Studying the Fueling and Uniication Models for the Seyfert Galaxy Ngc 3227 Using Adaptive Optics Imaging and Spectroscopy

We present high spatial resolution, near-IR images in J,H, and K of the nucleus of NGC 3227, obtained with the Adaptive Optics bonnette on CFHT. The 0:15" (17pc) resolution allows us to probe structures in the very core region at unprecedented scales. We are able to identify an inwards spiraling starburst in all three near-IR bands and a counterpart in an HST V-band image. Dust obscuration becomes signiicantly less pronounced at longer wavelengths, revealing the true geometry of the core region. The observed structures may help to ellucidate how the material needed to fuel the active nucleus is traveling from the orbit just inside the Inner Linblad Resonance (ILR) to the smaller 50pc scale probed by our images, and further down to where viscous forces may take over to carry material to the accretion disk of the central black hole. Additional support for this scenerio is obtained from OASIS Integral Field Spectroscopy with 0.8 00 resolution.