Adaptive Optics Integral Field Unit Observations of Cygnus A

Details Adaptive Optics Integral Field Unit Observations of Cygnus A Adaptive Optics Integral Field Unit Observations of Cygnus A

Jan 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009aas...21332606c&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #213, #326.06; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.382

Physics

Optics

Scientific paper

Several lines of evidence indicate that the radio galaxy Cygnus A harbors a heavily extincted quasar. According to AGN unification schemes, this quasar would be hidden by an optically and geometrically thick dust torus. Our early near-IR observations using long slit spectroscopy with adaptive optics (AO) showed that the ratio of atomic to molecular hydrogen varies dramatically with position across the nuclear regions. The molecular hydrogen is likely shielded from the continuum source on either side of the torus, leading to higher molecular-to-atomic hydrogen ratios in these regions. Our observations thus allow us to set upper limits to the physical size of the torus. We have now obtained Keck IFU observations using OSIRIS with laser guide star AO. These data allow us to build a full picture of the kinematics and distribution of the gas around the nucleus, and to trace the two-dimensional structure of the torus in Cygnus A.

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