High-Resolution Imaging Of Brackett-Gamma And H2 1-0 S(1) Emission In The Seyfert-Galaxy Ngc-1068

We report 1" resolution imaging of 2-mu-m H I Br-gamma and H-2 1-0 S(1) line emission toward the nucleus of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068. The data, taken with a new imaging Fabry-Perot, show that the emission in both infrared lines originates from within 2" (170 pc) of the peak of radio, near-infrared, and visible continuum radiation. The vibrational H-2 emission has a double-lobed shape, with a minimum toward the nucleus and two peaks about 1.3" on either side of the nucleus along position angle 70-degrees east of north. In contrast, the Br-gamma emission is peaked on the nucleus, similar to the central radio continuum structure and the narrow-line region (NLR) in the visible. The Br-gamma emission has a almost-equal-to 1" (FWHM) diameter and is more compact than the distributions of visible NLR tracers.The H-2 emission is probably produced in hot gas with mass a few 10(3) M.. However, the total H-2 mass in the circumnuclear region hydrogen may approach 10(8) M.. The H-2 emission is not produced in a 1 pc size obscuring torus but probably comes from a system of molecular clouds in the vicinity of the NLR. The molecular clouds probably contribute significantly to the extinction of the nuclear source.We propose that the circumnuclear Br-gamma and H-2 emission lines are excited in gas heated by UV or X-ray photons emitted by a central nonstellar source.