Date:
Tue, 25/05/201012:30-13:30
Location:
Kaplun Bldg, seminar room, 2nd floor
The AGN Torus --- a Paradigm Change
The variety of observations of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) show that the nuclear activity is powered by a central massive black hole that drives radio emitting jets and ionizes surrounding line-emitting clouds. This central engine is surrounded by an obscuring torus, comprised of optically thick dusty clouds in a rotating configuration. The torus dynamical origin, and especially its vertical support, present a serious challenge.
We have recently developed the formalism for radiative transfer in clumpy media, and in this talk I show that past problems with modeling the AGN infrared emission find a natural explanation in clumpy torus models. Furthermore, the clumpy model may also provide the answer for the torus dynamical origin and solidify the case for a paradigm shift: the torus is apparently just the dusty region of wind outflow from the AGN accretion disk in which the clouds are optically thick.
The variety of observations of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) show that the nuclear activity is powered by a central massive black hole that drives radio emitting jets and ionizes surrounding line-emitting clouds. This central engine is surrounded by an obscuring torus, comprised of optically thick dusty clouds in a rotating configuration. The torus dynamical origin, and especially its vertical support, present a serious challenge.
We have recently developed the formalism for radiative transfer in clumpy media, and in this talk I show that past problems with modeling the AGN infrared emission find a natural explanation in clumpy torus models. Furthermore, the clumpy model may also provide the answer for the torus dynamical origin and solidify the case for a paradigm shift: the torus is apparently just the dusty region of wind outflow from the AGN accretion disk in which the clouds are optically thick.