HIGH-VELOCITY BIPOLAR MOLECULAR EMISSION FROM AN AGN TORUS

Abstract

We have detected in ALMA observations CO emission from the nucleus of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068. The low-velocity (up to ±70 km s −1 relative to systemic) CO emission resolves into a 12 × 7 pc structure, roughly aligned with the nuclear radio source. Higher-velocity emission (up to ±400 km s −1 ) is consistent with a bipolar outflow in a direction nearly perpendicular (≃80°) to the nuclear disk. The position–velocity diagram shows that in addition to the outflow, the velocity field may also contain rotation about the disk axis. These observations provide compelling evidence in support of the disk-wind scenario for the active galactic nucleus obscuring torus.