Subaru Spectropolarimetry of Mrk 573: The Hidden High-Ionization Nuclear Emission-Line Region inside the Dusty Torus

Abstract

We report on the result of our high quality spectropolarimetric observation for the narrow-line region in a nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy, Mrk 573, by the Subaru Telescope. The polarized flux spectrum of Mrk 573 shows not only prominent scattered broad H$α$ emission but also various narrow forbidden emission lines. We find that the measured polarization degree of the observed forbidden emission lines is positively correlated with the ionization potential of the corresponding ions and the critical density of the corresponding transitions. We discuss some possible origins of these correlations, and then we point out that the correlations are caused due to the obscuration of the stratified narrow-line region in Mrk 573 by the optically and geometrically thick dusty torus, just similar to the previous study on NGC 4258.

10 pages including 8 figures, to appear in The Astronomical Journal