The Infrared Nuclear Emission of Seyfert Galaxies on Parsec Scales: Testing the Clumpy Torus Models

Abstract

We present subarcsecond resolution mid-infrared (mid-IR) photometry in the range from 8 to 20 μm of 18 nearby Seyfert galaxies, reporting high spatial resolution nuclear fluxes for the entire sample (see Table 3 of Ramos Almeida et al. 2009). We construct spectral energy distributions (SEDs) that the AGN dominates, relatively uncontaminated by starlight, adding near-IR measurements from the literature at similar angular resolution. We find that the IR SEDs of intermediate-type Seyferts are flatter and present higher 10 to 18 μm ratios than those of Seyfert 2 (Sy2) galaxies.