An axisymmetric, hydrodynamical model for the torus wind in AGN

TL;DR

This paper presents time-dependent axisymmetric simulations of X-ray heated winds from a rotating AGN torus, showing how such winds can explain observed warm absorber features in Seyfert galaxy spectra.

Contribution

It introduces a novel hydrodynamical model that incorporates radiative processes to simulate AGN torus winds and their spectral signatures.

Findings

Simulations produce broad bi-conical outflows driven mainly by X-ray heating.

Synthetic spectra match observed warm absorber features in Seyfert galaxies.

The model supports the torus as the origin of AGN winds responsible for X-ray absorption.

Abstract

We report on time-dependent axisymmetric simulations of an X-ray excited flow from a parsec-scale, rotating, cold torus around an active galactic nucleus. Our simulations account for radiative heating and cooling and radiation pressure force. The simulations follow the development of a broad bi-conical outflow induced mainly by X-ray heating. We compute synthetic spectra predicted by our simulations. The wind characteristics and the spectra support the hypothesis that a rotationally supported torus can serve as the source of a wind which is responsible for the warm absorber gas observed in the X-ray spectra of many Seyfert galaxies.