The AGN Torus: A Paradigm Change

1
The AGN TorusA Paradigm Change
Moshe Elitzur University of Kentucky
2
What is the Torus?
Smooth continuation of the BLR
3
X-ray Obscuration

• Dusty clouds absorb both UV/optical and X-rays
• Dust-free clouds absorb only X-rays

Risaliti, Elvis Nicastro 02 Smooth
distribution of dusty and dust-free clouds
4
Lag Times ? BLR and near-IR
Suganuma et al 06
No correlation with M?!!!
NIR(K-band)
Broad Emission Line

• Broad-emission line lags for objects that also
  have infrared lags
• Including Hi Lo ionization lines)

(? luminosity)
(nucleus)
BLR is dust bound (Netzer Laor 93)
5
The Dust-Sublimation Transition
Rd
r lt Rd dust free clouds Broad Lines
Region/ X-ray Obscuration Region
r gt Rd dusty clouds Toroidal
Obscuration Region
TOR Torus
6
0
The Disk Wind Paradigm
Everett Konigl 00
Bottorff 97
7
Grand Unification Theory
0
Emmering, Blandford Shlosman 92
8
Clumpy Torus Modeling

• N0 5 10 clouds
• ? 30 60
• ?V 30 120
• q 1 2
• Rd 0.4L½45 pc Ro 5 Rd

s
N ? N0 exp(-?2/?2)/rq
Standard ISM dust works fine
Nenkova et al 02, 07
9
Cloud Properties in TOR Outflow
IR modeling ?v 30 120 ? NH 1022
1023 cm-2
Resistance to tidal shearing
n gt 107 M?7 / rpc3 cm-3 Rc lt 1016 NH,23 rpc3 /
M?7 cm Mc lt 7?10-3 NH,23 Rc,162 M? B 1.5
?1km/s n71/2 mG
Elitzur Shlosman 06
10
TOR Scale Height

• Clouds rise and expand
• M nR3 nRR2 ? NH ? M/R2
• Crossing the TOR factor 10 expansion
• ? 1 km s-1 vK 208 (M7/rpc)½ km s-1 ?
  H r

11
TOR Mass Outflow Rate
Rd ? L½
v(Rd) ? vK(Rd) ? (M/Rd)½ ? (LEdd/L½)½
Torus should disappear at small L/LEdd!
12
Torus Disappearance at Low Luminosities

• Nucleus visible in FR I radio galaxies
  (Chiaberge 99)
• and LINERs too (Maoz 05)
• LINER 1 2 UV colors similar (AV lt 1)
• No torus dust emission in M87 (Whysong
  Antonucci 04 Perlman 07)
• No torus dust emission in FR I and half of FR
  II (van der Wolk 07)

13
If only TOR is removed, all low-luminosity AGN
become type 1

• HOWEVER
• Both type 1 and type 2 LINERs do exist (Maoz et
  al 05)
• true type 2 AGN exist at L lt 1042 erg s-1
  (Panessa Bassani 02 Laor 03)
• THEREFORE

BLR must disappear at some lower L
14
(No Transcript)
15

• Wind diminishes mass outflow directed to jets
  (?)
• Ho 02, Sikora et al 07 Radio loudness
  (Lrad/Lopt) varies inversely with Macc!

.
16
Radio-loudness Sikora 07
R Lrad/Lopt ? L/LEdd
17

• Wind diminishes mass outflow directed to jets
  (?)
• Ho 02, Sikora et al 07 Radio loudness
  (Lrad/Lopt) varies inversely with Macc!

.

• Similar effect in X-ray binaries

18
High
Low
Full Unification Scheme both type 1 2
Accretion Rate (L/LEdd)
Radio Loudness
molecular outflow extinguished Torus disappears
type 1 only
atomic outflow extinguished BLR disappears
true type 2
High
Low
19
TOR Energy Outflow Rate
Estimate at the wind base disk surface Outflow
v vturb 10 km s-1
Negligible in the energy budget
20
Final Speculation

• With ? 0.1, the required accretion rate is
  Macc 0.1 L45 M? yr-1
• The AGN phase lasts 107 ? 108 yrs
• Overall accreted mass 106 ? 107 L45 M?

.
Is the whole Seyfert phenomenon the accretion of
just a single GMC?
Is the QSO feeding source different (mergers)?