SEYFERT 1 & 2 GALAXIES

AND THE UNIFIED MODEL OF AGN

ROBERTO BARTALI

ABSTRACT
In 1943 Carl Seyfert recognized a special class of galaxies, now called Seyfert in
his honor. Seyfert galaxies belongs to a group of objects called Active Galactic Nuclei
(AGN). The peculiarity of this kind of galaxies is a very luminous nucleus with a very little
extension, its luminosity is greater than the full galaxy. Different type of Seyfert galaxies
were discovered and classified depending on visual property, emission lines in their spectra,
X ray emission, IR characteristic, etc, but from its discovery until now there is a
controversy about if they are all the same kind of object we are viewing at different tilt
angle (Unified Model) or really they are various kind of galaxies.
The aim of this essay is to discuss about the Unified Model (UM) and about the
methodology used to proof or discard it. The source of the problem may stay in the
correctness, or not, to analyze just a sample, selecting just a few objects with some
properties in common, perhaps this is the reason why we have different results, because
they are based on limited observations.
First of all it is important to know what is and why Seyfert galaxies and AGN are
different from normal galaxies; after to do that, the reader is introduced to the basics of the
UM.

SEYFERT GALAXIES
This class of galaxies are spiral or irregular
characterized by a very bright nucleus (Figure 1), the
luminosity of the nucleus is comparable with that of all
the galaxy, also this luminosity shows variations with a
short period, from days to less than a year best seen at
some specific wavelength (Figure 3). This variations can
be up to 1 visual magnitude. Some Seyfert also exhibit a
variation not only in the intensity of the emission,
Figure 1
Left: Seyfert galaxy (Sy1) NGC5548
but in the with of the line, implying a change in the
Right: Normal Spiral galaxy NGC3277 structure of the galaxy and maybe this is a symptom
From University of Alabama web page of the change in the inclination angle of the
obscuring torus.
The nucleus is very small, the size is much less than a light year, light month or
even much less. There are very strong emission lines of hydrogen, helium, nitrogen and
oxygen in their spectra (Figure 2) (He II, Ne V, O II, Ne III, N II, S II, O III) and are not
generated from stellar source, but from very hot ionized gasses falling into an accretion
disk around the nucleus. These lines are broadened by Doppler effect implying a high speed
velocity of gases rotating at up to 4000 km/s in the inner part of the nucleus. Gasses falling
into the accretion disk has a velocity proportional to the distance to the center and we see
this by the less variation of the luminosity far from the nucleus and from a less broadened
spectral emission lines. Seyfert spectra is almost continuum from gamma rays to radio
waves.

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 The interior of the nucleus is though to be a very massive black hole containing
millions or billions of solar masses.Seyfert galaxies are classified into two groups: Seyfert
1 (Sy1) and Seyfert 2 (Sy2), the difference consist in the emission lines in the spectra which
are highly broadened for Sy1. Sy1 spectra contains both thin lines and broad lines, but Sy2
spectra only contains thin lines (Figure 2). Analyzing spectra of other galaxies with Seyfert
properties, astronomers recognize intermediate type and they are called, for example, Sy1.5
or Sy1.9 depending on how close are their spectra from the two main classes.

Figure 2 Figure 3
Up: Example of Seyfert galaxy 1 spectra X Ray variability of Seyfert 1 galaxy
Down: Example of Seyfert 2 spectra IRAS 13224-3809
From University of Alabama web page From University of Alabama web page

As we can observe, about 2% to 10% (depending on the author) of all spiral

galaxies are Seyfert type, it seems that at one particular stage in their life, each one could be
Seyfert, maybe our own Milky Way was long time ago or will be in the far future one too.
Radiation emission is very strong in the X ray, UV and IR, in the visible part is
almost continuum and in the gamma rays is not very strong and fall at about 100 KeV. The
luminosity in the radio frequency domain is comparable to that of the visible.
For maintaining the black hole active, a large quantity of mass will be converted
into energy, but there are no evidence of such mass in most cases. Maybe because of
distance we can not see a faint galaxy interacting with the Seyfert nucleous.

UNIFIED MODEL

The Unified Model could be represented graphically as Figure 4, where the inner
part of the nucleus is a black hole, with an accretion disc and a thick torus of dust and gas
around.
The torus is partially opaque to radiation and if we see, exactly, edge on the galaxy,
and if we suppose that the thickness of the torus is more or less equal of the accretion disc,
we get narrower emission lines in the spectrum, because we only see the gas rotating at low
velocity far from the black hole, falling into the accretion disc. This is the spectral signature
of Seyfert type 2 galaxy.
Opposite way, if we see the galaxy face on, we get the emission spectral lines
broadened by Doppler effect because we are viewing directly the accretion disc and the gas
falling into the center at very high speed. This is the signature of the Seyfert Type 1 galaxy.
The presence of the narrower lines is because we also see the gas far from the center and

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the torus. But not all galaxies are placed in this preferred position, so we can see galaxies
tilted at any angle, this way we get spectra with
lines like a combination of Type 1 and Type 2.
As said in the abstract, Seyfert galaxies
belongs to a class of objects called AGN, which
include BL Lacertae, Radio Galaxies, Quasars,
Interacting Galaxies and Liners. All of them shows
emission lines not generated by stars, as in normal
galaxy, and the most accepted origin for that is a
super massive black hole. According to the UM, all
AGN are the same kind of galaxy, but viewed at
different angle, so we have all pieces of the puzzle
and we have to put everything at the right place to
Figure 4
Schematic diagram of a Seyfert nucleus understand the AGN phenomenon. According to
From NASA web page this model, radio emission lobes can be very
extended but if we see figure 5 and suppose that
the emission is parallel to the jets, as they are, in some objects viewed face on or tilted a
little angle, we only perceive one emission, if the object is tilted at a great angle, we can
receive radiation from both lobes.

OTHER MODELS
Many astronomers are working on Seyfert galaxies and in general on all AGN
objects. Depending on which one and on the kind of instruments they use, they conclude
that every AGN is a different type of galaxy, living in its proper environment. Some other
tells about an evolution from some type to another (Figure 5), but almost all, believe that
the powerful engine in the
center is a super massive
black hole, under our actual
knowledge, the only way to
produce so much radiation.
About 30 years ago, scientist believe that Seyfert
Figure 5 galaxies was formed by successive explosion of the
Evolution path for Seyfert Galaxies
From Curran, 2000
nucleus and the emission lines was originated from
the expansion of gas clouds, this theory is exactly the
opposite of what we know now. Some astronomers
classify AGN objects depending on the presence or not of radio emission and on the way
this radiation reach us, so Seyferts are different from Quasars and form Radio Galaxies.

CONCLUSION
There are many papers describing observations and theories about Seyfert Galaxies
and all kind of AGN, and surprisingly, many are contradictory, this is the reason for the
controversy.
We have to read carefully as much papers as we can do in order to take the decision
for joining one path or the other.
Each paper for its own, seems to be right, but the true is only one. I think everybody
has a part of that “true” but nobody, yet, could place all things in the right place, so we still

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have a unresolved puzzle. Maybe nobody is interested to do that, because all papers I read,
just take into account some specific characteristics. The final result of each studied sample
seems to proof what they want to proof in advance, in other words, if I want to proof that
something is white, without the risk to fail, I select my sample very carefully and include
only white or light gray things. Of course this is only my though because I am not a
specialist in this fields.
To resolve the controversy, it would be better to make a complete sky survey, at
first, to detect all AGN objects, using all catalogued objects and, most important, forget
older classification and take all as AGN. Then, observe each one at as many wavelength as
possible, and here is the trick, do not select or separate objects before, but treat each one as
it would be the only known object of that class. This is equivalent to take the Universe as bi
dimensional. If we first select our sample, we loose the impartiality. After we have all the
observations, we can start to divide or separate objects which share something in common
at certain wavelength. Certainly, many objects could be classified in more than one class, as
would be expected if they belongs really to the same kind, now is the time to put all objects
in a tri dimensional Universe, taking into account distance and red-shift. Comparison of
similar objects located at different distance, help to find a model; if we find several classes
of objects at same distance from us we can also try to find a relationship between them.
To fuelling the central black hole, a very large quantity of matter must be available
and a good candidate could be another galaxy merging or interacting with the Seyfert or
another kind of AGN. Some scientist are working in this way, trying to demonstrate that
Sy2 have a companion and Sy1 do not, but maybe the Sy1 companions are too faint or
obscured by the galaxy itself due to the face on view. When we see Sy2, edge on, we have
more chance to see what are near the galaxy without any obstruction. This is another
consideration that proof that the selected sample is crucial for reach a bruising result.
Finally, after the analysis of various papers and books reading on this theme, I agree
with the Unified Model and, as I said earlier, everyone is right, but only partially.

REFERENCES
1) Dultzin-Hacyan et al, THE CLOSE ENVIRONMENT OF SEYFERT GALAXIES AND
ITS IMPLICATION FOR UNIFICATION MODELS, astro_ph/9901227, 1999

2) Deluit, Courvoisier, THE INTRINSIC EMISSION OF SEYFERT GALAXIES

OBSERVED WITH BEPPOSAX/PDS, astro_ph/0303085, 2003

3) Uryson A, NEARBY SEYFERT GALAXIES ARE POSSIBLE SOURCES OF

COSMIC RAYS ABOVE 4X10E19 Ev, astro_ph/0303347

4) Maia, et al, THE POPULATION OF SEYFERT GALAXIES IN THE LOCAL

UNIVERSE, Revista Mexicana de Astronomia y Astrofisica, 2002

5) Curran S., SEYFERT GALAXIES: A REVIEW, PhD thesis, 2000

6) Maffei P., I MOSTRI DEL CIELO, Mondadori, 1976

7) Unsold A, THE NEW COSMOS, Springer Verlag, 1991

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8) Sparke L, Gallagher J, GALAXIES IN THE UNIVERSE, AN INTRODUCTION,
Cambridge, 2000

9) Freedman R., UNIVERSE, Freeman, 2002

Internet references
10) http://www.astr.ua.edu/keel/agn/
11) http://www.astro.umd.edu/education/astro/actgal/seyfert.html
12) http://www.pa.uky.edu/~shlosman/gals/SEYFERT/
13) http://www.seds.org/~spider/spider/ScholarX/seyferts.html
14) http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~soper/ActiveGalxy/seyfert.html
15) http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Seyfert_galaxy
16) http://www.sao.ru/hq/lsfvo/results/engpage/node4.html
17) http://www.jca.umbc.edu/~george/images/schematics/agn_engine_small.gif
18) http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/active_galaxies.html
19) http://cosmos.colorado.edu/cw2/courses/astr1120/text/chapter11/l11S4.htm
20) http://www.atnf.csiro.au/pasa/15_2/heisler/paper/node2.html