Dusty plasma in active galactic nuclei

Abstract

Abstract: For many years we have known that dust in the form of a dusty-molecular torus is responsible for the obscuration in active galactic nuclei (AGN) at large viewing angles and, thus, for the widely used phenomenological classification of AGN. Recently, we gained new observational and theoretical insights into the geometry of the torus region and the role of dust in the dynamics of emerging outflows and failed winds. We will briefly touch on all these aspects and provide a more detailed update of our dust-based model (FRADO—Failed Radiatively Accelerated Dusty Outflow) capable of explaining the processes of formation of Balmer lines in AGN. Graphic abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]