Modeling the Structure of the Windy Torus in Quasars

Abstract

AbstractMass ejection in the form of winds or jets appears to be as fundamental to quasar activity as accretion. A convincing argument for radiation pressure driving this ionized outflow can be made within the dust sublimation radius. Beyond, radiation pressure is even more ubiquitous, as high energy photons from the central engine can now push on dust grains. This physics underlies the dusty-wind model for the putative obscuring torus. Specifically, the dusty wind in our model is first launched from the outer accretion disk as a magneto-centrifugal wind and then accelerated and shaped by radiation pressure from the central continuum. Such a wind can plausibly account for both the necessary obscuring medium to explain the observed ratio of broad-to-narrow-line quasars and the mid-infrared emission commonly seen in quasar spectral energy distributions.