We present two-dimensional gas-kinematic maps of the central region in Centaurus A. The adaptive optics (AO) assisted SINFONI data from the VLT have a resolution of 0.12 00 in K band. The ionized gas species (Br, [Fe ii], [Si vi]) show a rotational pattern that is increasingly overlaid by nonrotational motion for higher excitation lines in the direction of Cen A's radio jet. The emission lines of molecular hydrogen (H 2 ) show regular rotation and no distortion due to the jet. The molecular gas seems to be well settled in the gravitational potential of the stars and the central supermassive black hole, and we thus use it as a tracer to model the mass in the central AE1.5 00 . These are the first AO integral-field observations on the nucleus of Cen A, enabling us to study the regularity of the rotation around the black hole, well inside the radius of influence, and to determine the inclination angle of the gas disk in a robust way. The gas kinematics are best modeled through a tilted-ring model that describes the warped gas disk; its mean inclination angle is $34 and the mean position angle of the major axis is $155 . The best-fit black hole mass is M BH ¼ (4:5 þ1:7 À1:0 ) ; 10 7 M (3 error), based on a kinematically hot disk model where the velocity dispersion is included through the Jeans equation. This black hole mass estimate is somewhat lower than, but consistent with, the mass values previously derived from ionized gas kinematics. It is also consistent with the stellar dynamical measurement from the same AO observations, which we present in a separate paper. It brings Cen A into agreement with the M BH -relation.

Spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of the central few tens of parsec region of some of the nearest, most well-studied, active galactic nuclei (AGN) are presented. These genuine AGNcore SEDs, mostly from Seyfert galaxies, are characterized by two main features: an infrared (IR) bump with the maximum in the 2-10 μm range and an increasing X-ray spectrum with frequency in the 1 to ∼200 keV region. These dominant features are common to Seyfert type 1 and 2 objects alike. In detail, type 1 AGN are clearly distinguished from type 2 by their high spatial resolution SEDs: type 2 AGN exhibit a sharp drop shortwards of 2 μm, with the optical to UV region being fully absorbed; type 1s instead show a gentle 2 μm drop ensued by a secondary, partially absorbed optical to UV emission bump. On the assumption that the bulk of optical to UV photons generated in these AGN is reprocessed by dust and re-emitted in the IR in an isotropic manner, the IR bump luminosity represents 70 per cent of the total energy output in these objects, and the second energetically important contribution is the high energies above 20 keV.Galaxies selected by their warm IR colours, i.e. presenting a relatively flat flux distribution in the 12-60 μm range, have often being classified as AGN. The results from these high spatial resolution SEDs question this criterion as a general rule. It is found that the intrinsic shape of the infrared SED of an AGN and inferred bolometric luminosity largely depart from those derived from large aperture data. AGN luminosities can be overestimated by up to two orders of magnitude if relying on IR satellite data. We find these differences to be critical for AGN luminosities below or about 10 44 erg s −1 . Above this limit, AGN tend to dominate the light of their host galaxy regardless of the integration aperture size used. Although the number of objects presented in this work is small, we tentatively mark this luminosity as a threshold to identify galaxy-light-dominated versus AGN-dominated objects.

A B S T R A C TWe present near-infrared 1:5-2:5 mm moderate-resolution long-slit spectra of two Seyfert 1 galaxies (NGC 1097 and 1566), three Seyfert 2s (NGC 1386, 4945 and 5128) and one Seyfert 1.5 (NGC 3227), both parallel to an ionization cone or jet and perpendicular to it. The spectra are used to study the spatial extent of the line emission, integrated masses of excited H 2 and the excitation mechanisms of interstellar gas. In all three Seyfert 2 galaxies, [Fe II] is found to be stronger than Brg or H 2 1 -0 S(1), while in the Seyfert 1 NGC 1566 and the Seyfert 1.5 NGC 3227 Brg is the strongest line. Broad Brg originating from the broad-line region (BLR) is detected in three galaxies (NGC 1386, 1566 and 3227), of which NGC 1386 is optically classified as Seyfert 2. In these galaxies [Fe II] is narrow and may be X-ray excited. In all galaxies except in NGC 5128, the spatial full width at half-maximum (FWHM) size of the H 2 1 -0 S(1) nuclear core is larger perpendicular to the cone or jet than parallel to it, in agreement with active galactic nucleus (AGN) unified models. The values of nuclear N H 2 are higher in Seyfert 2s than in Seyfert 1s, with the Seyfert 1.5 NGC 3227 lying between them. The exception to this is the Seyfert 2 NGC 1386, where two extended regions are detected parallel to the cone. Coronal lines are detected in two galaxies, NGC 1386 and 3227.