The heart of active galaxies in the infrared

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Sebastian Florian Hönig
• Subject Area: Astrophysics and Astronomy
• Term: from 2009 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 141272954

The dusty torus in active galactic nuclei (AGN) is supposed to play a key role in regulating AGN activity and evolution in providing the connection between the host galaxy and the accretion disk around the central supermassive black hole. Despite its importance for AGN activity, little is know about the structure, dynamics, and physical processes in the torus due to the small angular scales involved (smaller than sub-arcsecond). The proposed project aims at a better physical understanding of the dust torus by combining (1) high-spatial resolution infrared (IR) observations - adaptive-optics-assisted and interferometry - which spatially resolve the torus emission, (2) detailed 3-D radiative transfer simulations, and (3) theoretical work on dust physics in the AGN environment. For this, I plan a 2-year stay with Prof. Robert Antonucci at the University of California in Santa Barbara. Prof. Antonucci is a world-renowned expert in the field of AGN and originally established the Unification Scheme of AGN by proposing the dust torus.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Dr. Robert Antonucci