Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jul 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010aipc.1248..431g&link_type=abstract
X-RAY ASTRONOMY 2009; PRESENT STATUS, MULTI-WAVELENGTH APPROACH AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES: Proceedings of the International Confer
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Galactic Nuclei, Astronomical Telescopes, Star Formation, Photometry, Galactic Nuclei, Circumnuclear Matter, And Bulges, Space-Based Ultraviolet, Optical, And Infrared Telescopes, Star Formation, Photography And Photometry
Scientific paper
We present new results suggesting that resolved mid-infrared (mid-IR) imaging of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is an isotropic probe of their intrinsic luminosities. We have obtained the largest sample to date of 8-m telescope diffraction-limited mid-IR imaging of radio-quiet AGN in the local Universe (42 sources so far), using which we find a strong correlation between mid-IR (12 μm) and intrinsic X-ray (2-10 keV) luminosities. The relation holds true for Seyferts of all types, including unobscured, obscured, as well as heavily Compton-thick sources. Thus, the mid-IR directly probes the intrinsic accretion power irrespective of obscuration, and provides a new and accurate proxy of AGN luminosity. The relation may also be extended smoothly to the higher luminosity quasar regime. At the high angular resolution of our data (<0.4 arcsec), most star formation around the nuclei is resolved out; the remaining unresolved mid-IR flux is dominated by the AGN alone. This enables clean estimates of bolometric luminosities to be derived for the first time. The dispersion in the mid-IR:X-ray relation is tight enough to provide sensitive discrimination between physical models of clumpy vs. smooth dusty tori geometries. Finally, our relation also provides a new pathway for estimating the intrinsic powers of Compton-thick AGN.
Comastri Andrea
Duschl Wolfgang J.
Gandhi Poshak
Gilli Roberto
Hönig Sebastian F.
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