ALMA resolves the torus of NGC 1068: Continuum and molecular line emission
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2016
We used the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) to map the emission of the CO(6-5) molecular line and the 432 mu m continuum emission from the 300 pc sized circumnuclear disk (CND) of the nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068 with a spatial resolution of similar to 4 pc. These observations spatially resolve the CND and, for the first time, image the dust emission, the molecular gas distribution, and the kinematics from a 7-10 pc diameter disk that represents the submillimeter counterpart of the putative torus of NGC 1068. We fitted the nuclear spectral energy distribution of the torus using ALMA and near-and mid-infrared (NIR/MIR) data with CLUMPY torus models. The mass and radius of the best-fit solution for the torus are both consistent with the values derived from the ALMA data alone: M-gas(torus) = (1 +/- 0.3) x 10(5) M-circle dot and R-torus = 3.5 +/- 0.5 pc. The dynamics of the molecular gas in the torus show strong non-circular motions and enhanced turbulence superposed on a surprisingly slow rotation pattern of the disk. By contrast with the nearly edge-on orientation of the H2O megamaser disk, we found evidence suggesting that the molecular torus is less inclined (i = 34 degrees-66 degrees) at larger radii. The lopsided morphology and complex kinematics of the torus could be the signature of the Papaloizou-Pringle instability, long predicted to likely drive the dynamical evolution of active galactic nuclei tori.
galaxies: Seyfert
galaxies: nuclei
galaxies: ISM
galaxies: kinematics and dynamics
galaxies: individual (NGC 1068)
Författare
S. G. Burillo
Observatorio Astronómico Nacional (OAN)
F. Combes
Collège de France
C. R. Almeida
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
Universidad de la Laguna
A. Usero
Observatorio Astronómico Nacional (OAN)
M. Krips
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
A. Alonso-Herrero
Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB)
Susanne Aalto
Chalmers, Rymd- och geovetenskap, Radioastronomi och astrofysik
V. Casasola
Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri
L. K. Hunt
Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri
S. Martin
Atacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array (ALMA)
European Southern Observatory Santiago
S. Viti
University College London (UCL)
L. Colina
Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB)
Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (UAM)
Francesco Costagliola
Chalmers, Rymd- och geovetenskap, Radioastronomi och astrofysik
A. Eckart
Universität zu Köln
A. Fuente
Observatorio Astronómico Nacional (OAN)
C. Henkel
King Abdulaziz University
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
I. Marquez
Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucía (IAA)
R. Neri
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
E. Schinnerer
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
L. J. Tacconi
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
P.P. van der Werf
Universiteit Leiden
Astrophysical Journal Letters
2041-8205 (ISSN) 2041-8213 (eISSN)
Vol. 823 1 Art. no. L12- L12Ämneskategorier
Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi
DOI
10.3847/2041-8205/823/1/l12