Illuminating the Dusty Wind: 3D Modeling of Quasar Silicate Emission

Details Illuminating the Dusty Wind: 3D Modeling of Quasar Silicate Emission Illuminating the Dusty Wind: 3D Modeling of Quasar Silicate Emission

May 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006sptz.prop30086g&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #30086

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Scientific paper

The so-called `dusty torus', an obscuring medium surrounding the black hole accretion disk, is an essential component of the Unified Model for Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) invoked to explain the diversity of AGN phenomenology. One promising source for the dusty torus is a dynamical wind from the accretion disk driven by both magnetic and radiative forces. At large (> 1 pc) radii in the wind, dust is not sublimated by the central continuum and will survive in the outflow. Such a model can naturally account for the large covering factor of the obscuring medium, which is otherwise difficult to explain. We propose to explore and constrain the geometry and dynamics of obscuration in quasars (the most luminous AGNs) by building dynamical and 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer models of such dusty outflows. By testing simulated spectra from our models directly against silicate emission features in Spitzer IRS data of quasars known to host outflows (those with broad absorption lines), we will investigate the physics of the obscuring medium in this population. We plan to explore the parameter space of inputs such as continuum luminosity, spectral energy distribution, column density, and grain properties to determine what drives the observed trends in silicate emission; a library of simulated spectra will be provided to the community. Finally, these models will enable us to measure the mass outflow rate in these winds, an essential parameter for determining the kinetic luminosities of quasar winds, and thus their impact on their host galaxies.

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