We present an updated mid-infrared (MIR) versus X-ray correlation for the local active galactic nuclei (AGN) population based on the high angular resolution 12 and 18μm continuum fluxes from the AGN ...subarcsecond MIR atlas and 2–10 keV and 14–195 keV data collected from the literature. We isolate a sample of 152 objects with reliable AGN nature and multi-epoch X-ray data and minimal MIR contribution from star formation. Although the sample is not homogeneous or complete, we show that our results are unlikely to be affected by significant biases. The MIR–X-ray correlation is nearly linear and within a factor of 2 independent of the AGN type and the wavebands used. The observed scatter is <0.4 dex. A possible flattening of the correlation slope at the highest luminosities probed (∼1045 erg s−1) towards low MIR luminosities for a given X-ray luminosity is indicated but not significant. Unobscured objects have, on average, an MIR–X-ray ratio that is only ≤0.15 dex higher than that of obscured objects. Objects with intermediate X-ray column densities (22 < log N
H < 23) actually show the highest MIR–X-ray ratio on average. Radio-loud objects show a higher mean MIR–X-ray ratio at low luminosities while the ratio is lower than average at high luminosities. This may be explained by synchrotron emission from the jet contributing to the MIR at low luminosities and additional X-ray emission at high luminosities. True Seyfert 2 candidates do not show any deviation from the general behaviour suggesting that they possess a dusty obscurer as in other AGN. Double AGN also do not deviate. Finally, we show that the MIR–X-ray correlation can be used to investigate the AGN nature of uncertain objects. Specifically, we give equations that allow us to determine the intrinsic 2–10 keV luminosities and column densities for objects with complex X-ray properties to within 0.34 dex. These techniques are applied to the uncertain objects of the remaining AGN MIR atlas, demonstrating the usefulness of the MIR–X-ray correlation as an empirical tool.
We present the first subarcsecond-resolution mid-infrared (MIR) atlas of local active galactic nuclei (AGN). Our atlas contains 253 AGN with a median redshift of z = 0.016, and includes all publicly ...available MIR imaging performed to date with ground-based 8-m class telescopes, a total of 895 independent measurements. Of these, more than 60 per cent are published here for the first time. We detect extended nuclear emission in at least 21 per cent of the objects, while another 19 per cent appear clearly point-like, and the remaining objects cannot be constrained. Where present, elongated nuclear emission aligns with the ionization cones in Seyferts. Subarcsecond resolution allows us to isolate the AGN emission on scales of a few tens of parsecs and to obtain nuclear photometry in multiple filters for the objects. Median spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for the different optical AGN types are constructed and individual MIR 12 and 18 μm continuum luminosities are computed. These range over more than six orders of magnitude. In comparison to the arcsecond-scale MIR emission as probed by Spitzer, the continuum emission is much lower on subarcsecond scales in many cases. The silicate feature strength is similar on both scales and generally appears in emission (absorption) in type I (II) AGN. However, the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission appears weaker or absent on subarcsecond scales. The differences of the MIR SEDs on both scales are particularly large for AGN/starburst composites and close-by (and weak) AGN. The nucleus dominates over the total emission of the galaxy only at luminosities 1044 erg s−1. The AGN MIR atlas is well suited not only for detailed investigation of individual sources but also for statistical studies of AGN unification.
ABSTRACT
Recent mid-infrared (MIR) interferometric observations have shown that in a few active galactic nuclei (AGNs) the bulk of the infrared emission originates from the polar region above the ...putative torus, where only a little dust should be present. Here, we investigate whether such strong polar dust emission is common in AGNs. Out of 149 Seyferts in the MIR atlas of local AGNs, 21 show extended MIR emission on single-dish images. In 18 objects, the extended MIR emission aligns with the position angle (PA) of the system axis, established by O
iii
, radio, polarization, and maser-based PA measurements. The relative amount of resolved MIR emission is at least 40% and scales with the O
iv
fluxes, implying a strong connection between the extended continuum and O
iv
emitters. These results together with the radio-quiet nature of the Seyferts support the scenario that the bulk of MIR emission is emitted by dust in the polar region and not by the torus, which would demand a new paradigm for the infrared emission structure in AGNs. The current low detection rate of polar dust in the AGNs of the MIR atlas is explained by the lack of sufficient high-quality MIR data and the requirements on the orientation, strength of narrow-line region, and distance of the AGNs. The
James Webb Space Telescope
will enable much deeper nuclear MIR studies with comparable angular resolution, allowing us to resolve the polar emission and surroundings in most of the nearby AGNs.
Abstract
Spectral features from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules observed in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) range are typically used to infer the amount of recent and ongoing star formation ...on kiloparsec scales around active galactic nuclei (AGN) where more traditional methods fail. This method assumes that the observed PAH features are excited predominantly by star formation. With current ground-based telescopes and the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope, much smaller spatial scales can be probed and we aim at testing if this assumption still holds in the range of few tens to few hundreds of parsecs. For that, we spatially map the emitted 11.3 μm PAH surface flux as a function of distance from 0.4–4 arcsec from the centre in 28 nearby AGN using ground-based high-angular-resolution mid-IR spectroscopy. We detect and extract the 11.3 μm PAH feature in 13 AGN. The fluxes within each aperture are scaled to a luminosity-normalized distance from the nucleus to be able to compare intrinsic spatial scales of AGN radiation spanning about two orders of magnitude in luminosity. For this, we establish an empirical relation between the absorption-corrected X-ray luminosity and the sublimation radius in these sources. Once normalized, the radial profiles of the emitted PAH surface flux show similar radial slopes, with a power-law index of approximately −1.1, and similar absolute values, consistent within a factor of a few of each other as expected from the uncertainty in the intrinsic scale estimate. We interpret this as evidence that the profiles are caused by a common compact central physical process, either the AGN itself or circumnuclear star formation linked in strength to the AGN power. A photoionization-based model of an AGN exciting dense clouds in its environment can reproduce the observed radial slope and confirms that the AGN radiation field is strong enough to explain the observed PAH surface fluxes within ∼10–500 pc of the nucleus. Our results advice caution in the use of PAH emission as a star formation tracer within a kpc around AGN.
ALMA observations have revealed nuclear dusty molecular disks or tori with characteristic sizes 15−40 pc in the few Seyferts and low -luminosity AGN that have been studied so far. These structures ...are generally decoupled both morphologically and kinematically from the host galaxy disk. We present ALMA observations of the CO(2–1) and CO(3–2) molecular gas transitions and associated (sub-) millimeter continua of the nearby Seyfert 1.5 galaxy NGC 3227 with angular resolutions 0.085 − 0.21″ (7–15 pc). On large scales, the cold molecular gas shows circular motions as well as streaming motions on scales of a few hundred parsecs that are associated with a large-scale bar. We fit the nuclear ALMA 1.3 mm emission with an unresolved component and an extended component. The 850 μm emission shows at least two extended components, one along the major axis of the nuclear disk, and the other along the axis of the ionization cone. The molecular gas in the central region (1″ ∼ 73 pc) shows several CO clumps with complex kinematics that appears to be dominated by noncircular motions. While we cannot conclusively demonstrate the presence of a warped nuclear disk, we also detected noncircular motions along the kinematic minor axis. They reach line-of-sight velocities of v − vsys = 150 − 200 km s−1. Assuming that the radial motions are in the plane of the galaxy, we interpret them as a nuclear molecular outflow due to molecular gas in the host galaxy that is entrained by the AGN wind. We derive molecular outflow rates of 5 M⊙ yr−1 and 0.6 M⊙ yr−1 at projected distances of up to 30 pc to the northeast and southwest of the AGN, respectively. At the AGN location we estimate a mass in molecular gas of 5 × 105 M⊙ and an equivalent average column density N(H2) = 2 − 3 × 1023 cm−2 in the inner 15 pc. The nuclear CO(2–1) and CO(3–2) molecular gas and submillimeter continuum emission of NGC 3227 do not resemble the classical compact torus. Rather, these emissions extend for several tens of parsecs and appear connected with the circumnuclear ring in the host galaxy disk, as found in other local AGN.
A cornerstone of active galactic nuclei (AGN) unification schemes is the presence of an optically and a geometrically thick dust torus. It provides the obscuration to explain the difference between ...type 1 and type 2 AGN. We investigate the influence of the dust distribution on the Eddington limit of the torus. For smooth dust distributions, the Eddingtion limit on the dust alone is five orders of magnitudes below the limit for electron scattering in a fully ionized plasma, while a clumpy dust torus has an Eddington limit slightly larger than the classical one. We study the behaviour of a clumpy torus at low and high AGN luminosities. For low luminosities of the order of ∼1042 erg s−1, the torus changes its characteristics and obscuration becomes insufficient. In the high-luminosity regime, the clumpy torus can show a behaviour which is consistent with the ‘receding torus’ picture. The derived luminosity-dependent fraction of type 2 objects agrees with recent observational results. Moreover, the luminosity-dependent covering factor in a clumpy torus may explain the presence of broad-line AGN with high column densities in X-rays.
The origin of the unification model for active galactic nuclei (AGN) was the detection of broad hydrogen recombination lines in the optical polarized spectrum of the Seyfert 2 galaxy (Sy2) NGC 1068. ...Since then, a search for the hidden broad-line region (HBLR) of nearby Sy2s started, but polarized broad lines have only been detected in ∼30–40 per cent of the nearby Sy2s observed to date. Here we present new VLT/FORS2 optical spectropolarimetry of a sample of 15 Sy2s, including Compton-thin and Compton-thick sources. The sample includes six galaxies without previously published spectropolarimetry, some of them normally treated as non-hidden BLR (NHBLR) objects in the literature, four classified as NHBLR, and five as HBLR based on previous data. We report ≥4σ detections of a HBLR in 11 of these galaxies (73 per cent of the sample) and a tentative detection in NGC 5793, which is Compton-thick according to the analysis of X-ray data performed here. Our results confirm that at least some NHBLRs are misclassified, bringing previous publications reporting differences between HBLR and NHBLR objects into question. We detect broad Hα and Hβ components in polarized light for 10 targets, and just broad Hα for NGC 5793 and NGC 6300, with line widths ranging between 2100 and 9600 km s−1. High bolometric luminosities and low column densities are associated with higher polarization degrees, but not necessarily with the detection of the scattered broad components.
Dust around active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is distributed over a wide range of spatial scales and can be observed in the infrared (IR). These observations are difficult to reconcile with the standard ...interpretation that most of the parsec-scale mid-IR emission in AGNs originate from the torus and challenges the justification of using simple torus models to model the broadband IR emission. Here, we report detailed interferometry observations of the unobscured (type 1) AGN in NGC 3783 that allow us to constrain the size, elongation, and direction of the mid-IR emission with high accuracy. Based on this SED, we determine covering factors for the hot and warm dust components of C sub(hot) = 0.42 super(+0.42) sub(-0.21)and C sub(warm) = 0.92 super(+0.92) sub(-0.46), respectively. We conclude that these observations support a scenario where the majority of the mid-IR emission in Seyfert AGNs originate from a dusty wind in the polar region of the AGN.
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