The Continuum of Type 1 Seyfert Galaxies. II. Separating Thermal and Nonthermal Components

The authors attempt to distinguish between thermal and nonthermal contributions to the 1 to 100 μm continuum in a sample of active galactic nuclei. The sample is dominated by the members of a hard X-ray selected sample; most members are Seyfert 1 galaxies. It is postulated that the nonthermal continua of all the objects are intrinsically similar, with the apparent "steep spectrum" objects showing a combination of reddening at shorter wavelengths and thermal emission by dust at longer wavelengths. Various evidence is presented lending strong support to this interpretation. The spatial and temperature distribution of the infrared-emitting dust component in the nuclei of the sample galaxies is discussed.