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Article Contents

ABSTRACT

1.INTRODUCTION

2.SPECTRAL CLASSIFICATION OF GALACTIC NUCLEI

2.1.Physical Motivation

2.2.Sample Spectra

2.3.Diagnostic Diagrams

2.4.Starlight Subtraction

2.5.Other Classification Criteria

3.SURVEYS OF NEARBY GALACTIC NUCLEI

3.1.The Palomar Survey

3.2.Other Surveys

3.3.Detection Rates

3.4.Broad Emission Lines

3.5.Robustness and Completeness

4.HOST GALAXY PROPERTIES

4.1.Global Parameters

4.2.Nuclear Stellar Populations

4.3.Influence of Bars and Environment

5.NUCLEAR PROPERTIES

5.1.Ionizing Continuum Radiation

5.2.Radio Cores

5.3.X-ray Cores

5.4.Circumnuclear Thermal Plasma

5.5.Broad-line Region

5.6.Torus

5.7.Narrow-line Region Kinematics

5.8.Spectral Energy Distribution

5.9.Luminosity Function

5.10.Bolometric Luminosities and Eddington Ratios

6.EXCITATION MECHANISMS

6.1.Nonstellar Photoionization

6.2.Contribution from Fast Shocks

6.3.Contribution from Stellar Photoionization

6.4.Energy Budget

6.5.The Nature of Transition Objects and a Unified View of LLAGNs

7.IMPLICATIONS FOR BLACK HOLE DEMOGRAPHICS

8.IMPLICATIONS FOR ACCRETION PHYSICS

8.1.Why Are LLAGNs So Dim?

8.2.The Disk-Jet Connection

8.3.The Central Engine of LLAGNs

9.CONCLUDING REMARKS

REFERENCES