Talk abstract details

The parsec-scale infrared emission of Seyfert galaxies
Cristina Ramos Almeida & CanariCam AGN team

Abstract

I will present new mid-infrared imaging data for a sample of ~20 nearby Seyfert galaxies obtained with the Gemini Telescopes at subarcsecond resolution. Our aim is to compare the properties of Type-1 and Type-2 Seyfert tori using clumpy torus models and a Bayesian approach to fit the infrared nuclear spectral energy distributions (SEDs). Unification schemes of AGN account for a variety of observational differences in terms of viewing geometry. However, we find evidence that strong unification may not hold. The Type-2 tori studied here are broader, have more clumps, and these clumps have lower optical depths than those of Type-1 tori. Thus, on the basis of the results presented here, the classification of a Seyfert galaxy as a Type-1 or Type-2 depends more on the intrinsic properties of the torus rather than on its mere inclination, in contradiction with the simplest unification model. Our ESO-GTC CanariCam program will allow us to definitively confirm this challenging result.