High-energy neutrinos and gamma rays from winds and tori in active galactic nuclei

Abstract

Powerful winds with wide opening angles, likely driven by accretion disks around black holes (BHs), are observed in the majority of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and can play a crucial role in AGN and galaxy evolution. If protons are accelerated in the wind near the BH via diffusive shock acceleration, $pp$ and $p{\hat{I}}^3$ processes generate neutrinos as well as pair cascade emission from the gamma-ray to radio bands. The TeV neutrinos detected by IceCube from the obscured Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068 may arise from collisionless shocks in a failed, line-driven wind that is physically well motivated. Although the cascade emission is ${\hat{I}}^3{\hat{I}}^3$-attenuated above a few MeV, it can still contribute significantly to the sub-GeV gamma rays and the sub-millimeter emission observed from NGC 1068. At higher energies, gamma rays can occur via $pp$ processes from a shock where an outgoing wind impacts the obscuring torus, along with some observable GHz-band emission. Tests and implications of this model are discussed. Neutrinos and gamma rays may offer unique probes of AGN wind launching sites, particularly for objects obscured in other forms of radiation.

15 pages including supplemental material, submitted to PRL