Bibcode
DOI
Prieto, M. A.; Reunanen, J.; Kotilainen, J. K.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 571, Issue 1, pp. L7-L11.
Advertised on:
5
2002
Journal
Citations
17
Refereed citations
13
Description
We present deep L- (3.8 μm) and M- (4.7 μm) band imaging with the
Infrared Spectrometer and Array Camera (ISAAC) on the ESO Very Large
Telescope (VLT) with unprecedented spatial resolution of the nearby
Seyfert 2 galaxies NGC 7496 and NGC 7582 and the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC
7213, all at a comparable distance. The unresolved nuclear component
dominates the emission within the central 90 pc region, while the host
galaxy accounts for up to 50% of the integrated emission at both
wavelengths within the detected sizes of ~1 kpc in the L band and ~0.5
kpc in the M band. The overall morphology of the extended component
follows the general isophote pattern defined by the near-infrared
continuum of the galaxies. However, the central 300 pc regions show much
more ordered elliptical isophotes than in the near-infrared. In
particular, emission in the L and M bands shows well-defined central
point sources in the two Seyfert 2 galaxies. The brightness of the
Seyfert nuclei in the LM bands indicates that the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC
7582 harbors as powerful a nucleus as that in the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC
7213, while the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 7496 is intrinsically weaker. In
NGC 7582, we have detected the circumnuclear star-forming ring in the L
band.