Program: GN-2014B-Q-87

Although long recognized as an important component of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), the fundamental nature of the Narrow Line Region (NLR) remains poorly understood, even though it appears to represent an interface where we see the effects of AGN feedback on the host galaxy ISM in the form of ionizing radiation and winds. Early studies of luminous "prototypical" nearby active galaxies have led to the picture that the NLR is a cone-shaped region reaching 100pcs from the nucleus where the gas is in outflow. However, recent modeling of the NLR based on long-slit spectroscopy of a large sample shows that conical outflows are present in only 1/3 of the cases. In general, NLR kinematics are complex and ambiguous, and disentangling the multiple kinematic components can only be achieved via two-dimensional spectroscopic mapping. We thus propose a survey of the kinematics of the NLR of a well-defined sample of nearby AGN using GMOS-IFU. The new observations will build on existing data for several objects to complete a distance-limited sample of 30 galaxies selected to exhibit extended [OIII]5007A emission and to span a range of AGN luminosities. We will use the observations to: (1) separate distinct kinematic components: rotation in the galaxy disk, inflows and outflows, (2) determine the geometry, extent and inclination of the outflow, (3) obtain mass inflow and outflow rates, (4) determine the kinetic power of the outflow to gauge its impact on the galaxy, (5) correlate all these properties with the AGN luminosity.