2006/10/25 by J. E. Everett, John E. Everett, Norman Murray +1 · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Active galactic nucleus #Adiabatic process #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Classical mechanics #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Interstellar medium #Ionization #Kinematics #Meteorology #Photoionization #Physics #Scale (ratio) #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Thermal wind #Wind profile power law #Wind speed #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/510324
published as Astrophys.J.656:93-104,2007 · 13 pages (emulateapj format), 14 figures, accepted to the Astrophysical Journal
arxiv created 2006/10/25 · openalex publication_date 2007/02/03 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We build and test Parker wind models to apply to observations of large-scale (~100 pc) outflows from AGNs. These models include detailed photoionization simulations, the observed radially varying mass profile, adiabatic cooling, and approximations for clouds dragged along in the wind and the interaction of the wind with the circumnuclear ISM of the galaxy. We test this model against recent HST STIS observations of [O III] emission-line kinematics (in particular, we test against those observed in NGC 4151, but approximately the same kinematics is observed in NGC 1068 and Mrk 3) to constrain the viability of large-scale thermal winds in AGNs. We find that adiabatic cooling dominates in these outflows, decelerating Parker winds on large scales, making them highly unlikely as explanations of the observed kinematics.