Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph Long‐Slit Spectroscopy of the Narrow‐Line Region of NGC 4151. I. Kinematics and Emission‐Line Ratios

Abstract

Long-slit spectra of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151 from the UV to the near-infrared have been obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) to study the kinematics and physical conditions in the narrow-line region (NLR). The kinematics shows evidence for three components, a low-velocity system in normal disk rotation, a high-velocity system in radial outflow at a few hundred kilometers per second relative to the systemic velocity, and an additional high-velocity system also in outflow with velocities up to 1400 km s -1, in agreement with results from STIS slitless spectroscopy. We have explored two simple kinematic models and suggest that radial outflow in the form of a wind is the most likely explanation. We also present evidence indicating that the wind may be decelerating with distance from the nucleus. We find that the emission-line ratios along our slits are all entirely consistent with photoionization from the nuclear continuum source. A decrease in the ratios [O III] λ5007/Hβ and [O III] λ5007/[O II] λ3727 suggests that the density decreases with distance from the nucleus. This trend is borne out by the [S II] ratios as well. We find no strong evidence for interaction between the radio jet and the NLR gas in either the kinematics or the emission-line ratios, in agreement with the recent results of Kaiser et al., who found no spatial coincidence of NLR clouds and knots in the radio jet. These results are in contrast to other recent studies of nearby active galactic nuclei that find evidence for significant interaction between the radio source and the NLR gas. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.