Virial and jet-induced velocities in Seyfert galaxies. I - A compilation of narrow line region and host galaxy properties

Abstract

Data for a sample of 140 Seyfert galaxies have been compiled with the aim of studying the dependence of nuclear gas velocities on properties of the host galaxy and properties of the nuclear activity. Parameters which characterize these three basic qualities include (1) [O III] λ5007 emission line widths measured at various levels in the profile, (2) galaxy luminosity, morphology, inclination, disturbance, and rotation amplitude, and (3) Hβ luminosity, [O III] λ5007 luminosity, radio luminosity, radio morphology, and Seyfert type. Because compilations of this type draw on a wide range of data quality, each value has been assigned a simple yet well defined quality rating (a, b, c, r = reject). These indicate the relative data reliability and allow one to monitor the influence of poor data on correlation analyses. Simple descriptions of the parameter distributions are given. Analysis of the data sets is presented in two companion papers. In these, galaxy rotation amplitude and galaxy luminosity are used as host galaxy virial parameters, while radio luminosity and radio morphology are used to identify nuclear perturbation in the form of outflowing jets. Both virial motion and jetlike perturbations are found to play important roles in determining the velocity field in the narrow line region of Seyfert galaxies.