times 10^3`$ for NGC 4945. Note that, at each wavelength, both Circinus and NGC 4945 were observed with comparable resolution.

If the AGN in NGC 4945 dominates the luminosity and its intrinsic spectrum is similar to that of Circinus, then the lack of AGN detections in the near-IR and mid-IR require larger obscuration. In particular the non-detection of a K band point source or of dilution of the CO features can be used to estimate the extinction at 2.2$`\mu \mathrm{m}`$. In Circinus from Maiolino et al. 1998a  (K band) and Matt et al. matt99 (1999), we can derive $`\nu L_\nu (K)/\nu L_\nu (100keV)0.5`$. If NGC 4945 has a similar near-IR over hard-X-rays ratio then, given $`\nu L_\nu (K)/\nu L_\nu (100keV)<8\times 10^4`$ (K band upper limit from CO and X-ray data from Done et al. done96 (1996)), the extinction toward the nucleus is $`\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{A}_\mathrm{K}>7`$mag (i.e. $`\mathrm{\Delta }A_\mathrm{V}>70`$mag) larger than in the case of Circinus. Hot dust in NGC 4945 must be hidden by at least $`A_\mathrm{V}>135\mathrm{mag}`$, in agreement with the estimate by Moorwood & Glass (moorwood84 (1984)), $`A_\mathrm{V}>70`$ and, more recently, with an analysis of ISO CVF spectra implying $`A_\mathrm{V}100\mathrm{mag}`$ (Maiolino et al., 2000, in preparation). We note that the required extinction is not unexpected and in agreement with the X-ray measurements. The measured column density in absorption in the X-rays is $`N_\mathrm{H}\mathrm{few}\times 10^{24}\mathrm{cm}^2`$ therefore the expected $`A_V`$, assuming a galactic gas-to-dust ratio is:

$$A_V450\left(\frac{N_\mathrm{H}}{10^{24}\mathrm{cm}^2}\right)$$
(3)
The $`A_V`$ measured from optical/IR data is estimated smaller than derived from X-rays ($`A_V(\mathrm{IR})0.10.5A_V(\mathrm{X})`$; Granato, Danese & Franceschini granato (1997)), therefore the X-ray absorbing column density is in excellent agreement with the required extinction. Very high extinction, expected in the frame of the unified AGN model are observed in many objects as discussed and summarized, for instance, in Maiolino et al. 1998b  and in Risaliti et al. risaliti (1999).

The higher extinction can also qualitatively explain the redder colors of the NGC 4945 FIR spectrum. The solid line in the upper panel is the spectrum of Circinus after applying foreground extinction by $`A_\mathrm{V}=150\mathrm{mag}`$. We have applied the extinction law by Draine & Lee (draine (1984)) and the energy lost in the mid-IR has been reprocessed as 40$`\mathrm{K}`$ dust emission (i.e. black body emission at 40$`\mathrm{K}`$ corrected for $`\lambda ^{1.75}`$ emissivity). Though a careful treatment requires a full radiation transfer calculation, this simple plot demonstrates that (i) the redder color of NGC 4945 with respect to Circinus can be explained with extra absorption and (ii) that this is not energetically incompatible with the observed FIR luminosity, i.e. the absorbed mid-IR emission re-radiated in the FIR does not exceed the observed points.

If the FIR emission is powered by the AGN this is UV radiation re-processed by dust. However, if the AGN emits $`2\times 10^{10}\mathrm{L}_{}`$ in UV photons, high excitation gas emission lines should also be observed. The absence of high ionization lines like $`[\mathrm{O}\text{iii}]`$$`\lambda 5007,4959`$Å (Moorwood et al. 1996a ) or $`[\mathrm{Ne}\text{v}]`$$`\lambda 14.3\mu \mathrm{m}`$ (Genzel et al. genzel98 (1998)) and the low excitation observed in the wind-blown cone strongly argues that no ionizing UV photons (i.e. $`13.6\mathrm{h}\nu <500\mathrm{ev}`$) escape from the inner region. The low excitation H2/Pa$`\alpha `$ map, associated with the peak in H2 emission close to the nucleus location, indicates that ALL ultraviolet photons must be absorbed within $`R<1\stackrel{}{.}5`$, i.e. $`R<30\mathrm{pc}`$ along ALL lines of sight. This is in contrast with the standard unified model of AGN where ionizing radiation escapes along directions close to the torus axis.

If the AGN is embedded in a thick dusty medium then two effects will contribute to its obscuration. First, dust will compete with the gas in absorbing UV photons which will be directly converted into infrared radiation (e.g. Netzer & Laor netzer93 (1993), Oliva, Marconi & Moorwood 1999a ). Second, emission lines originating in this medium will be suppressed by dust absorption. To estimate the amount of required extinction, note that in Circinus $`[\mathrm{Ne}\text{v}]14.3\mu \mathrm{m}/[\mathrm{Ne}\text{ii}]12.8\mu \mathrm{m}=0.4`$ (extinction corrected) and in NGC 4945 $`[\mathrm{Ne}\text{v}]`$/$`[\mathrm{Ne}\text{ii}]`$$`0.008`$ (both ratios are from Genzel et al. genzel98 (1998)). If NGC4945 has the same intrinsic ratio as Circinus, then the observed $`[\mathrm{Ne}\text{v}]`$/$`[\mathrm{Ne}\text{ii}]`$ ratio requires $`A(14.3\mu \mathrm{m})>4.2`$mag corresponding to $`A_\mathrm{V}>110`$mag and in agreement with the above estimates.

We conclude that the AGN can power the FIR emission if it is properly obscured. Inferring the black hole mass from the $`\mathrm{H}_2\mathrm{O}`$ maser observations ($`1.4\times 10^6\mathrm{M}_{}`$, Greenhill. et al. greenhill (1997)), we find in this scenario that the AGN is emitting at $`50\%`$ of its Eddington Luminosity.

### 4.3 On the existence of completely hidden Active Galactic Nuclei

As discussed above, if an AGN powers the FIR emission of NGC 4945, it must be hidden up to mid-IR wavelengths and does not fit in the standard unified model. The possible existence of such a class of Active Nuclei, detectable only at $`>10\mathrm{keV}`$, would have important consequences on the interpretation of IR luminous objects whose power source is still debated.

Genzel et al. (genzel98 (1998)) and Lutz et al. (lutz98 (1998)) compared mid-IR spectra of Ultra Luminous IRAS galaxies (ULIRGs, see Sanders & Mirabel sanders96 (1996) for a review) with those of AGN and starburst templates. They concluded that the absence of high excitation lines (e.g. $`[\mathrm{Ne}\text{v}]`$) and the presence of PAH features undiluted by strong thermal continuum in ULIRGs spectra strongly suggest that the starburst component is dominant. They also show that, after a proper extinction correction, the observed star formation activity can power FIR emission. In their papers, NGC 4945 is classified as a starburst because of its mid-IR properties but, as shown in the previous section, NGC 4945 could also be powered by a highly obscured AGN and the same scenario could in principle apply to all ULIRGs. Their bolometric emission can be powered by an active nucleus completely obscured even at mid-IR wavelengths.

The same argument could be used for the sources detected at submillimeter wavelengths by SCUBA which can be considered as the high redshift counterpart of local ULIRGs. If they are powered by hidden active nuclei then their enormous FIR emission would not require star formation rates in excess of $`>100\mathrm{M}_{}\mathrm{yr}^1`$ (e.g. Hughes et al. hughes98 (1998)), and this would have important consequences for understanding the history of star formation in high redshift galaxies.

In addition, it is well known that in order to explain the X-ray background a large fraction of obscured AGN is required. However Gilli et al. (gilli99 (1999)) have shown that, in order to reconcile the observed X-ray background with hard X-ray counts, a rapidly evolving population of hard X-ray sources is required up to redshift $`1.5`$. No such population is known at the moment and the only class of objects which are known to undergo such a rapid density evolution are local ULIRGs (Kim et al. kim98 (1998)) and, at higher redshift, the SCUBA sources (Smail et al. smail97 (1997)). SCUBA sources are therefore candidates to host a population of highly obscured AGNs.

Almaini et al. (almaini99 (1999)) suggest that, if the SED of high redshift AGN is similar to those observed locally, one can explain 10–20% of the 850$`\mu \mathrm{m}`$ SCUBA sources at 1 mJy. This fraction could be significantly higher if a large population of AGN are Compton thick at X-ray wavelengths. Trentham, Blain & Goldader (trentham (1999)) show that if the SCUBA sources are completely powered by a dust enshrouded AGN then they may help in explaining the discrepancy between the local density in super massive black holes and the high redshift AGN component (see also Fabian & Iwasawa fabian99 (1999)).

Establishing the nature of SCUBA sources could be extremely difficult if the embedded AGNs are like NGC4945, i.e. completely obscured in all directions, because they would then not be identifiable with the standard optical/IR diagnostics. Incidentally, this fact could possibly account for the sparse detections of type 2 AGNs at high redshifts (Akiyama et al. akiyama (1999)).

The best possibility for the detection of NGC4945-like AGNs is via their hard X-ray emission but, unfortunately, the sensitivity of existing X-ray surveys is still not high enough to detect high $`z`$ AGN and the low spatial resolution makes identifications uncertain in the case of faint optical/near-IR counterparts. Moreover, hard X-rays alone are not enough to establish if the AGN dominates the bolometric emission.

## 5 Conclusions

Our new HST NICMOS observations of NGC 4945, complemented by new ground based near and mid-IR observations, have provided detailed morphology of the nuclear region. In $`\mathrm{Pa}\alpha `$, we detect a 100pc-scale starburst ring while in $`\mathrm{H}_2`$ we trace the walls of a conical cavity blown by supernova driven winds. The continuum images are strongly affected by dust extinction but show that even at HST resolution and sensitivity, the nucleus is completely obscured by a dust lane with an elongated, disk-like morphology. We detect neither a strong point source nor dilution in CO stellar features, expected signs of AGN activity.

Whereas all the infrared properties of NGC 4945 are consistent with starburst activity, its strong and variable hard X-ray emission cannot be plausibly accounted for without the presence also of an AGN. Although the starburst must contribute to the total bolometric luminosity we have shown, using starburst models, that the actual amount is dependent on the star formation history. A major contribution from the AGN is thus not excluded. Irrespective of the assumption made, however, our most important conclusion is that the observed variable hard X-ray emission combined with the lack of evidence for reprocessed UV radiation in the infrared is incompatible with the ”standard” AGN model. If the AGN dominates the bolometric luminosity, then its UV radiation must be totally obscured along all lines of sight. If the starburst dominates then the AGN must be highly deficient in its UV relative to X-ray emission. The former case clearly raises the possibility that a larger fraction of ULIRGs than currently thought could actually be AGN rather than starburst powered.

###### Acknowledgements.

A.M. and A.R. acknowledge the partial support of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) through grants ARS–98–116/22 and ARS–99–44 and of the Italian Ministry for University and Research (MURST) under grant Cofin98-02-32. E.J.S. acknowledge support from STScI GO grant O0113.GO-7865. We thank Roeland P. van der Marel for the use of the pedestal estimation and quadrant equalization software.


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# Various regimes of flux motion in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ single crystals

## Abstract

Four regimes of vortex motion were identified in the magnetoresistance of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ single crystals: (1) thermally activated flux flow (TAFF) in samples with surface defects caused by thermal annealing; (2) TAFF-like plastic motion of highly entangled vortex liquid at low temperatures, with $`U_{pl}(1T/T_c)/H^{1/2}`$; (3) pure free flux flow above the region of (2) in clean and optimally doped samples; or, in its place, (4) a combination of (2) and (3). This analysis gives an overall picture of flux motion in Bi cuprates.

The layered structure of high-$`T_c`$ cuprates causes intrinsic pinning even in the vortex liquid state. According to Vinokur et al. , such pinning arises from the plastic creep due to flux entanglement. The highly viscous flux motion gives rise to an activation-type resistivity, $`\rho _{pl}=\rho _0\mathrm{exp}(U_{pl}/T)`$, with $`U_{pl}(1T/T_c)/H^{1/2}`$. This pinned liquid model had been confirmed in recent experimental studies. Another interesting phenomenon is free flux flow, as described by the classical Bardeen-Stephen model , which occurs when the pinning barrier is suppressed. Plastic creep and free flux flow are generally difficult to verify in experiment, because they can be easily replaced by defect pinning effects. Free flux flow (FFF) was only observed in clean YBCO samples , or under high driving forces by using current pulses . For Bi cuprates, intrinsic pinning is weaker due to its higher anisotropy, and is thus more difficult to investigate. In the present work, we report different regimes in flux motion under various pinning circumstances, by measuring the magnetoresistance of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals.

1. Pinning by surface defects In annealed samples, thermally activated flux flow (TAFF) resistance (with $`T`$-independent barrier) was consistently observed down to the lowest $`T`$. Before annealing, on the other hand, a crossover behavior frequently occurred: below some crossover $`T_x`$, plastic creep was identified in agreement with the pinned liquid scenario; Above $`T_x`$ it crossovers to either pure free flux flow or a combination of FFF and TAFF. This clear difference between as-grown and annealed samples is connected to the effect of annealing. Scanning microscopy imaging revealed that the atomic-scale smooth surfaces of as-grown samples could be damaged by thermal annealing ($`450^{}`$C for 4h). Partial evaporation of material results a mesh of sub-$`\mu `$m-sized pits on the sample surfaces. Obviously, such defects can effectively cause pinning to give rise to the TAFF behavior over wide temperature ranges, even when the bulk pinning is absent.

2. Pinning in vortex liquid Figure 1 shows a typical set of resistance data for fields applied along the $`c`$-axis of an as-grown Bi-2212 sample ($`T_c76`$ K). The crossover in flux motion is evident. Similar phenomenon is also clear in other as-grown samples, one of which is presented in Fig. 2. We tried to fit the tail below the crossover temperature to the pinned-liquid model : $`\rho _{pl}=\rho _0\mathrm{exp}(U_{pl}/T)`$, with $`U_{pl}\varphi _0^2a(1T/T_c)/8\gamma \pi ^2\lambda _L(0)^2U_0(1T/T_c)`$, where $`a(\varphi _0/H)^{1/2}`$ is the inter-vortex spacing. The result is given by the solid lines in Fig. 1, which shows satisfactory agreement. The extracted field dependence of $`U_0`$ from Figs. 1 and 2 is plotted in the inset of Fig. 2. At high fields, $`U_0`$ also follows the $`1/\sqrt{H}`$ dependence as predicted (the straight line of -1/2 slope ). Similar behavior and crossover at low fields were reported for Bi-2212  and 2223 .

3. Free flux flow Above the crossover temperature, flux lines become disentangled and the pinning vanishes ($`U<k_BT`$). In this regime, free flux flow is thus expected if there exists no defect pinning. We tried to fit the resistance to the Bardeen-Stephen model: $`R_f=R_NH/H_{c2}`$, where $`R_N`$ is the normal-state extrapolated resistance and $`H_{c2}=\beta (T_cT)`$. One of the results is as shown in Fig. 2 (solid lines). The fitting is impressive over a very wide temperature range (51 to 78 K for $`H=5.5`$ T, $`T_c`$ 85 K). The value of $`\beta `$ is about 0.8 to 1.4 T/K, increasing with field. This result closely agrees with literature data (0.75 T/K) .

4. An intermediate situation involves combined contributions of both FFF and TAFF, as revealed by resistivity of YBCO . The total resistivity is expressed as : $`1/\rho =1/\rho _{fff}+1/\rho _{TAFF}`$. A preliminary fitting of our data to this scheme seems to explain the resistance above the crossover $`T`$ in Fig. 1.

In summary, we emphasize the pinning effect of the surface defects caused by thermal annealing, which results in activation-type flux flow even when the bulk pinning is absent. In clean samples, vortex motion was analyzed in the schemes of pinned liquid (plastic flow) and free flux flow.


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# Resolved Spectroscopy of the Narrow-Line Region in NGC 1068: Kinematics of the Ionized GasBased on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555.

## 1 Introduction

The narrow-line region (NLR) in Seyfert galaxies is characterized by emission lines with widths on the order of 500 km s-1 (full-width at half-maximum, FWHM), which are attributed to motions of the ionized clouds of gas. Over the past couple of decades, ground-based studies attempted to determine the kinematics of the NLR, but a general consensus on the velocity flow pattern was not reached; cases were made for infall, rotation, parabolic orbits, outflow, etc. (e.g., Osterbrock and Mathews 1986, and references therein; DeRobertis & Shaw 1990; Veilleux 1991; Moore & Cohen 1994, 1996). Since the majority of the NLR flux comes from a region that subtends only a few arcseconds in most Seyferts (Schmitt & Kinney 1996), these studies had to rely on spatially-integrated line profiles. Unfortunately, similar profile shapes and asymmetries can be generated from a wide variety of kinematic models (Capriotti, Foltz, & Byard 1980, 1981), and hence the difficulty in determining the velocity fields from these data. By contrast, ground-based studies of the extended narrow-line region (ENLR, at distances typically $``$ 500 pc from the central source) can take advantage of of spatially-resolved spectra; these studies find that the ionized gas in the ENLR is undergoing normal galactic rotation (Unger et al. 1987), with evidence for an additional component of outward radial motion in some cases (Whittle et al. 1988). Despite the limited spatial resolution, recent ground-based studies suggest that the NLR of NGC 1068, the nearest bright Seyfert 2 galaxy, shows evidence for radial outflow (Cecil, Bland, & Tully 1990; Arribas, Mediavilla, and García-Lorenzo 1996), which is a suggestion first offered by Walker (1968).

With the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), we now have the ability to obtain spectra of the NLR at high spatial resolution. The importance of these observations is that we can probe the velocity field of the ionized gas close to the central continuum source, where the supermassive black hole presumably dominates the kinematics (due to its gravitational influence and/or the radiation, winds, and jets emanating from its vicinity). In this letter, we use STIS long-slit spectra of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068 to determine the kinematics of the ionized gas in its NLR. In previous papers, we used these spectra to study the extended continuum emission (Crenshaw & Kraemer 2000, hereafter Paper I) and the physical conditions in ionized gas near the continuum “hot spot” (Kraemer & Crenshaw 2000, Paper II). We adopt a systemic redshift of cz $`=`$ 1148 km s-1 from H I observations of NGC 1068 (Brinks et al. 1997) and a distance of 14.4 Mpc (Bland-Hawthorne 1997), so that 0$`^{\prime \prime }.`$1 corresponds to 7.2 pc.

## 2 Observations and Results

The observations and data reduction are described in detail in Paper I. Briefly, we obtained STIS low-dispersion spectra over the range 1150 – 10,270 Å at a spatial resolution of 0$`^{\prime \prime }.`$05 – 0$`^{\prime \prime }.`$1 and a spectral revolving power of $`\lambda `$/$`\mathrm{\Delta }\lambda `$ $``$ 1000 through a 0$`^{\prime \prime }.`$1 slit at a position angle of 202o. The slit position intercepts the brightest clouds in the inner NLR, as shown in Paper I. Here we concentrate on the brightest emission line, \[O III\] $`\lambda `$5007, to trace the kinematics as far as possible away from the nucleus.

Figure 1 presents an enlarged view of the STIS spectrum, in the region around the H$`\beta `$ and \[O III\] $`\lambda \lambda `$4959, 5007 lines, which show a considerable amount of spatial and velocity structure. The most striking aspect of these lines is that they split into two velocity components both above (SW of) and below (NE of) the spectrum of the continuum hot spot (the horizontal streak). The brightest emission-line clouds show a definite trend of increasing radial velocity with distance from the hot spot, out to an angular distance of about $`\pm `$1$`^{\prime \prime }.`$7. Most of the fainter clouds follow this trend, and show an overall decrease in radial velocity further out, until they approach the systemic velocity. There are a few exceptions to these trends, which we will discuss below.

We determined radial velocities from the \[O III\] $`\lambda `$5007 emission at each pixel location along the slit (at a spacing of 0$`^{\prime \prime }.`$05). At each location, we fit the emission with a local continuum and a Gaussian for each clearly identifiable peak, resulting in 1 or 2 kinematic components. A number of the observed components, particularly near the hot spot, are asymmetric and/or very broad, and we suspect that these may split into multiple components at higher spectral resolution. In Figure 2, we plot the heliocentric radial velocities, widths (FWHM, corrected for the instrumental profile), and fluxes as a function of distance from the peak of the hot spot in our slit (which is 0$`^{\prime \prime }.`$14 north of the hot spot’s centroid in HST optical continuum images, see Paper I).

Most of the radial velocities in Figure 2 follow well-defined curves; the local peaks in the radial velocity curves can be attributed in many cases to bulk motion of the emission-line knots seen in the bottom plot. The pattern of increasing velocity out to $``$1$`^{\prime \prime }.`$7 is evident, except for the blueshifted knots on the SW side, which reach a smaller maximum velocity closer in ($``$1′′). The decrease in radial velocity at greater distances is also clear, except that the redshifted knots in the SW abruptly terminate at about 2$`^{\prime \prime }.`$0. There are two knots of emission NE of the hot spot that do not conform to this pattern at all; one is highly blueshifted ($``$1400 km s-1) and the other is highly redshifted ($`+`$1000 km s-1) with respect to the systemic velocity. The middle plot in Figure 2 shows the large widths of the lines, which tend to decrease with distance, particularly in the SW.

## 3 A Kinematic Model: Biconical Outflow

HST images indicate a biconical geometry for the NLR in most Seyfert 2 galaxies (Schmitt & Kinney 1996), and for NGC 1068 in particular (Evans et al. 1991). The radial velocity curves in Figure 2 suggest a velocity field in which the emission-line knots accelerate out from the inner nucleus, reach a terminal velocity, and then decelerate. Thus, we favor a kinematic model of biconical outflow away from the nucleus. Similar amplitudes of the blueshifted and redshifted curves on the NE side indicate that the axis of the bicone is close to the plane of the sky, and the lack of low radial velocities where the curves peak (around $`\pm `$1$`^{\prime \prime }.`$7) suggests that the bicone is evacuated along its axis.

We have generated a kinematic model of radial outflow in a bicone that is hollow along its axis. We constrain our model to be consistent with the observed morphology: Evans et al. (1991) find that the NLR in NGC 1068 can be described by a bicone with a projected half-opening angle of $``$35o and a position angle of the bicone axis on the sky of 15o. For simplicity, we assume that the two cones have identical properties (geometry, velocity law, etc.), a filling factor of one within the defined geometry, and no absorption of \[O III\] photons (e.g., by dust). The parameters that are allowed to vary in our code are the extent of each cone along its axis (zmax), its minimum and maximum half-opening angles ($`\theta `$inner and $`\theta `$outer), the inclination of its axis out of the plane of the sky (iaxis), and the velocity law as a function of distance from the nucleus. For the latter, we will show that constant acceleration to a maximum velocity (vmax) at a turnover radius (rt), followed by a constant deceleration to zero velocity at the greatest extent of the cone ($`=`$ zmax/cos $`\theta `$outer), provide a reasonable match to the observations.

Our code generates a two-dimensional velocity map and samples this map with a slit that matches the position, orientation, and width of our observational slit (Paper I); in this case, our slit is placed 0$`^{\prime \prime }.`$14 north of the hot spot centroid and rotated 7o with respect to the projected bicone axis. We then compare the simulated and observed radial velocity curves, and adjust the model parameters until a good match is obtained. Since the observed radial velocity curves have significant intrinsic scatter, we do not fine-tune the models (e.g., by choosing different turnover locations and maximum velocities for each side), but settle for an illustrative model that matches the overall trend. The parameters for our final model are given in Table 1.

Figure 3 shows the envelope of radial velocities from the model, compared to the observed radial velocities; the width of the envelope is determined by the range in half-opening angle ($`\theta `$inner to $`\theta `$outer), and the relative amplitudes of blue and redshifted curves are determined by the inclination angle (iaxis). In three quadrants of the plot in Figure 3, the overall trend of observed radial velocities is well matched by the model. 111Note that we have assumed that the origin of the outflow is the continuum hot spot; if the origin is at the S1 radio component (Gallimore, Baum, & O’Dea 1996), which is 0$`^{\prime \prime }.`$17 S of the hot spot (Capetti, Macchetto, & Lattanzi 1997), we find that only minor adjustments are needed in the half-opening angles and turnover radius to match the oberved trend. For the blueshifted emission on the SW side, the radial velocities reach a smaller maximum closer in (at $``$1′′), and show a slight trend towards deceleration further out. As mentioned previously, there are two emission-line knots at very high velocities that do not fit this model at all. The presence of additional points outside of the envelope indicates that there may be a few emission-line knots close to the axis or knots that undergo slightly different accelerations or decelerations. Thus, although this model is simplistic, we adopt it as a tool for interpreting the velocity field, and discuss ways in which the descrepancies can be accommodated.

## 4 Discussion

### 4.1 Comparison with Ground-based Observations

Cecil et al. (1990) provide the most comprehensive set of velocity maps for the NLR of NGC 1068, based on Fabry-Perot observations of the \[N II\] lines at $``$1′′ spatial and 140 km s-1 spectral resolutions; these authors conclude that their data can be explained by cylindrical or biconical outflow. Given the limited spatial resolution, their observations are in agreement with ours and are consistent with our model. Their line profiles along the STIS slit position show a single broad component at the location of the hot spot and double-peaked profiles, separated by $``$1000 km s-1, at a distance $``$2′′ from the hot spot, in agreement with our observations (Figure 3). Outside of the STIS slit position, their profiles show the same double-peaked structure, with the largest velocity separation at $``$2′′ on either side of the hot spot, which is consistent with our model prediction that the highest blueshifts and redshifts should occur at this distance. The higher spatial resolution of the STIS observations allows us to see the acceleration of clouds outward from the nucleus followed by a clear deceleration of the clouds. We have not applied our model to ground-based observations at distances $`>`$ 6′′, where galactic rotation begins to play a much larger role in the kinematics (Baldwin, Whittle, & Wilson 1987).

### 4.2 Comparison with Other Models

Two other kinematic models of the NLR have been proposed on the basis of spectra at high spatial resolution, which were obtained with HST’s Faint Object Camera (FOC). Axon et al. (1998) suggest a model for NGC 1068 in which the gas expands outward from the radio jet (which is nearly coincident with the axis of the ionization cone). Winge et al. (1999) propose a rotating disk model for the NLR in the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151. To test the Axon et al. (1998) suggestion for NGC 1068, we generated a model with the same parameters as in Table 1, except that the velocity vectors are directed perpendicular to the radio axis. In this case, we find that the envelope of radial velocities is nearly the same as in Figure 3, due to the small inclination angle. However, we have two concerns about this model. First, the observed radial velocities follow a well-organized flow pattern, and we can discern no correlation with the clumpy radio structure in the NLR (Gallimore et al. 1996). Second, this model cannot explain the kinematics of the NLR in the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151, where the gas is blueshifted in one cone and redshifted in the other (Winge et al. 1999; Nelson et. al. 2000, and references therein), whereas motions perpendicular to the axis produce equal blueshifts and redshifts in each cone, regardless of the inclination of the axis. We note that our radial outflow model for NGC 1068 provides a slightly better fit than the Axon et al. model, because a small tilt of the axis (5o) can match the slightly different amplitudes of the observed blueshifted and redshifted curves. Furthermore, by tilting the cone axis towards the line of sight, this model can explain the observed radial velocities in NGC 4151 (see Crenshaw et al. 2000).

Winge et al.’s (1999) rotating disk model for NGC 4151 is only used to match their low velocity component (within 300 km s-1 of systemic). Even so, they require an extended (and otherwise undetected) distribution of matter within 0$`^{\prime \prime }.`$1 (64 pc) of the nucleus with a mass on the order of 109 M$``$, in addition to a central point-source mass of 107M$``$. A rotation model can be ruled out for NGC 1068, because high redshifts and blueshifts are seen on either side of the nucleus. Other gravitational models can also be ruled out as the principal source of the velocities in NGC 1068, because the required mass is prohibitive. At the peaks of the velocity curves (ignoring the two knots with very high velocities), the projected distance from the nucleus is $``$120 pc, the projected velocity is $``$850 km s-1, and the required mass is $``$ 1010 M$``$ (a lower limit because of projection effects). By comparison, the dynamical mass from stars within a radius of $``$1′′ from the nucleus of NGC 1068 is only 6 x 108 M$``$ (Thatte et al. 1997). Thus, radial outflow provides the simplest and best explanation of the observed velocities in these two Seyfert galaxies.

### 4.3 Implications of our Model

Our kinematic model assumes constant acceleration of clouds in the inner NLR ($`<`$ 140 pc), and constant deceleration further out; this assumption provides a reasonable match to the observations, although more complicated velocity laws as a function of distance are possible, given the intrinsic scatter in the observed points. Nevertheless, these results favor dynamical models that invoke radiation and/or wind pressure to drive clouds out from the nucleus. The deceleration of clouds further is not primarily due to gravity, for the reasons given above: an unreasonably high mass ($``$1010 M$``$) is required to slow the clouds down. The simplest explanation for the deceleration is that the clouds experience a drag force, presumably due to interaction with ambient material at $``$140 pc from the nucleus. A possible explanation for the blueshifted clouds on the SW side is that they run into ambient material that is closer to the nucleus ($``$80 pc). In this picture, the two high velocity clumps in Figure 3 represent clouds that have not experienced a drag force in the direction they are traveling, which suggests that there are holes in the surrounding medium. We note that gravity may eventually play a role in the kinematics. In our model, the axis of the outflow is inclined by $``$45o with respect to the galactic disk (inclination $`=`$ 40o, major axis at position angle 106 o, see Bland-Hawthorne et al. 1997), and as the NLR clouds slow down, they may be pulled back to the disk, possibly joining the existing ENLR gas.

In conclusion, we find that a biconical outflow model, with evidence for acceleration close to the nucleus and deceleration further out, provides a reasonable explanation for the radial velocities in our long-slit spectrum of NGC 1068. STIS long-slit observations of NGC 1068 at higher spectral resolution and at different slit positions will be helpful in resolving velocity components and mapping out the two-dimensional velocity field. STIS observations of other Seyferts will help test the utility of this model.

This work was supported by NASA Guaranteed Time Observer funding to the STIS Science Team under NASA grant NAG 5-4103.


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# References

February 2000

Reply to A. Patrascioiu’s and E. Seiler’s comment on our paper

Percolation properties of the 2D Heisenberg model

B. Allésa, J. J. Alonsob, C. Criadob, M. Pepec

aDipartimento di Fisica, Università di Milano-Bicocca

and INFN Sezione di Milano, Milano, Italy

bDepartamento de Física Aplicada I, Facultad de Ciencias, 29071 Málaga, Spain

cInstitut für Theoretische Physik, ETH–Hönggerberg, CH–8093 Zürich, Switzerland

The most of the problems raised by the authors of the comment about Ref.  are based on claims which have not been written in , for instance almost all the introduction and the point (1) in are based on such non–existent claims.

Instead in Ref.  we avoid to make claims not based on well–founded results. For instance in the abstract we write “… This result indicates how the model can avoid a previously conjectured Kosterlitz–Thouless \[KT\] phase transition…” and in the conclusive part we notice that “Our results exclude this massless phase for $`T>0.5`$”. Therefore it seems to us that the opening sentence in the Comment “In a recent letter Allés et al. claim to show that the two dimensional classical Heisenberg model does not have a massless phase.” is strongly inadequate.

As for the points that appear in the Comment:

* (1) The purpose of the paper  is to fill a gap in the research about the critical properties of the Heisenberg model. This gap is the following one: in Ref.  a scenario was proposed where the 2D Heisenberg model should undergo a KT phase transition at a finite temperature. This scenario is based mainly on three hypotheses, the third one (which states the non–percolation of the $`𝒮`$–type or equatorial clusters) being left in  without a plausible justification. To back up that hypothesis a numerical test was cited in  but the details of the numerics (temperature, size of the lattice, etc.) and several data concerning the percolation properties of the system, were completely skipped. The only quoted result was (see beginning of section 4 in ) “We also tested numerically for $`ϵ=1/3`$,… There is no indication of percolation…”. On the contrary, such interesting results about the critical properties should be put forward with a thorough description of the hypotheses involved. Moreover, one would like to understand how was possible to use the small value of epsilon mentioned in Ref. , because that value implies a really tiny temperature $`T`$ and consequently it requires a huge lattice size. If “Everybody agrees that at $`\beta =2.0`$ the standard action model has a finite correlation length”, see , also everybody would like to know details about the numerics and the computer used to simulate the model at such a small temperature.
* (2) There is a statement in  which is repeated several times: all results are valid for any versor $`\stackrel{}{n}`$ of the internal symmetry space $`O(3)`$. In particular, a percolating equatorial cluster is found for every $`\stackrel{}{n}`$. Under these conditions, we do not see how the percolation of the equatorial cluster may lead to a breaking of the $`O(3)`$ symmetry.

On the other hand, the fractal properties of a cluster are very sensitive to the choice of parameters. By varying $`ϵ`$ around the value $`ϵ=1`$ (for $`T=0.5`$), one can make the data for $`M_𝒮/L^2`$ in Table 1 of  to change rather dramatically. It is important (even in the case of a high temperature regime, like $`T=0.5`$) to study this dependence. It is sensible to expect that the fractal properties of the cluster show up at the threshold of percolation. Again in  we do not claim that the cluster is a fractal, but just write “… \[the equatorial clusters\] present a high degree of roughness recalling a fractal structure”. To state any firmer claim, a deep analysis of the errors and better statistics in Table 1 should be performed. All these problems are currently investigated.
* (3) It is true that not all flimsy clusters can avoid a KT transition. However this trivial truth proves nothing. Other kinds of lattices can hold versions of the $`XY`$ model with no transition (see for instance ).

On the other hand, the statement “… there should be no doubt that on such a lattice \[square holes of side length $`L`$\] the $`O(2)`$ model has a KT phase transition for any finite $`L`$” is surprising. In Ref.  it is shown that for any finite $`L`$ the KT transition is still present but it approaches $`T=0`$ as $`L`$ becomes larger. The idea of a fractal as the limit of some kind of cluster should not be forgotten.
* (4) We agree with one of the sentences of this point: “It would be interesting to verify this \[the existence of a KT transition for $`XY`$ models on a fractal lattice\]”. Yet we do not see the relevance of such an obvious claim.

We disagree however with the authors of when they say “our argument does not depend on the existence of such a transition on that particular percolating cluster”. Instead, after the conclusions of Ref. , we think that the non–rigorous proof proposed in  for the case when the equatorial cluster does percolate, heavily lies on whether or not such a transition is realized.

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