Bibcode
Ramos Almeida, C.; Ricci, Claudio
Bibliographical reference
Nature Astronomy, Volume 1, p. 679-689
Advertised on:
10
2017
Citations
237
Refereed citations
212
Description
The material surrounding accreting supermassive black holes connects the
active galactic nucleus with its host galaxy and, besides being
responsible for feeding the black hole, provides important information
on the feedback that nuclear activity produces on the galaxy. In this
Review, we summarize our current understanding of the close environment
of accreting supermassive black holes obtained from studies of local
active galactic nuclei carried out in the infrared and X-ray regimes.
The structure of this circumnuclear material is complex, clumpy and
dynamic, and its covering factor depends on the accretion properties of
the active galactic nucleus. In the infrared, this obscuring material is
a transition zone between the broad- and narrow-line regions, and, at
least in some galaxies, it consists of two structures: an equatorial
disk/torus and a polar component. In the X-ray regime, the obscuration
is produced by multiple absorbers across various spatial scales, mostly
associated with the torus and the broad-line region. In the coming
decade, the new generation of infrared and X-ray facilities will greatly
contribute to our understanding of the structure and physical properties
of nuclear obscuration in active galactic nuclei.
Related projects
Nuclear Activity in Galaxies: a 3D Perspective from the Nucleus to the Outskirts
This project consists of two main research lines. First, the study of quasar-driven outflows in luminous and nearby obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN) and the impact that they have on their massive host galaxies (AGN feedback). To do so, we have obtained Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC) infrared and optical observations with the instruments
Cristina
Ramos Almeida