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M. V. Cardaci

Publications and source records attributed to M. V. Cardaci.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Identifying AGNs from X-ray detections$-$II: Metallicity calibrations for the $\rm N_2O_2$ and $\rm N_2S_2$ diagnostics

Emission-line ratios from ions with nearly identical ionization potentials offer a robust solution to the degeneracies inherent to traditional active galactic nuclei (AGNs) metallicity diagnostics. We introduce new semi-empirical metallicity calibrations for the $\rm N_2O_2$ and $\rm N_2S_2$ diagnostics, explicitly designed to isolate the chemical abundance from the incident radiation field. By coupling an extensive grid of CLOUDY photoionization simulations directly to the intrinsic 2$-$10 keV X-ray luminosity ($L_{\rm X}$) and benchmarking against Seyfert~2 nuclei from the Burst Alert Telescope AGN Spectroscopic Survey (BASS), we establish robust relations valid across the metallicity regime of $8.0 \lesssim 12+\log({\rm O/H}) \lesssim 9.1$ ($0.2 \lesssim Z/Z_{\odot} \lesssim 2.6$). The $\rm N_2O_2$ and $\rm N_2S_2$ indices trace co-spatial emitting volumes within the narrow-line regions (NLRs), enabling this framework to resolve the significant $L_{\rm X}$-driven systematic biases we previously identified in the standard $\rm N_2$ and $\rm N_2O_3$ indices. While the $\rm N_2O_2$ ratio proves to be virtually independent of nebular structural variations, the $\rm N_2S_2$ index exhibits a subtle, yet discernible, electron density ($N_{\rm e}$) susceptibility due to the low critical density ($N_{\rm c}$) of the [S II]$\lambda\lambda6716,6731$ doublet. Nevertheless, both diagnostics yield highly precise metallicity constraints with tight root-mean-square residual dispersions of $\sim 0.081$ dex for $\rm N_2O_2$ and $\sim 0.121$ dex for $\rm N_2S_2$. We propose the $\rm N_2O_2$ and $\rm N_2S_2$ calibrations as highly optimized, unbiased metallicity tracers for AGNs.

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Cosmic evolution of the helium and oxygen abundances in type 2 Active Galactic Nuclei: Helium-loud AGNs

We derive the helium and oxygen abundances in the Narrow Line Regions (NLRs) of 84 Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) spanning two redshift ranges: 65 objects at $z \: < \: 0.2$ and 19 objects at $2.8 \lesssim z \lesssim 6.8$. Spectroscopic data in the optical rest-frame range [3000 ${\lambda}(\text{\AA})$ 7000] from the JADES survey and from the literature were used to estimate $\text{He/H}$ and $\text{O/H}$ via the $T_{\rm e}$-method (7 objects) and strong-emission line calibrations (19 objects). Our results indicate that the ionization degree in AGNs increases toward higher redshifts, exhibiting a trend similar to that observed in star-forming galaxies. We find that the majority of our sample of AGNs at $z \: > \: 2.8$ show oversolar helium abundances and subsolar oxygen abundances. We identified, via the $T_{\rm e}$-method, an object (goods-s-mediumhst-58850; $z=6.2615$) with the highest helium abundance estimated to date, i.e. $12+\log({\rm He/H})=11.64$, corresponding to $\rm (He/He_{\odot}) \sim 4.4$. This result remains robust even when we adopt larger electron densities (varying $N_{\rm e}$ from $500$ to $10\:000$ $\rm cm^{-3}$) in abundance estimates using the $T_{\rm e}$-method and empirical strong-line methods. We found marginal evidence for a decline in the He/H abundance ($\sim 0.04$ dex per redshift unit) toward lower redshifts. In contrast, we found evidence for an increase in $\text{O/H}$ toward the local universe at a rate of approximately 0.06 dex per redshift unit.

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Identifying AGNs from X-ray detections-I: Metallicity calibrations in AGNs with X-ray luminosity as the primary input parameter

We present the first semi-empirical strong-line calibrations to determine metallicity in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) that use the directly observable X-ray luminosity (Lx) instead of the dimensionless ionization parameter ($U$). The calibrations are derived from an extensive grid of photoionization models computed with the {\sc Cloudy} code, which are compared with observational data of Seyfert nuclei from the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) AGN Spectroscopic Survey (BASS). In this first paper, we develop new calibrations for two key optical metallicity diagnostics based on the $N2$ and $O3N2$ indices, which are valid in a metallicity range of $8.0 \lesssim 12 + \log({\rm O/H}) \lesssim 9.1\, {\rm or}\, 0.2 \lesssim (Z/Z_{\odot}) \lesssim 2.6$, with precision of $1\sigma \approx 0.22$ dex ($N2$) and $\approx 0.20$ dex ($O3N2$). We systematically investigate the influence of the AGN spectral index $(\alpha_{ox})$, narrow-line region (NLR) gas density $(N_{\rm e})$, the characteristic peak temperature of the Big Blue Bump $(T_{\rm BB})$, and Lx. We find a strong, opposing secondary dependence on Lx for both indices. We demonstrate that neglecting this parameter overlooks systematic offsets intrinsic to the diagnostics, leading to metallicity errors of up to $\sim 1.0 Z_{\odot}$ ($\sim 0.50$ dex), particularly for the least and most luminous sources. This framework offers a more precise characterization of chemical enrichment in the NLRs of AGNs by leveraging their intrinsic X-ray emission to mitigate these systematic biases.

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Metallicity of Active Galactic Nuclei from ultraviolet and optical emission lines-II. Revisiting the $C43$ metallicity calibration and its implications

In this study, a new semi-empirical calibration is proposed between ultraviolet emission lines (\ion{C}{iii}]$\lambda1909$, \ion{C}{iv}$\lambda1549$, \ion{He}{ii}]$\lambda1640$) of type~2 AGNs and their metallicity ($Z$). This calibration is derived by comparing a large sample of 106 objects (data taken from the literature) located over a wide range of redshifts ($0 \: \lesssim \: z \: \lesssim \: 4.0$) with predictions from photoionization models that adopt a recent C/O-O/H relation derived via estimates using the $T_{\rm e}$ method, which is considered the most reliable method. We found that the new calibration produces $Z$ values in agreement (within an uncertainty of $\pm 0.1$ dex) with those from other calibrations and from estimates via the $T_{\rm e}$-method. We find also that AGN metallicities are already high at early epochs, with no evidence for monotonic evolution across the redshift range $0 \: \lesssim \: z \: \lesssim \: 12$. Notably, the highest metallicities in our sample, reaching up to $\rm 4\: Z_{\odot}$, are found in objects at $2 \lesssim z \lesssim 3$. This redshift range coincides with the peak of the cosmic star formation rate history, suggesting a strong connection between the major epoch of star formation, black hole growth, and rapid metal enrichment in the host galaxies of AGNs. Furthermore, our analysis reveals no significant correlation between AGN metallicity and radio properties (radio spectral index or radio luminosity) or host galaxy stellar mass. The lack of a clear mass-metallicity relation, consistent with findings for local AGNs, suggests that the chemical evolution of the nuclear gas is decoupled from the global properties of the host galaxy.

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Metallicity of Active Galactic Nuclei from ultraviolet and optical emission lines I: Carbon abundance dependence

Metallicity ($Z$) estimates based on ultraviolet (UV) emission lines from the narrow-line regions (NLRs) of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have been found to differ from those derived from optical lines. However, the origin of this discrepancy ($ZR$) remains poorly understood. To investigate the source of $ZR$, we compiled from the literature the fluxes of narrow near-UV ($1000 < λ(\angstrom) < 2000)$ and optical ($3000 < λ(\angstrom) < 7000)$ emission line measurements for a sample of 11 AGNs (9 at $z<0.4$ and 2 at $z\sim2.4$). Metallicity values for our sample were derived using a semi-empirical calibration based on the $C43$=log[(\ion{C{iv}$λ$1549+\ion{C{iii}]$λ$1909)/\ion{He}{ii}$λ$1640] emission-line ratio and compared with those obtained via direct measurement of the electron temperature ($T_{\rm e}$-method) and via calibrations based on optical emission-lines. The source of the discrepancy was investigated in terms of the ionization parameter ($U$), electron density ($N_{\rm e}$), and carbon abundance (C/H). We found a weak correlation between $ZR$, $U$ and $N_{\rm e}$. However, a moderate correlation was observed between $ZR$ and direct estimates of C/H, suggesting that the previously assumed (C/O)-$Z$ relations in photoionization models used to derive UV carbon-line calibrations may not be valid for AGNs. By combining a large set of abundance estimates for local star-forming regions with those of our AGN sample, we derived a new (C/O)-$Z$ relation. Comparisons between the results of photoionization models that assume this new abundance relation and the UV observational data of our sample produce $Z$ values derived from the $C43$ index that are consistent with those obtained using the $T_{\rm e}$-method.

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Semi-empirical calibration of the oxygen abundance for LINER galaxies based on SDSS-IV MaNGA -- The case for strong and weak AGN

In this paper, we present a semi-empirical calibration between the oxygen abundance and the $N2$ emission-line ratio for Low Ionization Nuclear Emission Regions (LINERs). This relation was derived by comparing the optical spectroscopic data of 118 nuclear spaxels classified as LINERs using three different BPT diagrams from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies survey (MaNGA) and sub-classified as weak (wAGN, 84 objects) and strong (sAGN, 34 objects) AGN (active galactic nucleus) from the WHAN diagnostic diagram and photoionization model results obtained with the {\sc cloudy} code assuming gas accretion into a black hole (representing an AGN). We found that our wAGN LINERs exhibit an oxygen abundance in the range of $8.50 \lesssim \mathrm{12+\log(O/H)} \lesssim 8.90 $, with an average value of $\mathrm{12+\log(O/H)}=8.68$, while our sAGN LINERs exhibit an oxygen abundance in the range of $8.51 \lesssim \: \mathrm{12+\log(O/H)} \: \lesssim \: 8.81 $, with an average value of $\mathrm{12+\log(O/H)}=8.65$. Our abundance estimations are in good agreement with those derived for another two different samples one of them with 463 Seyfert 2 objects and the other with 43 LINERs galaxies ionized by post-AGB stars, showing that the assumptions of our models are likely suitable for wAGN and sAGN LINERs. A relation between the equivalent width of the observed H$α$ emission-line and the estimated ionization parameter provided by models was obtained. Our results also suggest that LINERs does not show a clear correlation between oxygen abundances and the stellar mass of the hosting galaxies.

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Empirical calibration for helium abundance determinations in Active Galactic Nuclei

For the first time, a calibration between the HeI $\lambda5876$/H$β$ emission line ratio and the helium abundance $y$=12+log(He/H) for Narrow line regions (NLRs) of Seyfert~2 Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) is proposed. In this context, observational data (taken from the SDSS-DR15 and from the literature) and direct abundance estimates (via the $T_{\rm e}$-method) for a sample of 65 local ($z \: < \: 0.2$) Seyfert~2 nuclei are considered. The resulting calibration estimates the $y$ abundance with an average uncertainty of 0.02 dex. Applying our calibration to spectroscopic data containing only strong emission lines, it yields a helium abundance distribution similar to that obtained via the $T_{\rm e}$-method. Some cautions must be considered to apply our calibration for Seyfert~2 nuclei with high values of electron temperature ($\gtrsim\: 20\,000$ K) or ionization parameter ($\log U > -2.0$).

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Direct estimates of nitrogen abundance for Seyfert 2 nuclei

We derive the nitrogen and oxygen abundances in the Narrow Line Regions (NLRs) of a sample of 38 local ($z \: < \: 0.4$) Seyfert~2 nuclei. For that, we consider narrow optical emission line intensities and direct estimates of the electron temperatures ($T_{\rm e}$-method). We find nitrogen abundances in the range $7.6 \: < \: \rm 12+log(N/H) \: < \: 8.6$ (mean value $8.06\pm0.22$) or $\rm 0.4 \: < \: (N/N_{\odot}) \: < 4.7$, in the metallicity regime $8.3 \: < \: \rm 12+log(O/H) \: < \: 9.0$. Our results indicate that the dispersion in N/H abundance for a fixed O/H value in AGNs is in agreement with that for disc \ion{H}{ii} regions with similar metallicity. We show that Seyfert~2 nuclei follow a similar (N/O)-(O/H) relation to the one followed by star-forming objects. Finally, we find that active galaxies called as 'nitrogen-loud' observed at very high redshift ($z \: > \: 5$) show N/O values in consonance with those derived for local NLRs. This result indicates that the main star-formation event is completed in the early evolution stages of active galaxies.

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Chemical abundances of LINER galaxies -- Nitrogen abundance estimations

In this work, we investigated the nitrogen and oxygen abundances in a sample of galaxies with Low Ionization Nuclear Emission Regions (LINERs) in their nucleus. Optical spectroscopic data (3 600 - 10 000 Å) of 40 LINERs from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies (MaNGA) survey were considered. Only objects classified as retired galaxies, i.e. whose main ionization sources are post-Asymptotic Giant Branch (pAGB) stars, were selected. The abundance estimates were obtained through detailed photoionization models built with the cloudy code to reproduce a set of observational emission line intensities ratios of the sample. Our results show that LINERs have oxygen and nitrogen abundances in the ranges of $ 8.0 \leq 12+\log(O/H) \leq 9.0$ (mean value $8.74\pm 0.27$) and $7.6 \leq 12+\log(N/H) \leq 8.5$ (mean value $8.05\pm 0.25$), respectively. About 70% of the sample have oversolar O/H and N/H abundances. Our abundance estimates are in consonance with those for Seyfert 2 nuclei and H ii regions with the highest metallicity, indicating that these distinct object classes show similar enrichment of the interstellar medium (ISM). The LINERs in our sample are located in the higher N/O region of the N/O versus O/H diagram, showing an expected negative correlation between these two parameters. These results suggest that these LINERs mainly exhibit a secondary nitrogen production and could be acting some other mechanisms that deviate them from the usual theoretical secondary nitrogen production curve and the H ii regions observations. However, we did not find any evidence in our data able to support the literature suggested mechanisms. On the other hand, our results show that LINERs do not present any correlation between the N/O abundances and the stellar masses of the hosting galaxies.

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Cosmic metallicity evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei: Implications for optical diagnostic diagrams

We analyze the validity of optical diagnostic diagrams relying on emission-lines ratios and in the context of classifying Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) according to the cosmic metallicity evolution in the redshift range 0 < z < 11.2. In this regard, we fit the results of chemical evolution models (CEMs) to the radial gradients of the N/O abundances ratio derived through direct estimates of electron temperatures (Te-method) in a sample of four local spiral galaxies. This approach allows us to select representative CEMs and extrapolate the radial gradients to the nuclear regions of the galaxies in our sample, inferring in this way the central N/O and O/H abundances. The nuclear abundance predictions for theoretical galaxies from the selected CEMs, at distinct evolutionary stages, are used as input parameters in AGN photoionization models built with the Cloudy code. We found that standard BPT diagnostic diagrams are able to classify AGNs with oxygen abundances 12+logO/H > 8.0 [(Z/Zsolar) > 0.2) preferably found at redshift z > 4. On the other hand, the HeII4685/Hbeta versus [N II]6584/Halpha diagram produces a reliable AGN classification independent of the evolutionary stage of these objects.

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Chemical abundances in Seyfert galaxies X. Sulphur abundance estimates

For the first time, the sulphur abundance relative to hydrogen (S/H) in the Narrow Line Regions of a sample of Seyfert 2 nuclei (Sy 2s) has been derived via direct estimation of the electron temperature. Narrow emission line intensities from the SDSS DR17 [in the wavelength range 3000 < $λ$ < 9100] and from the literature for a sample of 45 nearby ($z$ < 0.08) Sy 2s were considered. Our direct estimates indicate that Sy 2s have similar temperatures in the gas region where most of the S+ ions are located in comparison with that of star-forming regions (SFs). However, Sy 2s present higher temperature values ($\sim$10000 K) in the region where most of the S++ ions are located relative to that of SFs. We derive the total sulphur abundance in the range of 6.2 < 12 + log(S/H) < 7.5, corresponding to 0.1-1.8 times the solar value. These sulphur abundance values are lower by $\sim$0.4 dex than those derived in SFs with similar metallicity, indicating a distinct chemical enrichment of the ISM for these object classes. The S/O values for our Sy 2 sample present an abrupt ($\sim$0.5 dex) decrease with increasing O/H for the high metallicity regime [12 + log(O/H) > 8.7)], what is not seen for the SFs. However, when our Sy 2 estimates are combined with those from a large sample of star-forming regions, we did not find any dependence between S/O and O/H.

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Chemical abundance of LINER galaxies -- Metallicity calibrations based on SDSS-IV MaNGA

The ionizing source of Low Ionization Nuclear Emission Regions (LINERs) is uncertain. Because of this, an empirical relation to determine the chemical abundances of these objects has not been proposed. In this work, for the first time, we derived two semi-empirical calibrations based on photoionization models to estimate the oxygen abundance of LINERS as a function of the $N2$ and $O3N2$ emission-line intensity ratios. These relations were calibrated using oxygen abundance estimations obtained by comparing the observational emission-line ratios of 43 LINER galaxies (taken from the MaNGA survey) and grids of photoionization models built with the {\sc Cloudy} code assuming post-Asymptotic Giant Branch (post-AGB) stars with different temperatures. We found that the oxygen abundance of LINERs in our sample is in the $\rm 8.48 <~ 12+log(O/H) <~ 8.84$ range, with a mean value of $\rm 12+\log(O/H)=8.65$. We recommend the use of the $N2$ index to estimate the oxygen abundances of LINERs, since the calibration with this index presented a much smaller dispersion than the $O3N2$ index. In addition, the estimated metallicities are in good agreement with those derived by extrapolating the disk oxygen abundance gradients to the centre of the galaxies showing that the assumptions of the models are suitable for LINERs. We also obtained a calibration between the logarithm of the ionization parameter and the [OIII]/[OII] emission-line ratio.

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Chemical abundances in Seyfert galaxies -- VII. Direct abundance determination of neon based on optical and infrared emission lines

For the first time, neon abundance has been derived in the narrow line region from a sample of Seyfert~2 nuclei. In view of this, we compiled from the literature fluxes of optical and infrared (IR) narrow emission lines for 35 Seyfert 2 nuclei in the local universe ($z < 0.06$). The relative intensities of emission lines were used to derive the ionic and total neon and oxygen abundances through electron temperature estimations ($T_{e}$-method). For the neon, abundance estimates were obtained by using both $T_{e}$-method and IR-method. Based on photoionization model results, we found a lower electron temperature [$t_{e}([Ne III])$] for the gas phase where the Ne$^{2+}$ is located in comparison with $t_{3}$ for the O$^{2+}$ ion. We find that the differences (D) between Ne$^{2+}$/H$^{+}$ ionic abundances calculated from IR-method and $T_{e}-$method (assuming $t_{3}$ in the Ne$^{2+}$/H$^{+}$ derivation) are similar to the derivations in star-forming regions (SFs) and they are reduced by a mean factor of $\sim3$ when $t_{e}([Ne III])$ is considered. We propose a semi-empirical Ionization Correction Factor (ICF) for the neon, based on [Ne II]12.81$μ$m, [\ion{Ne}{iii}]15.56$μ$m and oxygen ionic abundance ratios. We find that the average Ne/H abundance for the Seyfert 2s sample is nearly 2 times higher than similar estimate for SFs. Finally, for the very high metallicity regime (i.e. [$12+log(O/H) > 8.80$]) an increase in Ne/O with O/H is found, which likely indicates secondary stellar production for the neon.

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Chemical Abundance of the LINER galaxy UGC 4805 with SDSS-IV MaNGA

Chemical abundance determinations in Low-Ionization Nuclear Line Regions (LINERs) are especially complex and uncertain because the nature of the ionizing source of this kind of object is unknown. In this work, we study the oxygen abundance in relation to the hydrogen abundance (O/H) of the gas phase of the UGC4805 LINER nucleus. Optical spectroscopic data from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies (MaNGA) survey was employed to derive the O/H abundance of the UGC4805 nucleus based on the extrapolation of the disk abundance gradient, on calibrations between O/H abundance and strong emission-lines for Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) as well as on photoionization models built with the Cloudy code, assuming gas accretion into a black hole (AGN) and post-Asymptotic Giant Branch (p-AGB) stars with different effective temperatures. We found that abundance gradient extrapolations, AGN calibrations, AGN and p-AGB photoionization models produce similar O/H values for the UGC4805 nucleus and similar ionization parameter values. The study demonstrated that the methods used to estimate the O/H abundance using nuclear emission-line ratios produce reliable results, which are in agreement with the O/H values obtained from the independent method of galactic metallicity gradient extrapolation. Finally, the results from the WHAN diagram combined with the fact that the high excitation level of the gas has to be maintained at kpc scales, we suggest that the main ionizing source of the UGC4805 nucleus probably has a stellar origin rather than an AGN.

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Chemical abundances in Seyfert galaxies -- V. The discovery of shocked emission outside the AGN ionization axis

We present maps for the electron temperature in the inner kpc of three luminous Seyfert galaxies: Mrk 79, Mrk 348, and Mrk 607 obtained from Gemini GMOS-IFU observations at spatial resolutions of 110-280 pc. We study the distributions of electron temperature in active galaxies and find temperatures varying in the range from 8000 to >30000 K. Shocks due to gas outflows play an important role in the observed temperature distributions of Mrk 79 and Mrk 348, while standard photoionization models reproduce the derived temperature values for Mrk 607. In Mrk 79 and Mrk 348, we find direct evidence for shock-ionization with overall orientation orthogonal to the ionization axis, where shocks can be easily observed as the AGN radiation field is shielded by the nuclear dusty torus. This also indicates that even when the ionization cones are narrow, the shocks can be much wider-angle.

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Chemical abundances of Seyfert 2 AGNs IV. Composite models calculated by photoionization + shocks

We build detailed composite models of photoionization and shock ionization based on the SUMA code to reproduce emission lines emitted from the Narrow Line Regions (NLR) of Seyfert 2 nuclei. The aim of this work is to investigate diagram AGN positions according to shock parameters, shock effects on the gas temperature and ionization structures and derive a semi-empirical abundance calibration based on emission-line ratios little sensitive to the shock presence. The models were used to reproduce optical (3000 < A < 7000) emission line intensities of 244 local (z < 0.4) Seyfert 2s, whose observational data were selected from Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR7. Our models suggest that shocks in Seyfert 2 nuclei have velocities in the range of 50-300 km/s and imply a narrower metallicity range (0.6 < (Z/Z) < 1.6) than those derived using pure photoionization models. Our results indicate that shock velocity in AGNs can not be estimated using standard optical line ratio diagrams, based on integrated spectra. Our models predict a different temperature structure and O+/O and O2+/O fractional abundances throughout the NLR clouds than those derived from pure photoionization models, mainly in shock-dominated objects. This suggests that, in order to minimize the shock effects, the combination of emission-lines emitted by ions with similar intermediate ionization potential could be good metallicity indicators. Finally, we derive two calibrations between the N/O abundance ratio and the N2O2=log([N II]6584/[O II]3727) and N2=log([N II]6584/Hα) indexes which agree with that derived from pure photoionization models.

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Chemical abundances of Seyfert 2 AGNs-III. Reducing the oxygen abundance discrepancy

We investigate the discrepancy between oxygen abundance estimations for narrow-line regions (NLRs) of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) type Seyfert 2 derived by using direct estimations of the electron temperature (Te-method) and those derived by using photoionization models. In view of this, observational emission-line ratios in the optical range (3000 < λ(Å) < 7000) of Seyfert 2 nuclei compiled from the literature were reproduced by detailed photoionization models built with the Cloudy code. We find that the derived discrepancies are mainly due to the inappropriate use of the relations between temperatures of the low (t2) and high (t3) ionization gas zones derived for H II regions in AGN chemical abundance studies. Using a photoionization model grid, we derived a new expression for t2 as a function of t3 valid for Seyfert 2 nuclei. The use of this new expression in the AGN estimation of the O/H abundances based on Te-method produces O/H abundances slightly lower (about 0.2 dex) than those derived from detailed photoionization models. We also find that the new formalism for the Te-method reduces by about 0.4 dex the O/H discrepancies between the abundances obtained from strong emission-line calibrations and those derived from direct estimations.

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A new tool to derive chemical abundances in Type-2 Active Galactic Nuclei

We present a new tool for the analysis of the optical emission lines of the gas in the Narrow Line Region (NLR) around Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs). This new tool can be used in large samples of objects in a consistent way using different sets of optical emission-lines taking into the account possible variations from the O/H - N/O relation. The code compares certain observed emission-line ratios with the predictions from a large grid of photoionization models calculated under the most usual conditions in the NLR of AGNs to calculate the total oxygen abundance, nitrogen-to-oxygen ratio and ionization parameter. We applied our method to a sample of Seyfert 2 galaxies with optical emission-line fluxes from the literature. Our results confirm the high metallicity of the objects of the sample and provide consistent values with the direct method. The usage of models to calculate precise ICFs is mandatory when only optical emission lines are available to derive chemical abundances using the direct method in NLRs of AGN.

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