Gemini Mid-IR Polarimetry of NGC1068: Polarized Structures Around the Nucleus

Abstract

We present diffraction limited, 10um imaging polarimetry data for the central regions of the archetypal Seyfert AGN, NGC1068. The position angle of polarization is consistent with three dominant polarizing mechanisms. We identify three distinct regions of polarization: (a) north of the nucleus, arising from aligned dust in the NLR, (b) south, east and west of the nucleus, consistent with dust being channeled toward the central engine and (c) a central minimum of polarization consistent with a compact (<22pc) torus. These observations provide continuity between the geometrically and optically thick torus and the host galaxy's nuclear environments. These images represent the first published mid-IR polarimetry from an 8-m class telescope and illustrate the potential of such observations.

arXiv comment12 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, to be published in ApJL

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Cited by in corpus (24)

• AGN Dusty Tori: II. Observational Implications of Clumpiness
• Torus and AGN properties of nearby Seyfert galaxies: Results from fitting IR spectral energy distributions and spectroscopy
• The dusty torus in the Circinus galaxy: a dense disk and the torus funnel
• The subarcsecond mid-infrared view of local active galactic nuclei: I. The N- and Q-band imaging atlas
• The Toroidal Obscuration of Active Galactic Nuclei
• Infrared emission from tidal disruption events --- probing the pc-scale dust content around galactic nuclei
• Gemini Imaging of Mid-IR Emission from the Nuclear Region of Centaurus A
• ALMA polarimetry measures magnetically aligned dust grains in the torus of NGC 1068
• Modeling the Infrared Reverberation Response of the Circumnuclear Dusty Torus in AGN: The Effects of Cloud Orientation and Anisotropic Illumination
• A complete disclosure of the hidden type-1 AGN in NGC 1068 thanks to 52 years of broadband polarimetric observation
• SOFIA/HAWC+ traces the magnetic fields in NGC 1068
• Mid-infrared imaging- and spectro-polarimetric subarcsecond observations of NGC 1068
• The 3-5 micron Spectrum of NGC 1068 at High Angular Resolution: Distribution of Emission and Absorption Features across the Nuclear Continuum Source
• The origin of the mid-infrared nuclear polarization of active galactic nuclei
• Estimations of the magnetic field strength in the torus of AGN using near-infrared polarimetry
• Polarized Mid-Infrared Synchrotron Emission in the Core of Cygnus A
• Exploring the inner parsecs of Active Galactic Nuclei using near-infrared high resolution polarimetric simulations with MontAGN
• Dust in the Torus of the AGN Unified Model
• Near-infrared Hubble Space Telescope polarimetry of a complete sample of narrow-line radio galaxies
• Dichroic polarization at mid-infrared wavelengths: a Bayesian approach
• High angular resolution polarimetric imaging of the nucleus of NGC 1068: Disentangling the polarising mechanisms
• A mid-infrared exploration of the dusty environments of active galactic nuclei
• O/IR Polarimetry for the 2010 Decade (GAN): Science at the Edge, Sharp Tools for All
• O/IR Polarimetry for the 2010 Decade (CGT): Science at the Edge, Sharp Tools for All