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Register a new userA physical model for radiative, convective dusty disk in AGN
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An accretion disk in an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) harbors and shields dust from external illumination: at the mid-plane of the disk around a $M_{{rm BH}}=10^{7}M_{odot}$ black hole, dust can exist at $0.1$pc from the black hole, compared to 0.5pc outside of the disk. We construct a physical model of a disk region approximately located between the radius of dust sublimation at the disk mid-plane and the radius at which dust sublimes at the disk surface. Our main conclusion is that for a wide range of model parameters such as local accretion rate and/or opacity, the accretion disks own radiation pressure on dust significantly influences its vertical structure. In addition to being highly convective, such a disk can transform from geometrically thin to slim. Our model fits into the narrative of a failed wind scenario of Czerny & Hryniewicz (2011) and the compact torus model of Baskin & Laor (2018), incorporating them as variations of the radiative dusty disk model.
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We present a framework to link and describe AGN variability on a wide range of timescales, from days to billions of years. In particular, we concentrate on the AGN variability features related to changes in black hole fuelling and accretion rate. In our framework, the variability features observed in different AGN at different timescales may be explained as realisations of the same underlying statistical properties. In this context, we propose a model to simulate the evolution of AGN light curves with time based on the probability density function (PDF) and power spectral density (PSD) of the Eddington ratio ($L/L_{rm Edd}$) distribution. Motivated by general galaxy population properties, we propose that the PDF may be inspired by the $L/L_{rm Edd}$ distribution function (ERDF), and that a single (or limited number of) ERDF+PSD set may explain all observed variability features. After outlining the framework and the model, we compile a set of variability measurements in terms of structure function (SF) and magnitude difference. We then combine the variability measurements on a SF plot ranging from days to Gyr. The proposed framework enables constraints on the underlying PSD and the ability to link AGN variability on different timescales, therefore providing new insights into AGN variability and black hole growth phenomena.
I review constraints on the physical properties of AGN jets revealed through Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) studies of the structure and time-evolution of parsec-scale jets, including recent results from the MOJAVE program. In particular I focus on constraints available from very long time baseline studies which probe a wide range of jet behavior over many outbursts. Kinematic studies of propagating jet features find an apparent speed distribution that peaks around 10c for blazars, with speeds up to 50c observed. These observed speeds require Lorentz factors at least as large, implying that parsec-scale Lorentz factors up to 10-20 are common for blazars with a tail up to ~ 50. Jet flows are still becoming organized on these scales as evidenced by the high incidence of non-radial motions and/or accelerations of jet features (including increases and decreases in apparent speed and direction). Changes in Lorentz factors of propagating jet features appear to play a significant role in the observed accelerations, and while the connection between acceleration of jet features and the underlying flow is not clear, the pattern of observed accelerations suggest the flow may increase in speed near the base of the jet and decrease further out. In some jets, ejections of new features span a range of ejection angles over many epochs, tracing out wider opening angles on parsec-scales than are apparent in single epoch observations.
Recent multi-band variability studies have revealed that active galactic nucleus (AGN) accretion disc sizes are generally larger than the predictions of the classical thin disc by a factor of $2sim 3$. This hints at some missing key ingredient in the classical thin disc theory: here, we propose an accretion disc wind. For a given bolometric luminosity, in the outer part of an accretion disc, the effective temperature in the wind case is higher than that in the no-wind one; meanwhile, the radial temperature profile of the wind case is shallower than the no-wind one. In presence of winds, for a given band, blackbody emission from large radii can contribute more to the observed luminosity than the no-wind case. Therefore, the disc sizes of the wind case can be larger than those of the no-wind case. We demonstrate that a model with the accretion rate scaling as $dot{M}_0 (R/R_{mathrm{S}})^{beta}$ (i.e., the accretion rate declines with decreasing radius due to winds) can match both the inter-band time lags and the spectral energy distribution of NGC 5548. Our model can also explain the inter-band time lags of other sources. Therefore, our model can help decipher current and future continuum reverberation mapping observations.
Active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback, driven by radiation pressure on dust, is an important mechanism for efficiently coupling the accreting black hole to the surrounding environment. Recent observations confirm that X-ray selected AGN samples respect the effective Eddington limit for dusty gas in the plane defined by the observed column density versus the Eddington ratio, the so-called $N_{rm H} - lambda$ plane. A `forbidden region occurs in this plane, where obscuring clouds cannot be long-lived, due to the action of radiation pressure on dust. Here we compute the effective Eddington limit by explicitly taking into account the trapping of reprocessed radiation (which has been neglected in previous works), and investigate its impact on the $N_{rm H} - lambda$ plane. We show that the inclusion of radiation trapping leads to an enhanced forbidden region, such that even Compton-thick material can potentially be disrupted by sub-Eddington luminosities. We compare our model results to the most complete sample of local AGNs with measured X-ray properties, and find good agreement. Considering the anisotropic emission from the accretion disc, we also expect the development of dusty outflows along the polar axis, which may naturally account for the polar dust emission recently detected in several AGNs from mid-infrared observations. Radiative feedback thus appears to be the key mechanism regulating the obscuration properties of AGNs, and we discuss its physical implications in the context of co-evolution scenarios.
We analyze differences in positions of active galactic nuclei between Gaia data release 2 and VLBI and compare the significant VLBI-to-Gaia offsets in more than 1000 objects with their jet directions. Remarkably at least 3/4 of the significant offsets are confirmed to occur downstream or upstream the jet representing a genuine astrophysical effect. Introducing redshift and Gaia color into analysis can help distinguish between the contribution of the host galaxy, jet, and accretion disk emission. We find that strong optical jet emission at least 20-50pc long is required to explain the Gaia positions located downstream from VLBI ones. Offsets in the upstream direction of up to 2 mas are at least partly due to the dominant impact of the accretion disk on the Gaia coordinates and by the effects of parsec-scale radio jet. The host galaxy was found not to play an important role in the detected offsets. BL Lacertae object and Seyfert 2 galaxies are observationally confirmed to have a relatively weak disk and consequently downstream offsets. The disk emission drives upstream offsets in a significant fraction of quasars and Seyfert 1 galaxies when it dominates over the jet in the optical band. The observed behaviour of the different AGN classes is consistent with the unified scheme assuming varying contribution of the obscuring dusty torus and jet beaming.
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