Disentangling accretion disk and dust emissions in the infrared spectrum
  of type 1 AGN
  We use a semi-empirical model to reproduce the 0.1-10um spectral energy
distribution (SED) of a sample of 85 luminous quasars. In the model, the
continuum emission from the accretion disk as well as the nebular lines are
represented by a single empirical template (disk), where differences in the
optical spectral index are reproduced by varying the amount of extinction. The
near- and mid-infrared emission of the AGN-heated dust is modelled as the
combination of two black-bodies (dust). The model fitting shows that the disk
and dust components are remarkably uniform among individual quasars, with
differences in the observed SED largely accounted for by varying levels of
obscuration in the disk as well as differences in the relative luminosity of
the disk and dust components. By combining the disk-subtracted SEDs of the 85
quasars, we generate a template for the 1-10um emission of the AGN-heated dust.
Additionally, we use a sample of local Seyfert 1 galaxies with full
spectroscopic coverage in the 0.37um to 39um range to demonstrate a method for
stitching together spectral segments obtained with different PSF and extraction
apertures. We show that the disk and dust templates obtained from luminous
quasars also reproduce the optical-to-mid-infrared spectra of local Seyfert 1s
when the contribution from the host galaxy is properly subtracted.
