2001ApJ...557..637T

The central region of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068 is imaged in the mid-infrared (MIR) using the Mid-Infrared Test Observation System on the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope. The oversampling pixel scale associated with the shift-and-add method shows 0".1 resolution images with a high dynamic range after deconvolution. Along with an extended structure at a position angle (P.A.) of -10° with higher surface brightness, another structure extends wider with lower surface brightness at a P.A. of 20°. The central peak elongates north-south with FWHM of 0".3x0".2. Spectral energy distribution (SED) of the central peak is fitted to have the silicate absorption feature of τ_9.7µm=0.9±0.3. This is half of the absorption expected from the near-infrared (NIR) feature of carbonaceous dust. This suggests a temperature gradient of the absorbing dust along the line of sight. Another possibility, which is not distinguishable here, is the size distribution of dust different from our Galaxy. Intrinsic luminosity of emission from the central peak is 3x10³⁷ W. The SED shows a hint of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission features. Although a high spatial resolution MIR spectrum is required, it suggests that the PAH carriers near the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are sheltered from the high-energy emission from the AGNs and that the AGNs have nuclear starbursts. For the NIR disklike structures, no counterparts are detected in the MIR. The nature of the structures remains unclear.