Preprint typeset using LATEX style emulateapj v. 05/04/06 THE INFRARED NUCLEAR EMISSION OF SEYFERT GALAXIES ON PARSEC SCALES: TESTING THE CLUMPY TORUS MODELS

We present subarcsecond resolution mid-infrared (mid-IR) photometry in the wavelength range from 8 to 20 m of eighteen Seyfert galaxies, reporting high spatial resolution nuclear uxes for the entire sample. We construct spectral energy distributions (SEDs) that the AGN dominates, relatively uncontaminated by starlight, adding near-IR measurements from the literature at similar angular resolution. We nd that the IR SEDs of intermediate-type Seyferts are atter and present higher 10 to 18 m ratios than those of Seyfert 2 galaxies. We t the individual SEDs with clumpy dusty torus models using the in-house-developed BayesClumpy tool. We nd that the clumpy models reproduce the high spatial resolution measurements. Regardless of the Seyfert type, even with high spatial resolution data, near- to mid-IR SED tting poorly constrains the radial extent of the torus. For the Seyfert 2 galaxies, we nd that edge-on geometries are more probable than face-on views, with a number of clouds along equatorial rays of N0 = 5{15. The 10 m silicate feature is generally modeled in shallow absorption. For the intermediate-type Seyferts, N0 and the inclination angle of the torus are lower than those of the Seyfert 2 nuclei, with the silicate feature appearing in weak emission or absent. The columns of material responsible for the X-ray absorption are larger than those inferred from th