Near-IR Spectropolarimetry of NGC 1088

Abstract

The current unified model of Seyfert galaxies, as proposed by Antonucci and Miller (1985), has most, if not all, Seyfert 2 galaxies hosting a Seyfert 1 type nucleus in their cores. The broad lines from the type 1 nucleus can be scattered and be seen in the polarized flux spectrum, provided the geometry is correct. Whether the mechanism is electron or dust scattering has been a question of some debate. Since dust would normally have a low scattering efficiency in the infrared, near-IR spectropolarimetry should help in determing the nature of the scatterers. To this end we present the first near-IR spectropolarimetry of NGC 1068 a "Seyfert 2" galaxy in which polarized broad lines have been observed at optical wavelengths.