Spectropolarimetry of the Circinus Galaxy

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High quality 4500-6800 A spectropolarimetric observations of the Circinus galaxy are reported. These show polarized and relatively broad (FWHM 3300 km/s) Halpha (as well as marginal Hbeta) arising from a <3" (<60 pc) region centered on the nucleus and coincident with the the peak of the narrow line region. Broad Halpha might also be present 8" (160 pc) SE from the nucleus and close to the dust lane, but the result is only marginal and should be verified by higher s/n data. The continuum is dominated by stellar emission with <3% contribution from the scattered AGN continuum, and all the light (i.e. all the stellar continuum and narrow lines) is polarized, most probably by transmission through and scattering by dust in the disk. The data are compatible with a simple model where the scattered broad lines and AGN emission are quite polarized (P 25%) but account for only 1% of the observed continuum. The scattered broad Halpha has an equivalent width EW 400 A, a flux similar to the narrow Halpha and a luminosity 5 10⁵ Lo. Assuming an efficiency of 1% for the BLR mirror, the intrinsic luminosity of the broad Halpha is roughly 5 10⁷ Lo and 0.5% of the FIR luminosity, a ratio similar to those found in type 1 Seyferts. Specific prediction for future observations are also presented.