The subarcsecond mid-infrared view of local active galactic nuclei: III. Polar dust emission

Recent mid-infrared (MIR) interferometric observations showed in few active galactic nuclei (AGN) that the bulk of the infrared emission originates from the polar region above the putative torus, where only little dust should be present. Here, we investigate whether such strong polar dust emission is common in AGN. Out of 149 Seyferts in the MIR atlas of local AGN (Asmus et al.), 21 show extended MIR emission on single dish images. In 18 objects, the extended MIR emission aligns with the system axis position angle, established by [OIII], radio, polarisation and maser based position angle measurements. The relative amount of resolved MIR emission is at least 40 per cent and scales with the [OIV] fluxes implying a strong connection between the extended continuum and [OIV] emitters. These results together with the radio-quiet nature of the Seyferts support the scenario that the bulk of MIR emission is emitted by dust in the polar region and not by the torus, which would demand a new paradigm for the infrared emission structure in AGN. The current low detection rate of polar dust in the AGN of the MIR atlas is explained by the lack of sufficient high quality MIR data and the requirement for the orientation, NLR strength and distance of the AGN. The James-Webb Space Telescope will enable much deeper nuclear MIR studies with comparable angular resolution, allowing us to resolve the polar emission and surroundings in most of the nearby AGN.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ on Mar 08 (submitted Dec 22

Downwash-Aware Trajectory Planning for Large Quadrotor Teams

We describe a method for formation-change trajectory planning for large quadrotor teams in obstacle-rich environments. Our method decomposes the planning problem into two stages: a discrete planner operating on a graph representation of the workspace, and a continuous refinement that converts the non-smooth graph plan into a set of C^k-continuous trajectories, locally optimizing an integral-squared-derivative cost. We account for the downwash effect, allowing safe flight in dense formations. We demonstrate the computational efficiency in simulation with up to 200 robots and the physical plausibility with an experiment with 32 nano-quadrotors. Our approach can compute safe and smooth trajectories for hundreds of quadrotors in dense environments with obstacles in a few minutes.Comment: 8 page

Assessing the Prosody of Non-Native Speakers of English: Measures and Feature Sets

In this paper, we describe a new database with audio recordings of non-native (L2) speakers of English, and the perceptual evaluation experiment conducted with native English speakers for assessing the prosody of each recording. These annotations are then used to compute the gold standard using different methods, and a series of regression experiments is conducted to evaluate their impact on the performance of a regression model predicting the degree of Abstract naturalness of L2 speech. Further, we compare the relevance of different feature groups modelling prosody in general (without speech tempo), speech rate and pauses modelling speech tempo (fluency), voice quality, and a variety of spectral features. We also discuss the impact of various fusion strategies on performance.Overall, our results demonstrate that the prosody of non-native speakers of English as L2 can be reliably assessed using supra- segmental audio features; prosodic features seem to be the most important ones

Embedded AGN and star formation in the central 80 pc of IC 3639

[Abridged] Methods: We use interferometric observations in the $N$-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 $90 \pm 20\, \rm{mJy}$ at $10.5\, \rm{\mu m}$, measured with three different baselines in VLTI (UT1-UT2, UT3-UT4, and UT2-UT3; $46$-$58\, \rm{m}$), making this the faintest measurement so far achieved with mid-IR interferometry. The correlated flux is a factor of $3$-$4$ 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 $10$ and $80\, \rm{pc}$ ($40$-$340\, \rm{mas}$). 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]$_{12.8 \rm{\mu m}}$) with a net contribution of $\sim 70\%$. The AGN accounts for the remaining $\sim 30\%$ of the mid-IR flux, ascribed to the unresolved component in the MIDI observations, and the ionisation of high-excitation lines (e.g. [NeV]$_{14.3 \rm{\mu m}}$ and [OIV]$_{25.9 \rm{\mu m}}$).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 $D_A = 19.0^{+2.4}_{-2.6}$ 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

The dusty heart of nearby active galaxies. I. High-spatial resolution mid-IR spectro-photometry of Seyfert galaxies

We present 8-13 micron imaging and spectroscopy of 9 type 1 and 10 type 2 AGN obtained with the VLT/VISIR instrument at spatial resolution <100 pc. The emission from the host galaxy sources is resolved out in most cases. The silicate absorption features are moderately deep and emission features are shallow. We compare the mid-IR luminosities to AGN luminosity tracers and found that the mid-IR radiation is emitted quite isotropically. In two cases, IC5063 and MCG-3-34-64, we find evidence for extended dust emission in the narrow-line region. We confirm the correlation between observed silicate feature strength and Hydrogen column density recently found in Spitzer data. In a further step, our 3D clumpy torus model has been used to interpret the data. We show that the strength of the silicate feature and the mid-IR spectral index can be used to get reasonable constraints on the dust distribution in the torus. The mid-IR spectral index, alpha, is almost exclusively determined by the radial dust distribution power-law index, a, and the silicate feature depth is mostly depending on the average number of clouds, N0, along an equatorial line-of-sight and the torus inclination. A comparison of model predictions to our type 1 and type 2 AGN reveals typical average parameters a=-1.0+/-0.5 and N0=5-8, which means that the radial dust distribution is rather shallow. As a proof-of-concept of this method, we compared the model parameters derived from alpha and the silicate feature to more detailed studies of IR SEDs and interferometry and found that the constraints on a and N0 are consistent. Finally, we might have found evidence that the radial structure of the torus changes from low to high AGN luminosities towards steeper dust distributions, and we discuss implications for the IR size-luminosity relation. (abridged)Comment: 22 pages, 13 figues, 6 tables; Accepted for publication in A&A; Note that this is the second submitted paper from the series, but we changed paper order. This one will be referred to as paper I, the previously submitted arXiv:0909.4539 will become paper I

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

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 $\times$ 1.1 pc and an extended component with a size of ~ 0.8 $\times$ 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