Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jun 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006rmxac..26..143m&link_type=abstract
XI IAU Regional Latin American Meeting of Astronomy (Eds. L. Infante & M. Rubio) Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica (S
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Galaxies: Active
Scientific paper
We present spatially-resolved, near-diffraction-limited 10μm spectra of the nucleus of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC068. The spectra reveal striking variations in continuum slope, silicate feature profile and depth, and fine structure line fluxes on subarcsecond scales, illustrating in unprecedented detail the complexity of the circumnuclear regions of this galaxy at mid-IR wavelengths. The acquisition images show two distinct components: a compact (radius < 15 pc), bright source within the central 0.4 arcsec × 0.4 arcsec (≈ 30×30 pc), identified with the AGN obscuring torus, and extended, lower brightness emission from dust in the ionization cones. The observed spectrum of the compact source is compared with clumpy torus models, the first detailed comparison of such models with observational data. The models require most of the clouds to be located within a few parsecs of the central engine, in good agreement with recent mid-IR interferometric observations. However, the mid-IR flux measured with apertures larger than about 1 arcsec dominated by the dust emission from the ionization cones. Many previous attempts to determine the torus spectral energy distribution are thus likely to be significantly affected by contamination from the extended emission, highlighting the importance of spatial resolution in IR studies of nearby AGN.
Elitzur Moshe
Geballe Thomas Ronald
Levenson Nancy A.
Mason Rachel E.
Packham Christopher
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