Radiation-pressure-supported obscuring tori around active galactic nuclei
1992; IOP Publishing; Volume: 399; Linguagem: Inglês
10.1086/186597
ISSN1538-4357
AutoresEdward A. Pier, Julian H. Krolik,
Tópico(s)Planetary Science and Exploration
Resumoview Abstract Citations (120) References (19) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Radiation-Pressure--supported Obscuring Tori around Active Galactic Nuclei Pier, Edward A. ; Krolik, Julian H. Abstract 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 two-dimensional 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 ~350l_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_~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_. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: November 1992 DOI: 10.1086/186597 Bibcode: 1992ApJ...399L..23P Keywords: Active Galactic Nuclei; Cosmic Dust; Molecular Clouds; Radiation Pressure; Seyfert Galaxies; Toruses; Astronomical Models; Coulomb Collisions; Radiative Transfer; Astrophysics; GALAXIES: ACTIVE; GALAXIES: SEYFERT full text sources ADS |
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