Penetrating Dust Tori in AGN

We present preliminary results from high resolution (~ 0.05") adaptive optics observations of Cygnus A. The images show a bi-conic structure strongly suggestive of an obscuring torus around a quasar nucleus. A bright (K'=18.5) point source is found near the expected position of the nucleus. We interpret this source as the hot inner rim of the torus seen through the opening of the torus. Using high angular resolution K-band spectroscopy, we measure the ratio of molecular to recombination hydrogen lines as a function of distance to the center of the putative torus. These measurements place constraints on the properties of the torus and indicate a projected diameter of ~600 pc.Comment: To appear in proceeding from "Penetrating Bars through Masks of Cosmic Dust" conference in South Africa. 5 page

Fast outflow of neutral and ionized gas from the radio galaxy 3C 293

We detect a fast outflow of neutral and ionized gas with velocities up to about 1000 km/s from the central region of radio galaxy 3C 293. With optical spectroscopy we locate the bulk of the ionized gas outflow at the position of a bright radio hot-spot in the inner radio jet, about 1 kpc east of the nucleus. Given the presence of large amounts of cold gas and the distorted morphology of the radio jet in this region, we argue that the ISM is pushed out by a severe interaction with the radio plasma. The similarity of the outflow of HI with the ionized gas outflow that we see at the position of the radio hot-spot suggests that despite the high energies involved in the jet-ISM interaction, part of the gas stays, or becomes again, neutral. In this paper we also present the detection of HI emission in three nearby companions of 3C 293.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Proceedings of the "Extra-planar Gas" conference, Dwingeloo, the Netherlands, June 7-11, 2004. To appear in ASP Conference Series, ed. R. Brau

The lived body: sociological themes, embodied issues

The Lived Body takes a fresh look at the notion of human embodiment and provides an ideal textbook for undergraduates on the growing number of courses on the sociology of the body. The authors propose a new approach - an 'Embodied Sociology' - one which makes embodiment central rather than peripheral. They critically examine the dualist legacies of the past, assessing the ideas of a range of key thinkers, from Marx to Freud, Foucault to Giddens, Deleuze to Guattari and Irigary to Grosz, in terms of the bodily themes and issues they address. They also explore new areas of research, including the 'fate' of embodiment in late modernity, sex, gender, medical technology and the body, the sociology of emotions, pain, sleep and artistic representations of the body. The Lived Body will provide students and researchers in medical sociology, health sciences, cultural studies and philosophy with clear, accessible coverage of the major theories and debates in the sociology of the body and a challenging new way of thinkin