The first spectroscopic dust reverberation programme on active galactic nuclei: the torus in NGC 5548

Landt, H; Ward, MJ; Kynoch, D; Packham, C; Ferland, GJ; Lawrence, A; Pott, J-U; Esser, J; Horne, K; Starkey, DA; Malhotra, D; Fausnaugh, MM; Peterson, BM; Wilman, RJ; Riffel, RA; Storchi-Bergmann, T; Barth, AJ; Villforth, C; Winkler, H

doi:10.1093/mnras/stz2212

The first spectroscopic dust reverberation programme on active galactic nuclei: the torus in NGC 5548

Landt, H; Ward, MJ; Kynoch, D; Packham, C; Ferland, GJ; Lawrence, A; Pott, J-U; Esser, J; Horne, K; Starkey, DA; Malhotra, D; Fausnaugh, MM; Peterson, BM; Wilman, RJ; Riffel, RA; Storchi-Bergmann, T; Barth, AJ; Villforth, C; Winkler, H

Authors

H Landt

Professor Martin Ward martin.ward@durham.ac.uk
External Examiner (PGR)

D Kynoch

C Packham

GJ Ferland

A Lawrence

J-U Pott

J Esser

K Horne

DA Starkey

D Malhotra

MM Fausnaugh

BM Peterson

Dr Richard Wilman r.j.wilman@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

RA Riffel

T Storchi-Bergmann

AJ Barth

C Villforth

H Winkler

Contributors

Dr Hermine Landt-Wilman hermine.landt@durham.ac.uk
Other

Abstract

We have recently initiated the first spectroscopic dust reverberation programme on active galactic nuclei in the near-infrared. Spectroscopy enables measurement of dust properties, such as flux, temperature, and covering factor, with higher precision than photometry. In particular, it enables measurement of both luminosity-based dust radii and dust response times. Here we report results from a 1 yr campaign on NGC 5548. The hot dust responds to changes in the irradiating flux with a lag time of ∼70 light-days, similar to what was previously found in photometric reverberation campaigns. The mean and rms spectra are similar, implying that the same dust component dominates both the emission and the variations. The dust lag time is consistent with the luminosity-based dust radius only if we assume a wavelength-independent dust emissivity law, i.e. a blackbody, which is appropriate for grains of large sizes (of a few μm). For such grains the dust temperature is ∼1450 K. Therefore, silicate grains have most likely evaporated and carbon is the main chemical component. But the hot dust is not close to its sublimation temperature, contrary to popular belief. This is further supported by our observation of temperature variations largely consistent with a heating/cooling process. Therefore, the inner dust-free region is enlarged and the dusty torus rather a ‘dusty wall’, whose inner radius is expected to be luminosity-invariant. The dust-destruction mechanism that enlarges the dust-free region seems to also partly affect the dusty region. We observe a cyclical decrease in dust mass with implied dust reformation times of ∼5–6 months.

Citation

Landt, H., Ward, M., Kynoch, D., Packham, C., Ferland, G., Lawrence, A., …Winkler, H. (2019). The first spectroscopic dust reverberation programme on active galactic nuclei: the torus in NGC 5548. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 489(2), 1572-1589. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz2212

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Aug 4, 2019
Online Publication Date	Aug 12, 2019
Publication Date	Oct 31, 2019
Deposit Date	Oct 24, 2019
Publicly Available Date	Oct 25, 2019
Journal	Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Print ISSN	0035-8711
Electronic ISSN	1365-2966
Publisher	Royal Astronomical Society
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	489
Issue	2
Article Number	1572
Pages	1572-1589
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz2212

Files

Published Journal Article (1.4 Mb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2019 The Royal Astronomical Society Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.