Resolving the nuclear dust distribution of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 3081
We report far-infrared (FIR) imaging of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 3081 in the range 70–500 μm, obtained with an unprecedented angular resolution, using the Herschel Space Observatory instruments PACS and SPIRE. The 11 kpc (∼70 arcsec) diameter star-forming ring of the galaxy appears resolved up to 25...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2011 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/46521 |
| Acesso em linha: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/46521 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Galaxies: active Galaxies: nuclei Galaxies: Seyfert Infrared: galaxies Galaxies: individual: NGC 3081 |
| Resumo: | We report far-infrared (FIR) imaging of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 3081 in the range 70–500 μm, obtained with an unprecedented angular resolution, using the Herschel Space Observatory instruments PACS and SPIRE. The 11 kpc (∼70 arcsec) diameter star-forming ring of the galaxy appears resolved up to 250 μm. We extracted IR (1.6–500 μm) nuclear fluxes, that is active nucleus-dominated fluxes, and fitted them with clumpy torus models, which successfully reproduce the FIR emission with small torus sizes. Adding the FIR data to the near- and mid-IR spectral energy distribution (SED) results in a torus radial extent of Ro= 4+2− 1 pc, as well as in a flat radial distribution of the clouds (i.e. the q parameter). At wavelengths beyond 200 μm, cold dust emission at T= 28 ± 1 K from the circumnuclear star-forming ring of 2.3 kpc (∼15 arcsec) in diameter starts making a contribution to the nuclear emission. The dust in the outer parts of the galaxy is heated by the interstellar radiation field (19 ± 3 K). |
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