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23 April 2024 |
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The central dusty torus in the active nucleus of NGC 1068 | | W Jaffe
; K Meisenheimer
; H J A Röttgering
; Ch Leinert
; A Richichi
; O Chesneau
; D Fraix-Burnet
; A Glazenborg-Kluttig
; G-L Granato
; U Graser
; B Heijligers
; R Köhler
; F Malbet
; G K Miley
; F Paresce
; J-W Pel
; G Perrin
; F Przygodda
; M Schoeller
; H Sol
; L B F M Waters
; G Weigelt
; J Woillez
; P T De Zeeuw
; | | Date: |
6 May 2004 | | Journal: | Nature, 429 (6987), 47-9 | | Abstract: | Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) display many energetic phenomena--broad emission lines, X-rays, relativistic jets, radio lobes--originating from matter falling onto a supermassive black hole. It is widely accepted that orientation effects play a major role in explaining the observational appearance of AGNs. Seen from certain directions, circum-nuclear dust clouds would block our view of the central powerhouse. Indirect evidence suggests that the dust clouds form a parsec-sized torus-shaped distribution. This explanation, however, remains unproved, as even the largest telescopes have not been able to resolve the dust structures. Here we report interferometric mid-infrared observations that spatially resolve these structures in the galaxy NGC 1068. The observations reveal warm (320 K) dust in a structure 2.1 parsec thick and 3.4 parsec in diameter, surrounding a smaller hot structure. As such a configuration of dust clouds would collapse in a time much shorter than the active phase of the AGN, this observation requires a continual input of kinetic energy to the cloud system from a source coexistent with the AGN. | | Source: | PubMed, pmid15129274 doi: 10.1038/nature02531 | | Services: | Forum | Review | Favorites | |
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