Decoupling the host and nuclear spectra of type I AGNs using integral field spectroscopy: A test on 3C 120

We have developed a new technique to decouple the spectra of the host and the nucleus of type I AGNs using integral field spectroscopy data. The technique is a simple extension of methods widely tested in 2D imaging. We present here the results from applying the technique to data taken with INTEGRAL at the 4.2 m William Herschel Telescope on the Seyfert 1 radio-galaxy 3C 120. We obtained, for the first time, a clean spectrum of the host galaxy, without contamination from the nuclear source. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.