High-frequency excess in the radio continuum spectrum of the type-1 Seyfert galaxy NGC 985

The Seyfert galaxy NGC 985 is known to show a high-frequency excess in its radio continuum spectrum at a milli-Jansky level on the basis of previous observations at 1.4-15 GHz; a steep spectrum at low frequencies (a spectral index, α = -1.10 ± 0.03) changes at ∼10 GHz into an inverted spectrum at higher frequencies (α = +0.86 ± 0.09). We conduct new observations at 15-43 GHz using the Very Large Array and at 100 GHz using the Nobeyama Millimeter Array. As a result, the high-frequency excess has been confirmed as continuing at even higher radio frequencies, up to 43 GHz. The non-detection at 100 GHz was not so strong a constraint, and therefore the spectral behavior above 43 GHz remains unclear. The astrometric position of the high-frequency excess component coincides with the optical position of the Seyfert nucleus and the low-frequency radio position to an accuracy of 0{^''_.}1, corresponding to ∼80 pc; the radio source size is constrained to be <0{^''_.}02, corresponding to <16 pc. We discuss the physical origin of the observed high-frequency excess component. Dust emission at the Rayleigh-Jeans regime, free-free emission from X-ray radiating high-temperature plasma, free-free emission from the ensemble of broad-line region clouds, or thermal synchrotron from hot accretion flow cannot be responsible for the observed radio flux. Compact jets under synchrotron self-absorption may be unlikely in terms of observed time scales. Alternatively, we cannot rule out the hypotheses of synchrotron jets free-free absorbed by a circumnuclear photo-ionized region, and self-absorbed nonthermal synchrotron from disk corona, as the origin of the high-frequency excess component.