Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Nov 1992
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1992apj...399l..23p&link_type=abstract
Astrophysical Journal, Part 2 - Letters (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 399, no. 1, p. L23-L26.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
79
Active Galactic Nuclei, Cosmic Dust, Molecular Clouds, Radiation Pressure, Seyfert Galaxies, Toruses, Astronomical Models, Coulomb Collisions, Radiative Transfer
Scientific paper
Radiation pressure acting on dust grains can support the vertical thickness of the obscuring tori believed to exist in active galactic nuclei. Using the results of 2D radiation transfer calculations, we evaluate the radiation force acting on these tori. We find that on the inner edge of the torus the radiation force is about 350 l(E) times the gravitational force of the nucleus, where l(E) is the Eddington ratio. Beyond a few torus heights from the inner edge, the radiation force is negligible with respect to gravity. However, between these two extremes lies a region of considerable size where the ratio of radiation force to gravity is nearly constant and can be of order unity for l(E) about 0.1. If the distribution of material within the torus is sufficiently lumpy, there is a significant time-varying component to the radiation force. This drives the random motions of the constituent clouds, thickening the torus at lower values of l(E).
Krolik Julian H.
Pier Edward A.
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