Infrared interferometry and AGNs: Parsec-scale disks and dusty outflows

Leonard Burtscher; Sebastian Hönig; Walter Jaffe; Makoto Kishimoto; Noel Lopez-Gonzaga; Klaus Meisenheimer; Konrad R. W. Tristam

doi:10.1117/12.2231077

4 August 2016 Infrared interferometry and AGNs: Parsec-scale disks and dusty outflows

Leonard Burtscher, Sebastian Hönig, Walter Jaffe, Makoto Kishimoto, Noel Lopez-Gonzaga, Klaus Meisenheimer, Konrad R. W. Tristam

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9907, Optical and Infrared Interferometry and Imaging V; 99070R (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2231077
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2016, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Abstract

The "torus" is the central element of the most popular theory unifying various classes of AGNs, but it is usually described as "putative" because it has not been imaged yet. Since it is too small to be resolved with single-dish telescopes, one can only make indirect assumptions about its structure using models. Using infrared interferometry, however, we were able to resolve the circum-nuclear dust distributions for several nearby AGNs and achieved constraints on some further two dozen sources. We discovered circum-nuclear dust on parsec scales in all sources and, in two nearby sources, were able to dissect this dust into two distinct components. The compact component, a very thin disk, appears to be connected to the maser disk and the extended one, which is responsible for most of the mid-IR flux, is oriented perpendicularly to the circum-nuclear gas disks. What may come as a surprise when having in mind the standard unification cartoon actually connects well to observations on larger scales. Optically thin dust in the polar region, perhaps driven by a disk wind, could solve both the scale height problem of the torus and explain the missing anisotropy in the mid-IR − X-ray relation.

Citation Download Citation

Leonard Burtscher, Sebastian Hönig, Walter Jaffe, Makoto Kishimoto, Noel Lopez-Gonzaga, Klaus Meisenheimer, and Konrad R. W. Tristam "Infrared interferometry and AGNs: Parsec-scale disks and dusty outflows", Proc. SPIE 9907, Optical and Infrared Interferometry and Imaging V, 99070R (4 August 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2231077

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available