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Carnegie Observatories, 813 Santa Barbara St., Pasadena, CA 91101-1292, USA
ABSTRACT. Many nearby galaxies contain optical signatures of nuclear activity in the form of LINER nuclei. LINERs may be the weakest and most common manifestation of the quasar phenomenon. The physical origin of this class of objects, however, has been ambiguous. I draw upon a number of recent observations to argue that a significant fraction of LINERs are low-luminosity active galactic nuclei.
Table of Contents
AGN CENSUS IN NEARBY GALAXIES
RECENT OBSERVATIONAL RESULTS ON LINERs
Host Galaxy Properties
Detection of Massive Black Holes
Detection of Broad-Line Regions
Ultraviolet Emission and Constraints on Shock
Excitation
Clues from the X-rays
Compact Radio Cores
The Spectral Energy Distributions of LINERs
A PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF LINERs
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
REFERENCES
