Limits on the short-timescale near-infrared variability of Seyfert 1 nuclei We present new time-resolved photometric observations and images at 2.2microns of a small sample of X-ray variable Seyfert 1 nuclei. Aftercorrecting for dilution by the host galaxy in the observing aperture, wecompare the fractional variation, over the timescales of theobservations, in the near-infrared (NIR) to that expected in the X rays.We have not detected with confidence any NIR variability on timescalesshort enough to be incompatible with the dust reradiation scenario. Thegalaxy-corrected upper limits which we have obtained for variations onshort timescales, typical of non-thermal processes, imply that the NIRemission is dominated by a slowly varying, presumably reprocessed,component which accounts for no less than 80%-90% of the total.
