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Register a new userA mid-infrared statistical investigation of clumpy torus model predictions
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Added by
Judit Garc\\'ia-Gonz\\'alez
Publication date
2017
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
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We present new calculations of the CAT3D clumpy torus models, which now include a more physical dust sublimation model as well as AGN anisotropic emission. These new models allow graphite grains to persist at temperatures higher than the silicate dust sublimation temperature. This produces stronger near-infrared emission and bluer mid-infrared (MIR) spectral slopes. We make a statistical comparison of the CAT3D model MIR predictions with a compilation of sub-arcsecond resolution ground-based MIR spectroscopy of 52 nearby Seyfert galaxies (median distance of 36 Mpc) and 10 quasars. We focus on the AGN MIR spectral index $alpha_{MIR}$ and the strength of the 9.7 $mu$m silicate feature $S_{Sil}$. As with other clumpy torus models, the new CAT3D models do not reproduce the Seyfert galaxies with deep silicate absorption ($S_{Sil}<-1$). Excluding those, we conclude that the new CAT3D models are in better agreement with the observed $alpha_{MIR}$ and $S_{Sil}$ of Seyfert galaxies and quasars. We find that Seyfert 2 are reproduced with models with low photon escape probabilities, while the quasars and the Seyfert 1-1.5 require generally models with higher photon escape probabilities. Quasars and Seyfert 1-1.5 tend to show steeper radial cloud distributions and fewer clouds along an equatorial line-of-sight than Seyfert 2. Introducing AGN anisotropic emission besides the more physical dust sublimation models alleviates the problem of requiring inverted radial cloud distributions (i.e., more clouds towards the outer parts of the torus) to explain the MIR spectral indices of type 2 Seyferts.
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We make predictions for the cosmological surveys to be conducted by the future Herschel mission operating in the far-infrared. The far-infrared bands match the peak of the CIRB, the brightest background of astrophysical origin. Therefore, surveys in these bands will provide essential information on the evolutionary properties of Luminous and Ultra-Luminous Infrared Galaxies (LIGs and ULIGs), starburst and normal galaxies. Our predictions are based on a new phenomenological model obtained from the 15-micron luminosity function of galaxies and AGN, fitting all the ISOCAM observables (source counts and redshift distributions) and also the recently published Spitzer source counts in the 24-micron band. We discuss the confusion noise due to extragalactic sources, depending strongly on the shape of the source counts and on the telescope parameters. We derive the fraction of the CIRB expected to be resolved by Herschel in the different wavebands and we discuss extragalactic surveys that could be carried on by Herschel for different scientific puropouses (i.e. ultra-deep, deep and shallow).
At distances from the active galaxy nucleus (AGN) where the ambient temperature falls below ~1500-1800 K, dust is able to survive. It is thus possible to have a large dusty structure present which surrounds the AGN. This is the first of two papers aiming at comparing six dusty torus models with available SEDs, namely Fritz et al. (2006), Nenkova et al. (2008B), Hoenig & Kishimoto (2010), Siebenmorgen et al. (2015), Stalevski et al. (2016), and Hoenig & Kishimoto (2017). In this first paper we use synthetic spectra to explore the discrimination between these models and under which circumstances they allow to restrict the torus parameters, while our second paper analyzes the best model to describe the mid-infrared spectroscopic data. We have produced synthetic spectra from current instruments: GTC/CanariCam and Spitzer /IRS and future JWST/MIRI and JWST/NIRSpec instruments. We find that for a reasonable brightness (F12um > 100mJy) we can actually distinguish among models except for the two pair of parent models. We show that these models can be distinguished based on the continuum slopes and the strength of the silicate features. Moreover, their parameters can be constrained within 15% of error, irrespective of the instrument used, for all the models but Hoenig & Kishimoto (2017). However, the parameter estimates are ruined when more than 50% of circumnuclear contributors are included. Therefore, future high spatial resolution spectra as those expected from JWST will provide enough coverage and spatial resolution to tackle this topic.
This is the second in a series of papers devoted to explore a set of six dusty models of active galactic nuclei (AGN) with available spectral energy distributions (SEDs). These models are the smooth torus by Fritz et al. (2006), the clumpy torus by Nenkova et al. (2008B), the clumpy torus by Hoenig & Kishimoto (2010), the two phase torus by Siebenmorgen et al. (2015), the two phase torus by Stalevski et al. (2016), and the wind model by Hoenig & Kishimoto (2017). The first paper explores discrimination among models and the parameter restriction using synthetic spectra (Gonzalez-Martin et al. 2019A). Here we perform spectral fitting of a sample of 110 AGN drawn from the Swift/BAT survey with Spitzer/IRS spectroscopic data. The aim is to explore which is the model that describes better the data and the resulting parameters. The clumpy wind-disk model by Hoenig & Kishimoto (2017) provides good fits for ~50% of the sample, and the clumpy torus model by Nenkova et al. (2008B) is good at describing ~30% of the objects. The wind-disk model by Hoenig & Kishimoto (2017) is better for reproducing the mid-infrared spectra of Type-1 Seyferts while Type-2 Seyferts are equally fitted by both models. Large residuals are found irrespective of the model used, indicating that the AGN dust continuum emission is more complex than predicted by the models or that the parameter space is not well sampled. We found that all the resulting parameters for our AGN sample are roughly constrained to 10-20% of the parameter space. The derived outer radius of the torus is smaller for the smooth torus by Fritz et al. (2006) and the two phase torus by Stalevski et al. (2016) than the one derived from the clumpy torus by (Nenkova et al. 2008B). Covering factors and line-of-sight viewing angles strongly depend on the model used. The total dust mass is the most robust derived quantity.
We present an analysis of multi-timescale variability in line-of-sight X-ray absorbing gas as a function of optical classification in a large sample of Seyfert AGN to derive the first X-ray statistical constraints for clumpy-torus models. We systematically search for discrete absorption events in the vast archive of RXTE monitoring of dozens of nearby type I and Compton-thin type II AGN. We are sensitive to discrete absorption events due to clouds of full-covering, neutral or mildly ionized gas with columns >~ 10^(22-25) cm^-2 transiting the line of sight. We detect 12 eclipse events in 8 objects, roughly tripling the number previously published from this archive. Peak column densities span ~ 4-26 x 10^22 cm^-2. Event durations span hours to months. The column density profile for an eclipsing cloud in NGC 3783 is doubly spiked, possibly indicating a cloud that is being tidally sheared. We infer the clouds distances from the black hole to span ~0.3 -140 x 10^4 R_g. In seven objects, the clouds distances are commensurate with the outer portions of Broad Line Regions (BLR), or the inner regions of infrared-emitting dusty tori. We discuss implications for cloud distributions in the context of clumpy-torus models. The probability of observing a source undergoing an absorption event, independent of constant absorption due to non-clumpy material, is 0.006(+0.160,-0.003) for type Is and 0.110(+0.461,-0.071) for type IIs.
Aims: We aim to find torus models that explain the observed high-resolution mid-infrared (MIR) measurements of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Our goal is to determine the general properties of the circumnuclear dusty environments. Methods: We used the MIR interferometric data of a sample of AGNs provided by the instrument MIDI/VLTI and followed a statistical approach to compare the observed distribution of the interferometric data with the distributions computed from clumpy torus models. We mainly tested whether the diversity of Seyfert galaxies can be described using the Standard Model idea. In addition to line-of-sight (LOS) effects, we performed different realizations of the same model to include possible variations that are caused by the stochastic nature of the dusty models. Results: We find that our entire sample of AGNs, which contains both Seyfert types, cannot be explained merely by an inclination effect and by including random variations of the clouds. Instead, we find that each subset of Seyfert type can be explained by different models, where the filling factor at the inner radius seems to be the largest difference. For type I objects we find that about two thirds of our objects could also be described using a dusty torus similar to the type II objects. For the remaining third, it was not possible to find a good description using models with high filling factors, while we found good fits with models with low filling factors. Conclusions: Within our model assumptions, we did not find one single set of model parameters that could simultaneously explain the MIR data of all 21 AGN with LOS effects and random variations alone. We conclude that at least two distinct cloud configurations are required to model the differences in Seyfert galaxies, with volume-filling factors differing by a factor of about 5-10. A continuous transition between the two types cannot be excluded.
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