Abstract
Increasing observational evidence supports a picture for a close link among AGN phenomenum, star-formation processes and galaxy formation. Since the physical phenomena related to the onset of both AGN and star formation are very likely characterized by a strong far infrared (FIR) emission it becomes mandatory to investigate the FIR energy domain. However, because of their faintness in the FIR energy range, very little is known about the FIR properties of type 1 AGN, and type 2 AGN, which are supposed to be missed in classical searches, still lack definition and samples. Our aim is to investigate the FIR properties of optically selected type 1 AGN, compare them to Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs) and derive some general characteristics of the population. Expectations for future surveys are also presented.