相关论文: Formation of dust clumps in the torus of active ga…
On the basis of ``sticky particle'' calculations, it is argued that the gas features observed within 10 pc of the Galactic Centre-- the circumnuclear disk (CND) and the ionized gas filaments-- as well as the newly formed stars in the inner…
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.…
The obscuring circumnuclear torus of dusty molecular gas is one of the major components of active galactic nuclei (AGN). The torus can be studied by analyzing the time response of its infrared (IR) dust emission to variations in the AGN…
We provide evidence for a correlation between the presence of giant clumps and the occurrence of active galactic nuclei (AGN) in disk galaxies. Giant clumps of 10^8-9 Msun arise from violent gravitational instability in gas-rich galaxies,…
The detection of dusty winds dominating the infrared emission of AGN on parsec scales has revealed the limitations of traditional radiative transfer models based on a toroidal distribution of dusty gas. A new, more complex, dynamical…
(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…
The active galactic nucleus (AGN) phenomena results from a supermassive black hole accreting its surrounding gaseous and dusty material. The infrared (IR) regime provides most of the information to characterize the dusty structures that…
The "torus" is the central element of the most popular theory unifying various classes of AGNs, but it is usually described as "putative" because it has not been imaged yet. Since it is too small to be resolved with single-dish telescopes,…
In the last decades, several multiwavelength studies have been dedicated to exploring the properties of the obscuring material in active galactic nuclei (AGN). Various models have been developed to describe the structure and distribution of…
In this contribution, we revisit the model of a dust-enshrouded star orbiting a low-luminosity galactic nucleus (Zaja\v{c}ek et al. 2014, 2016, 2017). Although it is quite challenging for dust to survive in hot X-ray-emitting plasma…
The luminous electromagnetic emission from distant active galactic nuclei (AGNs) including quasars is believed to be powered by accretion onto super-massive black holes (SMBHs). In the standard unification model for AGNs a dusty torus…
We discuss the question whether the matter in dusty tori around active galactic nuclei has a smooth or a clumpy structure. Nenkova, Ivezic & Elitzur (2002) have argued that the lack of emission feature in the SEDs of type 1 AGN galaxies…
The obscuring structure surrounding active galactic nuclei (AGN) can be explained as a dust and gas flow cycle that fundamentally connects the AGN with their host galaxies. This structure is believed to be associated with dusty winds driven…
Some key issues in AGN and galaxy formation are discussed. Very successful Unified Models explain much of the variety of AGN with orientation effects; ingredients are shadowing by a dusty "torus" and relativistic beaming. A spinoff result…
The formation processes and the exact appearance of the dust torus and broad line region (BLR) of active galactic nuclei (AGN) are under debate. Theoretical studies show a possible connection between the dust torus and BLR through a common…
The key ingredient of active galactic nuclei (AGN) unification, the dusty obscuring torus was so far held responsible for the observed mid-infrared (MIR) emission of AGN. However, the best studied objects with VLTI/MIDI show that instead a…
Dust plays an essential role in the unification theory of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). This review summarizes our current understanding of the extinction and infrared emission properties of the circumnuclear dust in AGNs as well as the…
Precise mechanisms by which Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) receive their gaseous fuel is still a mystery. Here I draw attention to the extra ordinary star formation event that took place in the central ~ 0.5 parsec of our Galaxy. The most…
Observations give strong support for the unification scheme of active galactic nuclei. The scheme is premised on toroidal obscuration of the central engine by dusty clouds that are individually very optically thick. These lectures summarize…
The motivation of the "unified model" is to explain the main properties of the large zoo of active galactic nuclei with a single physical object. The discovery of broad permitted lines in the polarized spectrum of type 2 Seyfert galaxies in…