Sweeping Away the Mysteries of Dusty Continuous Winds in AGN
  An integral part of the Unified Model for Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) is an
axisymmetric obscuring medium, which is commonly depicted as a torus of gas and
dust surrounding the central engine. However, a robust, dynamical model of the
torus is required in order to understand the fundamental physics of AGNs and
interpret their observational signatures. Here we explore self-similar, dusty
disk-winds, driven by both magnetocentrifugal forces and radiation pressure, as
an explanation for the torus. Using these models, we make predictions of AGN
infrared (IR) spectral energy distributions (SEDs) from 2-100 microns by
varying parameters such as: the viewing angle; the base column density of the
wind; the Eddington ratio; the black hole mass; and the amount of power in the
input spectrum emitted in the X-ray relative to that emitted in the UV/optical.
We find that models with N_H,0 = 10^25 cm^-2, L/L_Edd = 0.1, and M_BH >= 10^8
Msun are able to adequately approximate the general shape and amount of power
expected in the IR as observed in a composite of optically luminous Sloan
Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) quasars. The effect of varying the relative power
coming out in X-rays relative to the UV is a change in the emission below ~5
micron from the hottest dust grains; this arises from the differing
contributions to heating and acceleration of UV and X-ray photons. We see mass
outflows ranging from ~1-4 Msun/yr, terminal velocities ranging from ~1900-8000
km/s, and kinetic luminosities ranging from ~1x10^42-8x10^43 erg/s. Further
development of this model holds promise for using specific features of observed
IR spectra in AGNs to infer fundamental physical parameters of the systems.
