The Galaxy Activity, Torus, and Outflow Survey (GATOS). VII. The 20–214 μ m Imaging Atlas of Active Galactic Nuclei Using SOFIA

Journal article

We present a 19.7–214 μm imaging atlas of local (4–181 Mpc; median 43 Mpc) active galactic nuclei (AGN) observed with FORCAST and HAWC+ on board the SOFIA telescope with angular resolutions ~3″–20″. This atlas comprises 22 Seyferts (17 Type 2 and five Type 1) with a total of 69 images, 41 of which have not been previously published. The AGN span a range of luminosities of log10(Lbol[ergs-1])=[42, 46] with a median of log10(Lbol[ergs−1])=44.1±1.0 . We provide the total fluxes of our sample using aperture photometry for point-source objects and a 2D Gaussian fitting for objects with extended host galaxy emission, which was used to estimate the unresolved nuclear component. Most galaxies in our sample are pointlike sources; however, four sources (Centaurus A, Circinus, NGC 1068, and NGC 4388) show extended emission in all wavelengths. The 30–40 μm extended emission in NGC 4388 is coincident with the narrow-line region at PA ~ 50°, while the dusty extension at longer wavelengths arises from the host galaxy at PA ~ 90°. Our new observations allow us to construct the best-sampled parsec-scales (spectral energy distributions, SEDs) available between 30 and 500 μm for a sample of nearby AGN. We estimate that the average peak wavelength of the nuclear SEDs is ~40 μm in νFν, which we associate with an unresolved extended dusty region heated by the AGN.

Authors: Fuller, L; Lopez-Rodriguez, E; García-Bernete, I; Ramos Almeida, C; Alonso-Herrero, A

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Astronomical Society
• Journal: The Astrophysical Journal: Supplement Series
• Volume: 276
• Issue: 2
• Article number: 64
• Publication date: 2025-02-03
• Acceptance date: 2024-11-21
• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4365/ad9907
• EISSN: 1538-4365
• ISSN: 0067-0049
• Language: English
• Keywords: Active galactic nuclei; Active galaxies; Supermassive black holes