449 research outputs found
Embedded AGN and star formation in the central 80 pc of IC 3639
[Abridged] Methods: We use interferometric observations in the -band with
VLTI/MIDI to resolve the mid-IR nucleus of IC 3639. The origin of the nuclear
infrared emission is determined from: 1) the comparison of the correlated
fluxes from VLTI/MIDI with the fluxes measured at subarcsec resolution
(VLT/VISIR, VLT/ISAAC); 2) diagnostics based on IR fine-structure line ratios,
the IR continuum emission, IR bands produced by polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAH) and silicates; and 3) the high-angular resolution spectral
energy distribution. Results: The unresolved flux of IC 3639 is at , measured with three different baselines in
VLTI (UT1-UT2, UT3-UT4, and UT2-UT3; -), making this the
faintest measurement so far achieved with mid-IR interferometry. The correlated
flux is a factor of - times fainter than the VLT/VISIR total flux
measurement. The observations suggest that most of the mid-IR emission has its
origin on spatial scales between and (-). A composite scenario where the star formation component dominates
over the AGN is favoured by the diagnostics based on ratios of IR
fine-structure emission lines, the shape of the IR continuum, and the PAH and
silicate bands. Conclusions: A composite AGN-starburst scenario is able to
explain both the mid-IR brightness distribution and the IR spectral properties
observed in the nucleus of IC 3639. The nuclear starburst would dominate the
mid-IR emission and the ionisation of low-excitation lines (e.g. [NeII]) with a net contribution of . The AGN accounts for the
remaining of the mid-IR flux, ascribed to the unresolved component
in the MIDI observations, and the ionisation of high-excitation lines (e.g.
[NeV] and [OIV]).Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
A dust-parallax distance of 19 megaparsecs to the supermassive black hole in NGC 4151
The active galaxy NGC 4151 has a crucial role as one of only two active
galactic nuclei for which black hole mass measurements based on emission line
reverberation mapping can be calibrated against other dynamical methods.
Unfortunately, effective calibration requires an accurate distance to NGC 4151,
which is currently not available. Recently reported distances range from 4 to
29 megaparsecs (Mpc). Strong peculiar motions make a redshift-based distance
very uncertain, and the geometry of the galaxy and its nucleus prohibit
accurate measurements using other techniques. Here we report a dust-parallax
distance to NGC 4151 of Mpc. The measurement is
based on an adaptation of a geometric method proposed previously using the
emission line regions of active galaxies. Since this region is too small for
current imaging capabilities, we use instead the ratio of the
physical-to-angular sizes of the more extended hot dust emission as determined
from time-delays and infrared interferometry. This new distance leads to an
approximately 1.4-fold increase in the dynamical black hole mass, implying a
corresponding correction to emission line reverberation masses of black holes
if they are calibrated against the two objects with additional dynamical
masses.Comment: Authors' version of a letter published in Nature (27 November 2014);
8 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl
Modeling the optical/UV polarization while flying around the tilted outflows of NGC 1068
Recent modeling of multi-waveband spectroscopic and maser observations
suggests that the ionized outflows in the nuclear region of the archetypal
Seyfert-2 galaxy NGC 1068 are inclined with respect to the vertical axis of the
obscuring torus. Based on this suggestion, we build a complex reprocessing
model of NGC 1068 for the optical/UV band. We apply the radiative transfer code
STOKES to compute polarization spectra and images. The effects of electron and
dust scattering and the radiative coupling occurring in the inner regions of
the multi-component object are taken into account and evaluated at different
polar and azimuthal viewing angles. The observed type-1/type-2 polarization
dichotomy of active galactic nuclei is reproduced. At the assumed observer's
inclination toward NGC 1068, the polarization is dominated by scattering in the
polar outflows and therefore it indicates their tilting angle with respect to
the torus axis. While a detailed analysis of our model results is still in
progress, we briefly discuss how they relate to existing polarization
observations of NGC 1068.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the meeting "The Central Kiloparsec
in Galactic Nuclei" held in Bad Honnef (Germany) from August 29th to
September 2nd 201
Mapping the radial structure of AGN tori
We present mid-IR interferometric observations of 6 type 1 AGNs at multiple
baseline lengths of 27--130m, reaching high angular resolutions up to
lambda/B~0.02 arcseconds. For two of the targets, we have simultaneous near-IR
interferometric measurements as well. The multiple baseline data directly probe
the radial distribution of the material on sub-pc scales. Within our sample,
which is small but spans over ~2.5 orders of magnitudes in the UV/optical
luminosity L of the central engine, the radial distribution clearly and
systematically changes with luminosity. First, we show that the brightness
distribution at a given mid-IR wavelength seems to be rather well described by
a power law, which makes a simple Gaussian or ring size estimation quite
inadequate. Here we instead use a half-light radius R_1/2 as a representative
size. We then find that the higher luminosity objects become more compact in
normalized half-light radii R_1/2 /R_in in the mid-IR, where R_in is the dust
sublimation radius empirically given by the L^1/2 fit of the near-IR
reverberation radii. This means that, contrary to previous studies, the
physical mid-IR emission size (e.g. in pc) is not proportional to L^1/2, but
increases with L much more slowly, or in fact, nearly constant at 13 micron.
Combining the size information with the total flux specta, we infer that the
radial surface density distribution of the heated dust grains changes from a
steep ~r^-1 structure in high luminosity objects to a shallower ~r^0 structure
in those of lower luminosity. The inward dust temperature distribution does not
seem to smoothly reach the sublimation temperature -- on the innermost scale of
~R_in, a relatively low temperature core seems to co-exist with a slightly
distinct brightness concentration emitting roughly at the sublimation
temperature.Comment: accepted for publication in A&
The dusty torus in the Circinus galaxy: a dense disk and the torus funnel
(Abridged) With infrared interferometry it is possible to resolve the nuclear
dust distributions that are commonly associated with the dusty torus in active
galactic nuclei (AGN). The Circinus galaxy hosts the closest Seyfert 2 nucleus
and previous interferometric observations have shown that its nuclear dust
emission is well resolved.
To better constrain the dust morphology in this active nucleus, extensive new
observations were carried out with MIDI at the Very Large Telescope
Interferometer.
The emission is distributed in two distinct components: a disk-like emission
component with a size of ~ 0.2 1.1 pc and an extended component with a
size of ~ 0.8 1.9 pc. The disk-like component is elongated along PA ~
46{\deg} and oriented perpendicular to the ionisation cone and outflow. The
extended component is elongated along PA ~ 107{\deg}, roughly perpendicular to
the disk component and thus in polar direction. It is interpreted as emission
from the inner funnel of an extended dust distribution and shows a strong
increase in the extinction towards the south-east. We find no evidence of an
increase in the temperature of the dust towards the centre. From this we infer
that most of the near-infrared emission probably comes from parsec scales as
well. We further argue that the disk component alone is not sufficient to
provide the necessary obscuration and collimation of the ionising radiation and
outflow. The material responsible for this must instead be located on scales of
~ 1 pc, surrounding the disk.
The clear separation of the dust emission into a disk-like emitter and a
polar elongated source will require an adaptation of our current understanding
of the dust emission in AGN. The lack of any evidence of an increase in the
dust temperature towards the centre poses a challenge for the picture of a
centrally heated dust distribution.Comment: 30 pages, 12 figures; A&A in pres
Exploring the inner region of Type 1 AGNs with the Keck interferometer
The exploration of extragalactic objects with long-baseline interferometers
in the near-infrared has been very limited. Here we report successful
observations with the Keck interferometer at K-band (2.2 um) for four Type 1
AGNs, namely NGC4151, Mrk231, NGC4051, and the QSO IRAS13349+2438 at z=0.108.
For the latter three objects, these are the first long-baseline interferometric
measurements in the infrared. We detect high visibilities (V^2 ~ 0.8-0.9) for
all the four objects, including NGC4151 for which we confirm the high V^2 level
measured by Swain et al.(2003). We marginally detect a decrease of V^2 with
increasing baseline lengths for NGC4151, although over a very limited range,
where the decrease and absolute V^2 are well fitted with a ring model of radius
0.45+/-0.04 mas (0.039+/-0.003 pc). Strikingly, this matches independent radius
measurements from optical--infrared reverberations that are thought to be
probing the dust sublimation radius. We also show that the effective radius of
the other objects, obtained from the same ring model, is either roughly equal
to or slightly larger than the reverberation radius as a function of AGN
luminosity. This suggests that we are indeed partially resolving the dust
sublimation region. The ratio of the effective ring radius to the reverberation
radius might also give us an approximate probe for the radial structure of the
inner accreting material in each object. This should be scrutinized with
further observations.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A Letter
Obscuration in extremely luminous quasars
The spectral energy distributions and infrared (IR) spectra of a sample of
obscured AGNs selected in the mid-IR are modeled with recent clumpy torus
models to investigate the nature of the sources, the properties of the
obscuring matter, and dependencies on luminosity. The sample contains 21
obscured AGNs at z=1.3-3 discovered in the largest Spitzer surveys (SWIRE,
NDWFS, & FLS) by means of their extremely red IR to optical colors. All sources
show the 9.7micron silicate feature in absorption and have extreme mid-IR
luminosities (L(6micron)~10^46 erg/s). The IR SEDs and spectra of 12 sources
are well reproduced with a simple torus model, while the remaining 9 sources
require foreground extinction from a cold dust component to reproduce both the
depth of the silicate feature and the near-IR emission from hot dust. The
best-fit torus models show a broad range of inclinations, with no preference
for the edge-on torus expected in obscured AGNs. Based on the unobscured QSO
mid-IR luminosity function, and on a color-selected sample of obscured and
unobscured IR sources, we estimate the surface densities of obscured and
unobscured QSOs at L(6micron)>10^12 Lsun, and z=1.3-3.0 to be about 17-22
deg^-2, and 11.7 deg^-2, respectively. Overall we find that ~35-41% of luminous
QSOs are unobscured, 37-40% are obscured by the torus, and 23-25% are obscured
by a cold absorber detached from the torus. These fractions constrain the torus
half opening angle to be ~67 deg. This value is significantly larger than found
for FIR selected samples of AGN at lower luminosity (~46 deg), supporting the
receding torus scenario. A far-IR component is observed in 8 objects. The
estimated far-IR luminosities associated with this component all exceed
3.3x10^12 Lsun, implying SFRs of 600-3000 Msun/yr. (Abridged)Comment: ApJ accepte
Suppression of the quantum-confined Stark effect in polar nitride heterostructures
Recently, we suggested an unconventional approach (the so-called Internal-Field-Guarded-Active-Region Design “IFGARD”) for the elimination of the quantum-confined Stark effect in polar semiconductor heterostructures. The IFGARD-based suppression of the Stark redshift on the order of electronvolt and spatial charge carrier separation is independent of the specific polar semiconductor material or the related growth procedures. In this work, we demonstrate by means of micro-photoluminescence techniques the successful tuning as well as the elimination of the quantum-confined Stark effect in strongly polar [000-1] wurtzite GaN/AlN nanodiscs as evidenced by a reduction of the exciton lifetimes by up to four orders of magnitude. Furthermore, the tapered geometry of the utilized nanowires (which embed the investigated IFGARD nanodiscs) facilitates the experimental differentiation between quantum confinement and Stark emission energy shifts. Due to the IFGARD, both effects become independently adaptable.DFG, 43659573, SFB 787: Halbleiter - Nanophotonik: Materialien, Modelle, Bauelement
Quantifying the anisotropy in the infrared emission of powerful AGN
We use restframe near- and mid-IR data of an isotropically selected sample of
quasars and radio galaxies at 1.0 \leq z \leq 1.4, which have been published
previously, to study the wavelength-dependent anisotropy of the IR emission.
For that we build average SEDs of the quasar subsample (= type 1 AGN) and radio
galaxies (= type 2 AGN) from ~1-17 {\mu}m and plot the ratio of both average
samples. From 2 to 8 {\mu}m restframe wavelength the ratio gradually decreases
from 20 to 2 with values around 3 in the 10{\mu}m silicate feature. Longward of
12{\mu}m the ratio decreases further and shows some high degree of isotropy at
15 {\mu}m (ratio ~1.4). The results are consistent with upper limits derived
from the X-ray/mid-IR correlation of local Seyfert galaxies. We find that the
anisotropy in our high-luminosity radio-loud sample is smaller than in
radio-quiet lower-luminosity AGN which may be interpreted in the framework of a
receding torus model with luminosity-dependent obscuration properties. It is
also shown that the relatively small degree of anisotropy is consistent with
clumpy torus models.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures; accepted by Ap
A diversity of dusty AGN tori: Data release for the VLTI/MIDI AGN Large Program and first results for 23 galaxies
The AGN-heated dust distribution (the "torus") is increasingly recognized not
only as the absorber required in unifying models, but as a tracer for the
reservoir that feeds the nuclear Super-Massive Black Hole. Yet, even its most
basic structural properties (such as its extent, geometry and elongation) are
unknown for all but a few archetypal objects. Since most AGNs are unresolved in
the mid-infrared, we utilize the MID-infrared interferometric Instrument (MIDI)
at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) that is sensitive to
structures as small as a few milli-arcseconds (mas). We present here an
extensive amount of new interferometric observations from the MIDI AGN Large
Program (2009 - 2011) and add data from the archive to give a complete view of
the existing MIDI observations of AGNs. Additionally, we have obtained
high-quality mid-infrared spectra from VLT/VISIR. We present correlated and
total flux spectra for 23 AGNs and derive flux and size estimates at 12 micron
using simple axisymmetric geometrical models. Perhaps the most surprising
result is the relatively high level of unresolved flux and its large scatter:
The median "point source fraction" is 70 % for type 1 and 47 % for type 2 AGNs
meaning that a large part of the flux is concentrated on scales smaller than
about 5 mas (0.1 - 10 pc). Among sources observed with similar spatial
resolution, it varies from 20 % - 100 %. For 18 of the sources, two nuclear
components can be distinguished in the radial fits. While these models provide
good fits to all but the brightest sources, significant elongations are
detected in eight sources. The half-light radii of the fainter sources are
smaller than expected from the size ~ L^0.5 scaling of the bright sources and
show a large scatter, especially when compared to the relatively tight
size--luminosity relation in the near-infrared.Comment: A&A in press; 93 pages, 63 figures, 39 tables; data available only
via CD
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