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3.4. The Effects of Luminosity

Sy2s, which are lower luminosity and more obscured than Sy1s, often show optical/UV host galaxy spectral features. Galaxy light peaks in the wavelength region close to the minimum between the IR and OUV bumps in AGN so the strength of this inflection depends on the relative luminosity of the AGN and its host. Thus the near-IR is the best region in which to study the host galaxy (McLeod & Reike 1995). Host galaxy emission may also contribute to the near- and mid-IR continuum (Figure 4, Lumsden & Alexander 2001) and the optical continuum (Maiolino et al. 2000).