Resolved Mid-Infrared Imaging of Seyferts: an Isotropic Probe of AGN Luminosity

I present results from a program of imaging local Seyferts of all types (Sy 1, Sy 2) in N-band (similar to 10 mu m) filters with the 8-m Very Large Telescope. A total of 42 detections of point-like AGN cores in the mid-infrared are augmented with published intrinsic X-ray fluxes, and a strong mid-infrared:Xray (12.3-mu m:2-10 keV) luminosity correlation is found for these. The sources in which the Seyfert torus is likely to be best-resolved yield the correlation L-MIR proportional to L-X(1.11 +/- 0.07) with a small scatter in luminosities. The fact that unobscured, obscured and Compton-thick sources all closely follow the same luminosity correlation has important implications for the structures of Seyfert cores. This suggests that resolved mid-IR continuum imaging of AGN is an accurate proxy for their intrinsic powers. Intrinsic AGN bolometric powers can then be derived free of any contamination from star formation for the very first time.