Feeding and hiding the monster: triggering and obscuring the central engine of active galaxies

Objective

Some of the most important open questions in astrophysics concern how and when active galactic nuclei (AGN) are triggered, and how important they are in the evolution of galaxies.
In order to understand these processes and interpret the results found for AGN at cosmological distances, it is fundamental to account for the structure of their central engines in the local universe. This includes the unifying torus, whose properties are still uncertain. Thus, the first objective of this proposal is to characterize the AGN obscuring torus using an infrared survey of a homogeneous sample of nearby active galaxies. We will use mid- and far-infrared data obtained with the CanariCam instrument on the 10 m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) and the Herschel Space Observatory, respectively. This survey will represent the definitive characterization of the AGN torus in the local universe. In addition, we will use new spectropolarimetric observations of a smaller sample of Seyfert galaxies to test the validity of the clumpy torus squeme, and ultimately, of the unified model for AGN.
The second objective of this proposal is to confirm the hypothesis that AGN of different luminosities are triggered in different ways, with galaxy interactions triggering luminous AGN (quasar-like), and secular processes (bars or disc instabilities) triggering lower luminosity AGN (Seyfert-like). We also aim to investigate the role of other factors such as the environment in the triggering of the nuclear and star formation activity, and the connection between them.
The results of the proposed project will substantially enhance our understanding of the physics of AGN and their role in galaxy evolution.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

• natural sciences physical sciences astronomy astrophysics
• natural sciences physical sciences astronomy physical cosmology galaxy evolution

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

• FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF - Marie-Curie Action: "Intra-European fellowships for career development"

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MC-IEF - Intra-European Fellowships (IEF)

Coordinator