Adaptive Optics Observations of Active Galactic Nuclei: Zooming into the Central Parsec Region

Prieto, M. A.
Bibliographical reference

II International GTC Workshop: Science with GTC 1st-light Instruments and the LMT (Eds. A. M. Hidalgo-Gámez, J. J. González, J. M. Rodríguez Espinosa, and S. Torres-Peimbert) Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica (Serie de Conferencias) Vol. 24, pp. 48-51 (2005) (http://www.astroscu.unam.mx/~rmaa/)

Advertised on:
12
2005
Number of authors
1
IAC number of authors
0
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
First results from the AGN-Heidelberg program aimed at resolving the central pc region of the closest Active Galactic Nuclei in the IR are presented. The core region of prototype active nuclei are clearly unveiled at IR waves and at distances from the nucleus - few pc- where circumnuclear starforming regions appear not to be present. Within that perspective, classical active nuclei as Circinus and NGC 1097, reveal with unprecedented detail clear channels of material being driven to the core whereas others as Centaurus A and NGC 1566, show a `clean' core environment. At the very center, a central compact region of about 2 pc scale is resolved in Circinus but not in the other cases challenging thus the universal presence of the putative obscuring torus.