Related papers: Hypercubes of AGN Tori (HYPERCAT) -- II. Resolving…
This review describes recent developments related to the unified model of active galactic nuclei (AGN). It focuses on new ideas about the origin and properties of the central obscurer (torus), and the connection with its surrounding. The…
There is evidence for significant evolution in the gaseous and dust properties of galaxies since the era of cosmic noon ($1\lesssim z\lesssim 2.5$). The well known co-evolution of supermassive black holes with their host galaxies suggests a…
We investigate models for the power supply and broad-band spectral energy distribution (SED) of hyperluminous IR galaxies, recently discovered at high redshifts, in terms of the emission from an active nucleus embedded in a torus-like dusty…
We have recently initiated the first spectroscopic dust reverberation programme on active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the near-infrared. Spectroscopy enables measurement of dust properties, such as flux, temperature and covering factor, with…
The nuclear region of Type 1 AGNs has only been partially resolved so far in the near-infrared (IR) where we expect to see the dust sublimation region and the nucleus directly without obscuration. Here we present the near-IR interferometric…
Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) are often obscured by dust and gas. It is normally assumed that the obscuration occurs in an oblate "obscuring torus", that begins at the radius at which the most refractive dust can remain solid.…
We perform a systematic X-ray spectroscopic analysis of 57 local ultra/luminous infrared galaxy systems (containing 84 individual galaxies) observed with Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array and/or Swift/BAT. Combining soft X-ray data…
(Abridged) Infrared high-resolution imaging and interferometry have shown that the dust distribution is frequently elongated along the polar direction of an AGN. To explain these findings, we developed a model scenario for the inner ~30 pc…
Recently, the existence of geometrically thick dust structures in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) has been directly proven with the help of mid-infrared interferometry. The observations are consistent with a two-component model made up of a…
We apply XCLUMPY, an X-ray spectral model from a clumpy torus in an active galactic nucleus (AGN), to the broadband X-ray spectra of 10 obscured AGNs observed with both Suzaku and NuSTAR. The infrared spectra of these AGNs were analyzed…
Dust enshrouded activity can ideally be studied by mid-infrared (MIR) observations. In order to explore the AGN versus star forming origin of the nuclear MIR emission of galaxies, observations of high spatial resolution are required. Here…
The results of 3-4 $\mu$m spectroscopy towards the nuclei of NGC 3094, NGC 7172, and NGC 7479 are reported. In ground-based 8-13 $\mu$m spectra, all the sources have strong absorption-like features at $\sim$10 $\mu$m, but they do not have…
We examine the possibility of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) obscuration by dusty gas clouds that spurt out from circumnuclear starburst regions. For the purpose, the dynamical evolution of gas clouds is pursued, including the effects of…
The torus in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) is a complex dynamical structure of gas and dust. It is thought to be composed of an equatorial dusty disk and a polar dusty wind launched by radiation pressure. However, this picture is based on…
Despite being thought to play an important role in galaxy evolution, the true impact of outflows driven by active galactic nuclei (AGN) on their host galaxies is unclear. In part, this may be because electron densities of outflowing gas are…
We report novel, high-angular resolution interferometric measurements that imply the near-infrared nuclear emission in NGC 4151 is unexpectedly compact. We have observed the nucleus of NGC 4151 at 2.2 microns using the two 10-meter Keck…
Deep surveys of {\em Chandra} and {\em HST} (Hubble Space Telescope) show that active galactic nucleus (AGN) populations are changing with hard X-ray luminosities. This arises an interesting question whether the dusty torus is evolving with…
Obscured AGNs provide an opportunity to study the material surrounding the central engine. Geometric and physical constraints on the absorber can be deduced from the reprocessed AGN emission. In particular, the obscuring gas may reprocess…
Heavily obscured Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), especially Compton-thick sources with line-of-sight column density ($N_{\rm H,los}$) $>$ 10$^{24}$ cm$^{-2}$, are critical to understanding supermassive black hole (SMBH) growth and the origin…
A subparsec-scale dense plasma torus around an active galactic nucleus (AGN) is unveiled. We report on very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations at 2.3, 8.4, and 15.4 GHz towards the active galaxy NGC 1052. The convex spectra of…