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Paper: Dust-Driven Winds from the ‘Torus’ Simulated Using Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer
Volume: 460, AGN Winds in Charleston
Page: 204
Authors: Roth, N.; Kasen, D.; Hopkins, P. F.; Quataert, E.
Abstract: Observational and theoretical arguments suggest that the momentum flux from AGNs can reach several times L/c, driving galactic outflows of hundreds of solar masses per year. Radiation pressure on lines alone may not be sufficient to provide sufficient momentum deposition, and the transfer of reprocessed IR radiation in dusty nuclear gas has been postulated to provide the extra enhancement. This effect will be highly sensitive to multi-dimensional effects such as the tendency for the reprocessed radiation to preferentially escape along sightlines of lower column density. We use Monte Carlo radiative transfer to construct a simulated snapshot of the radiation force on dusty gas residing within a radius of approximately 10 parsecs from an accreting super-massive black hole. Our snapshot corresponds to the moment that the black hole enters an epoch of accretion after a large amount of gas has been drawn in to the galactic nucleus. We calculate the momentum flux and estimate the mass-loss rate in the resulting wind as a function of solid angle while allowing for variation in the accretion luminosity, sightline-averaged column density, and opening angle of the dusty gas. We find that these dust-driven winds carry momentum fluxes of 1-5 times L/c and launch outflows with masses of 10-100 solar masses per year. These results help to explain the origin of galactic outflows in local ULIRGS, and can inform numerical simulations of galaxy evolution including AGN feedback.
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