individual
What campus are you from?
Daytona Beach
Authors' Class Standing
Margret Stanley, Senior
Lead Presenter's Name
Margret Stanley
Faculty Mentor Name
Bililign Dullo
Abstract
NGC 1512 is a nearby barred spiral galaxy distinguished by a bright circumnuclear ring which makes it an ideal candidate for investigating how galactic structures influence the fueling of supermassive black honles (SMBHs). This projects employs high-resolution near-infrared imaging from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to analyze the photometric properties of the central region of NGC 1512. The primary objective is to evaluate the ring's role in channeling gas inward and potentially triggering active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity. Using data from JWST's NIRCam instrument across filters F150W, F277W, F335W, and F444W we conducted detailed photometric profiling and RGB image construction. Software tools such as Photutils and IMFIT were applied to extract surface nrightness profiles and isolate key components including ring, inner bar, and bulge. Preliminary results show a photometrically prominent nuclear ring with embedded star-forming regions and structural algnment consistent with bar- driven gas inflow. These findings reinforce that secular processes within disk galaxies can play a significant role in AGN fueling.
Did this research project receive funding support from the Office of Undergraduate Research.
No
Investigating the role of the circumnuclear ring in fueling the central supermassive black hole of the spiral galaxy NGC 1512 using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
NGC 1512 is a nearby barred spiral galaxy distinguished by a bright circumnuclear ring which makes it an ideal candidate for investigating how galactic structures influence the fueling of supermassive black honles (SMBHs). This projects employs high-resolution near-infrared imaging from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to analyze the photometric properties of the central region of NGC 1512. The primary objective is to evaluate the ring's role in channeling gas inward and potentially triggering active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity. Using data from JWST's NIRCam instrument across filters F150W, F277W, F335W, and F444W we conducted detailed photometric profiling and RGB image construction. Software tools such as Photutils and IMFIT were applied to extract surface nrightness profiles and isolate key components including ring, inner bar, and bulge. Preliminary results show a photometrically prominent nuclear ring with embedded star-forming regions and structural algnment consistent with bar- driven gas inflow. These findings reinforce that secular processes within disk galaxies can play a significant role in AGN fueling.