New active galactic nuclei science cases with interferometry: An incomplete preview

Abstract

Infrared (IR) interferometry has made widely recognised contributions to the way we look at the dusty environment of supermassive black holes on parsec scales. It finally provided direct evidence for orientation-dependent unification of active galaxies, however it also showed that the classical "torus" picture is oversimplified. New scientific opportunities for AGN have been suggested, and will soon be carried out, focusing on the dynamical aspects of spectrally and spatially resolved interferometry, as well as the potential to employ interferometry for cosmology. This will open interferometry to new scientific communities.

contribution to the report on the Future of OIR Interferometry in Europe, published in Experimental Astronomy, 46, 413 (2018)

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Cited by in corpus (3)

• Multiphase Gas Nature in the Sub-parsec Region of the Active Galactic Nuclei I: Dynamical Structures of Dusty and Dust-free Outflow
• Water megamaser emission in hard X-ray selected AGN
• Six-telescope integrated optics beam combiner fabricated using ultrafast laser inscription for J- and H-band astronomy