We present mid-infrared ( MIR ) imaging and spectroscopic data of the Seyfert 2 galaxy Mrk 1066 obtained with CanariCam ( CC ) on the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio CANARIAS ( GTC ) .
The galaxy was observed in imaging mode with an angular resolution of 0.24″ ( 54 pc ) in the Si-2 filter ( 8.7 µm ) .
The image reveals a series of star-forming knots within the central \sim 400 pc , after subtracting the dominant active galactic nucleus ( AGN ) component .
We also subtracted this AGN unresolved component from the 8–13 µm spectra of the knots and the nucleus , and measured equivalent widths ( EWs ) of the 11.3 µm Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon ( PAH ) feature which are typical of pure starburst galaxies .
This EW is larger in the nucleus than in the knots , confirming that , at least in the case of Mrk 1066 , the AGN dilutes , rather than destroys , the molecules responsible for the 11.3 µm PAH emission .
By comparing the nuclear GTC/CC spectrum with the Spitzer /IRS spectrum of the galaxy , we find that the AGN component that dominates the continuum emission at \lambda < 15 µm on scales of \sim 60 pc ( 90–100 % ) decreases to 35–50 % when the emission of the central \sim 830 pc is considered .
On the other hand , the AGN contribution dominates the 15–25 µm emission ( 75 % ) on the scales probed by Spitzer /IRS .
We reproduced the nuclear infrared emission of the galaxy with clumpy torus models , and derived a torus gas mass of 2 \times 10 ^ { 5 } ~ { } M _ { \odot } , contained in a clumpy structure of \sim 2 pc radius and with a column density compatible with Mrk 1066 being a Compton-thick candidate , in agreement with X-ray observations .
We find a good match between the MIR morphology of Mrk 1066 and the extended Pa \beta , Br \gamma and [ O III ] \lambda 5007 emission .
This coincidence implies that the 8.7 µm emission is probing star formation , dust in the narrow-line region , and the oval structure previously detected in the near-infrared .
On the other hand , the Chandra soft X-ray morphology does not match any of the previous , contrary to what it is generally assumed for Seyfert galaxies .
A thermal origin for the soft X-ray emission , rather than AGN photoionization , is suggested by the different data analyzed here .