Unveiling the Hidden Nucleus of IC 5063 with NICMOS

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

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Galaxies: Individual Alphanumeric: Ic 5063, Galaxies: Nuclei

Scientific paper

We present high-resolution near-infrared images of the Seyfert 2 galaxy IC 5063 obtained using the Near-Infrared Camera and Multiobject Spectrometer (NICMOS) in broadband filters at 1.1, 1.6, and 2.2 mu m (FWHM ~ 0."21 at 2.2 mu m). The images show a very red, unresolved point source at the center of the galaxy, confirming the existence of the obscured active nucleus inferred from previous ground-based studies. The 2.2 mu m flux, supplemented with ground-based L'-band observations, suggests thermal emission equivalent to a blackbody at a temperature of 720 K. We ascribe the emission not to direct light from the nucleus, but to hot dust in the inner part of the torus. The 1.6 mu m emission is only minimally affected by the hot dust emission. The luminosity of the central source producing most of the 1.6 mu m emission, not corrected for extinction, is 1.5x1041 ergs s ^{-1} , integrated over the F160W filter only. We also present lower spatial resolution images of IC 5063 obtained with NICMOS in the emission lines of [Fe II] lambda 1.644 mu m, Pa alpha lambda 1.8756 mu m, and H2 lambda 2.1218 mu m. These images reveal a linear emission morphology comprised of two bright knots, separated by 1."8 on either side of a central knot that is at the location of the continuum nucleus. A comparison with high-resolution radio continuum maps shows that there is a one-to-one spatial correspondence between the radio lobes and the emission-line knots, directly implying that the [Fe II] and H2 emission is created by fast shocks produced by the advancing radio jets. The asymmetry in the [Fe II]/H2 ratio may suggest a difference in either the shock velocities or the molecular mass on the two sides of the nucleus.

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