DUST IN THE POLAR REGION AS A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO THE INFRARED EMISSION OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

Dust around active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is distributed over a wide range of spatial scales and can be observed in the infrared (IR). These observations are difficult to reconcile with the standard interpretation that most of the parsec-scale mid-IR emission in AGNs originate from the torus and cha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astrophysical journal 2013-07, Vol.771 (2), p.1-14
Main Authors: Honig, S F, Kishimoto, M, Tristram, K R W, Prieto, M A, Gandhi, P, Asmus, D, Antonucci, R, Burtscher, L, DUSCHE, W J, Weigelt, G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ACCRETION DISKS
ACCURACY
Active galactic nuclei
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
Broadband
DISTRIBUTION
Dust
DUSTS
ELONGATION
EMISSION
ENERGY SPECTRA
GALAXY NUCLEI
Infrared
INTERFEROMETRY
POLAR REGIONS
RESOLUTION
STELLAR WINDS
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Summary:Dust around active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is distributed over a wide range of spatial scales and can be observed in the infrared (IR). These observations are difficult to reconcile with the standard interpretation that most of the parsec-scale mid-IR emission in AGNs originate from the torus and challenges the justification of using simple torus models to model the broadband IR emission. Here, we report detailed interferometry observations of the unobscured (type 1) AGN in NGC 3783 that allow us to constrain the size, elongation, and direction of the mid-IR emission with high accuracy. Based on this SED, we determine covering factors for the hot and warm dust components of C sub(hot) = 0.42 super(+0.42) sub(-0.21)and C sub(warm) = 0.92 super(+0.92) sub(-0.46), respectively. We conclude that these observations support a scenario where the majority of the mid-IR emission in Seyfert AGNs originate from a dusty wind in the polar region of the AGN.
ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
DOI:10.1088/0004-637X/771/2/87