With AKARI, we carried out near-infrared spectroscopy of the nearby barred spiral galaxy, NGC 1097, categorized as Seyfert 1 with a circumnuclear starburst ring. Our observations mapped the galactic center region. As a result, we obtain the spatial distributions of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon 3.3μm and the aliphatic hydrocarbon 3.4−3.6 μm emission. The former is detected from all the observed regions and the latter is enhanced near the bar connecting the ring with the nucleus. In addition, we detect absorption features due to H2O ice and CO/SiO at the ring and the galactic center, while we detect the hydrogen recombination line Brα only from the ring. Hence the observed spectra change dramatically within the central 1 kpc region.

We present the IRC images of M51, a pair of interacting galaxies. Given the high angular resolution (7.4") and the wide field of view (~ 10') covering almost the entire M51 system, we investigate dust properties and their connection to the spiral arm structure. We have applied image-filtering processes including the wavelet analysis to the N3 image, which traces the total stellar mass best among the IRC bands. From this filtered image, the center, arm, and interarm regions are defined. A color, or flux ratio among the MIR bands, has been measured at each pixel (3.7" in size). We find a wide variety of S7/S11 with a difference between arm and interarm regions. We also find that at some positions S11 seems to be higher than predicted by MW dust models. Estimated contributions from the stellar continuum and gas emission lines to the band are not enough to explain this discrepancy. From these results, we deduce that the PAH ionization condition and its fraction to the total dust mass in M51 are different from those in MW.

The absorption features due to interstellar ices, especially H2O and CO2 ices, provide us with crucial information on present and past interstellar environments, and thus the evolutionary histories of galaxies. Before AKARI, however, few detections of ices were reported for nearby galaxies. The AKARI's unique capability of near-infrared spectroscopy with high sensitivity enables us to systematically study ices in nearby galaxies. Thus we have explored many near-infrared spectra ( 2.5−5μm ) of the 211 pointed observations, searching for the absorption features of ices. As a result, out of 122 nearby galaxies, we have significantly detected H2O ice from 36 galaxies and CO2 ice from 9 galaxies. It is notable that the ices are detected not only in late-type galaxies but also in early-type galaxies. We find that CO2 ice is more compactly distributed near the galactic center than H2O ice. Finally, we suggest that the gas density of a molecular cloud and UV radiation may be important factors to determine the abundance of ices.

Nearby spiral galaxies M101 and M81 are considered to have undergone a galaxy-galaxy interaction. M101 has experienced HI gas infall due to the interaction. With AKARI far-infrared (IR) photometric observations, we found regions with enhanced star forming activity, which are spatially close to regions affected by the interaction. In addition, the relation between the star formation rate (SFR) and the gas content for such regions shows a significant difference from typical spiral arm regions. We discuss possible explanations for star formation processes on a kiloparsec scale and the association with interaction-triggered star formation. We also observed the compact group of galaxies Stephan's Quintet (SQ) with the AKARI Far-infrared Surveyor (FIS). The SQ shows diffuse intergalactic medium (IGM) due to multiple collisions between the member galaxies and the IGM. The intruder galaxy NGC 7318b is currently colliding with the IGM and causes a large-scale shock. The 160 micron image clearly shows the structure along the shock ridge as seen in warm molecular hydrogen line emission and X-ray emission. The far-IR emission from the shocked region comes from the luminous [CII] 158 μm line and cold dust (~ 20 K) that coexist with molecular hydrogen gas. Survival of dust grains is indispensable to form molecular hydrogen gas within the collision age (~ 5 Myr). At the stage of the dusty IGM environment, [CII] and H2 lines rather than X-ray emission are powerful cooling channels to release the collision energy.

We have performed a systematic study of interstellar dust grains in various environments of galaxies. AKARI has revealed the detailed properties of dust grains not only in star-forming regions but also in regions not relevant to star formation, some of which are found not to follow our old empirical knowledge. Because of its unique capabilities, AKARI has provided new knowledge on the processing of large grains and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). For example, we detect PAHs from elliptical galaxies, which show unusual spectral features and spatial distributions, demonstrating importance of material processing in the interstellar space. We find that copious amounts of large grains and PAHs are flowing out of starburst galaxies by galactic superwinds, which are being shattered and destroyed in galactic haloes. We discover evidence for graphitization of carbonaceous grains near the center of our Galaxy, providing a clue to understanding the activity of the Galactic center. We review the results obtained from our AKARI program, focusing on the processing of carbonaceous grains in various environments of galaxies.