Mid-infrared emission of galactic nuclei: TIMMI2 versus ISO observations and models

TL;DR

This study compares mid-infrared spectra of galactic nuclei obtained at different scales, revealing that PAH emission is prominent in starbursts but suppressed in AGNs, with models explaining PAH destruction by radiation fields.

Contribution

It provides new observational evidence and theoretical models explaining PAH destruction in AGNs versus starbursts, linking spectral features to physical conditions.

Findings

PAH emission is present in starbursts but absent in AGNs.

Mid-infrared emission is more compact in AGNs than in starbursts.

Radiative transfer models support observational differences in PAH features.

Abstract

We investigate the mid-infrared radiation of galaxies that are powered by a starburst or by an AGN. For this end, we compare the spectra obtained at different spatial scales in a sample of infrared bright galaxies. ISO observations which include emission of the nucleus as well as most of the host galaxy are compared with TIMMI2 spectra of the nuclear region. We find that ISO spectra are generally dominated by strong PAH bands. However, this is no longer true when inspecting the mid-infrared emission of the pure nucleus. Here PAH emission is detected in starbursts whereas it is significantly reduced or completely absent in AGNs. A physical explanation of these new observational results is presented by examining the temperature fluctuation of a PAH after interaction with a photon. It turns out that the hardness of the radiation field is a key parameter for quantifying the photo-destruction of small grains. Our theoretical study predicts PAH evaporation in soft X-ray environments. Radiative transfer calculations of clumpy starbursts and AGN corroborate the observational fact that PAH emission is connected to starburst activity whereas PAHs are destroyed near an AGN. The radiative transfer models predict for starbursts a much larger mid-infrared size than for AGN. This is confirmed by our TIMMI2 acquisition images: We find that the mid-infrared emission of Seyferts is dominated by a compact core while most of the starbursts are spatially resolved.