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An image of the dust sublimation region in the nucleus of NGC 1068
- Source :
- Astronomy and Astrophysics-A&A, Astronomy and Astrophysics-A&A, EDP Sciences, 2020, 634, pp.A1. ⟨10.1051/0004-6361/201936255⟩, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 634, A1
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- arXiv, 2019.
-
Abstract
- We present near-infrared interferometric data on the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068, obtained with the GRAVITY instrument on the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope Interferometer. The extensive baseline coverage from 5 to 60 M\lambda allowed us to reconstruct a continuum image of the nucleus with an unrivaled 0.2 pc resolution in the K-band. We find a thin ring-like structure of emission with a radius r = 0.24+/-0.03 pc, inclination i = 70+/-5 deg, position angle PA = -50+/-4 deg, and h/r < 0.14, which we associate with the dust sublimation region. The observed morphology is inconsistent with the expected signatures of a geometrically and optically thick torus. Instead, the infrared emission shows a striking resemblance to the 22 GHz maser disc, which suggests they share a common region of origin. The near-infrared spectral energy distribution indicates a bolometric luminosity of (0.4-4.7) x 10^45 erg/s, behind a large A_K ~ 5.5 (A_V ~ 90) screen of extinction that also appears to contribute significantly to obscuring the broad line region.<br />Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. 13 pages with 7 figures
- Subjects :
- 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
galaxies: active
FOS: Physical sciences
Astrophysics
01 natural sciences
Observatory
0103 physical sciences
medicine
010303 astronomy & astrophysics
ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Physics
Very Large Telescope
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Position angle
Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
Galaxy
galaxies: Seyfert
Interferometry
medicine.anatomical_structure
Space and Planetary Science
techniques: interferometric
[SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]
Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
Sublimation (phase transition)
galaxies: nuclei
Nucleus
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 00046361
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Astronomy and Astrophysics-A&A, Astronomy and Astrophysics-A&A, EDP Sciences, 2020, 634, pp.A1. ⟨10.1051/0004-6361/201936255⟩, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 634, A1
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....f22edaf7f3a33d118508fcb8be0143eb
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1912.01361