A host galaxy study of southern narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies

¹ Aalto University Metsähovi Radio Observatory, Metsähovintie 114, 02540 Kylmälä, Finland
e-mail: irene.varglund@aalto.fi
² Aalto University Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering, PO Box 15500 00076 Aalto, Finland
³ European Space Agency (ESA), European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), Camino Bajo del Castillo s/n, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
⁴ Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Oklahoma, 440 W. Brooks St., Norman, OK 73019, USA
⁵ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “G. Galilei”, Universitá di Padova, Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 3, 35122 Padova, Italy
⁶ European Southern Observatory (ESO), Alonso de Córdova 3107, Casilla 19, Santiago 19001, Chile
⁷ Las Campanas Observatory, Carnegie Observatories, Colina El Pino, Casilla 601, La Serena, Chile

Received: 13 February 2023
Accepted: 1 September 2023

Abstract

We studied seven nearby narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies in J and Ks bands with redshifts varying from 0.019 to 0.092. This is the first multi-source study targeting the hosts of southern NLS1 galaxies. Our data were obtained with the FourStar instrument of the 6.5 m Magellan Baade telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory (Chile). The aim of our study is to determine the host galaxy morphologies of these sources by using GALFIT. We were able to model six out of the seven sources reliably. Our conclusion is that all of the reliably modelled sources are disk-like galaxies, either spirals or lenticulars. None of these sources present an elliptical morphology. Our findings are in agreement with the hypothesis that disk-like galaxies are the main host of jetted NLS1 galaxies. Taking advantage of observations in two bands, we also produced a J − Ks colour map of each source. Five of the six colour maps show significant dust extinction near the core of the galaxy – a feature often seen in gamma-ray-detected jetted NLS1 galaxies, and interpreted to be a consequence of a past minor merger.