Nebular_AGN: A CIGALE module for fitting active galactic nucleus emission lines

Abstract

Aims. The increasing discovery of high-redshift AGNs in recent years imposes more stringent requirements on spectral analysis tools for deriving the properties of AGNs and their host galaxies from emission-line diagnostics. To address this need, we develop a new module for the popular SED-fitting tool Code Investigating GALaxy Emission (CIGALE), the [nebular_AGN] module, which enables the efficient and flexible simulation and fitting of emission lines originating from the broad-line regions (BLRs) and narrow-line regions (NLRs) of AGNs, and allows the estimation of the physical properties of these regions. Methods. We use the spectral synthesis code Cloudy to construct the database for the new module. Based on the X-ray and accretion disk continua implemented in CIGALE, we generate the incident radiation fields of the models. We then adopt the AGN geometry and dust settings implemented in CIGALE to define a flexible set of physical parameters for the gas clouds, thereby producing a comprehensive database for the [nebular_AGN] module. Results. We benchmark the [nebular_AGN] module using a quasar composite spectrum, an empirical metallicity calibration, and observational data from X-ray-selected AGNs. Our module can approximately reproduce the majority of quasar emission-line profiles, cover the key emission-line ratios observed in AGN samples, and provide an assessment of their physical properties. For specific combinations of parameters, the metallicity derived by our module is consistent with the empirical formula. We further compare our models with other photoionization models used to simulate AGN NLR emission, and perform a line-sensitivity study to identify the most effective diagnostic lines for each parameter in our module. Finally, we confirm that the dust attenuation law plays an important role in SED fitting.