Science of active galactic nuclei with the GTC and CanariCam

Levenson, Nancy A.; Packham, Christopher C.; Alonso-Herrero, Almudena; Aretxaga, Itziar; Colina, Luis; Díaz-Santos, Tanio; Elitzur, Moshe; Mason, Rachel E.; Perlman, Eric S.; Radomski, James T.; Roche, Patrick F.; Rodríguez Espinosa, José Miguel; Young, Stuart; Telesco, Charles M.
Bibliographical reference

Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy II. Edited by McLean, Ian S.; Casali, Mark M. Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume 7014, pp. 70142I-70142I-9 (2008).

Advertised on:
8
2008
Number of authors
14
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
CanariCam is the facility mid-infrared (MIR) instrument for the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), a 10.4m telescope at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos on La Palma. One of the science drivers for CanariCam is the study of active galactic nuclei (AGN). We will exploit the instrument's high sensitivity in imaging, spectroscopy, and polarimetry modes to answer fundamental questions of AGN and their host galaxies. Dust in the nucleus of an active galaxy reprocesses the intrinsic radiation of the central engine to emerge in the MIR. Current work demonstrates that the hot dust immediately associated with the AGN, which blocks direct views of the AGN from some lines of sight, is confined to small (parsec) scales. Thus, high spatial resolution is essential to probe the "torus" of unified AGN models separate from the host galaxy. CanariCam provides a 0.08" pixel scale for Nyquist sampling the diffraction-limited point spread function at 8μm, and narrow (0.2") spectroscopy slits (with R=120-1300). New observations with the GTC/CanariCam will provide key constraints on the physical conditions in the clumpy torus, and we will sensitively determine AGN obscuration as a function of nuclear activity. We will therefore address the fueling process and its relationship to the torus, the interaction with the host galaxy, and dust chemistry. These data will be essential preparation for the next generation of telescopes that will observe the distant universe directly to explore galaxy and black hole formation and evolution, and the GTC/CanariCam system uniquely provides multiple modes to probe AGN.
Related projects
Project Image
Starbursts in Galaxies GEFE
Starsbursts play a key role in the cosmic evolution of galaxies, and thus in the star formation (SF) history of the universe, the production of metals, and the feedback coupling galaxies with the cosmic web. Extreme SF conditions prevail early on during the formation of the first stars and galaxies, therefore, the starburst phenomenon constitutes a
Casiana
Muñoz Tuñón