MID-INFRARED PROPERTIES OF THESWIFTBURST ALERT TELESCOPE ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI SAMPLE OF THE LOCAL UNIVERSE. I. EMISSION-LINE DIAGNOSTICS

Abstract

We compare mid-infrared emission-line properties, from high-resolutionSpitzer spectra of a hard X-ray (14 -195 keV) selected sample of nearby (z < 0.05) AGN detected by the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) aboard Swift. The luminosity distribution for the mid-infrared emission-lines, [O IV] 25.89 µm, [Ne II] 12.81 µm, [Ne III] 15.56 µm and [Ne V] 14.32/24.32 µm, and hard X-ray continuum show no differences between Seyfert 1 and Seyfert 2 populations, however six newly discovered BAT AGNs are under-luminous in [O IV], most likely the result of dust extinction in the host galaxy. The overall tightness of the midinfrared correlations and BAT fluxes and luminosities suggests that the emission lines primarily arise in gas ionized by the AGN. We also compare the mid-infrared emission-lines in the BAT AGNs with those from published studies of ULIRGs, PG QSOs, star-forming galaxies and LINERs. We find that the BAT AGN sample fall into a distinctive region when comparing the [Ne III]/[Ne II] and the [O IV]/[Ne III] ratios. These line ratios are lower in sources that have been previously classified in the mid-infrared/optical as AGN than those found for the BAT AGN, suggesting that, in our X-ray selected sample, the AGN represents the main contribution to the observed line emission. These ratios represent a new emission line diagnostic for distinguishing between AGN and star forming galaxies.

Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Nearby Seyfert Galaxies: Is There Evidence for Shock Excitation in Narrow-Line Regions?

“…Similarly, Cicone et al (2014) reported the ratio of the kinetic energy of the outflow to the AGN bolometric luminosity in 14 low-z luminous AGNs (including ULIRGs) is up to 5%, also based on CO observations. The value of this ratio is close to predicted value from theoretical model for explaining the M BH − σ relation in local galaxies (e.g., Silk & Rees Weaver et al 2010;(8) Dasyra et al 2011;(9) Gallimore et al 2006;(10) 1.4 GHz data from Nagar et al 2005;(11) FIRST catalog (Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-cm); (12) Sramek 1975;(13) 4.89 GHz data from Laurent-Muehleisen et al 1997;(14) 1.4 GHz data from Condon et al 1998;(15) Bicay et al 1995;(16) Taylor et al 2006;(17) 4.89 GHz data from Ulvestad & Wilson 1984;(18) 4.85 GHz data from Gregory et al 1994;(19) de Vaucouleurs et al 1991, RC3 (Third Reference Catalog of Bright Galaxies), photographic magnitude; (20) 4680Å data from Petrosian et al 2007; (21) 1998; King 2010). Therefore, it is likely that powerful AGN-driven outflows can give impacts on NLR clouds and consequently cause fast shocks in NLRs.…”

Suzaku Observations of Moderately Obscured (Compton-Thin) Active Galactic Nuclei Selected by Swift/Bat Hard X-Ray Survey

“…from the literature (Weaver et al 2010;Weedman et al 2012;Inami et al 2013;Liu et al 2014), as listed in Table 4. Figure 11 of type-2 AGNs may be higher than that of type-1 AGNs (e.g., Meléndez et al 2008;Rigby et al 2009;Liu et al 2014).…”

The nuclear and extended mid-infrared emission of Seyfert galaxies

“…Indeed, this AGN catalog is one of the most complete to date (see e.g. Winter et al 2009Winter et al , 2010Weaver et al 2010;Ichikawa et al 2012;Ueda et al 2015).…”