10284(  1) - 04/02/04 10:47  - [  1]

    PROPOSAL FOR HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS   ST ScI Use Only
                                                       ID:      10284
                                                       Version: 1
                                                       Check-in Date: 02-Apr-2004
                                                                      10:46:40

1.Proposal Title:
Formation of Structure in AGN Accretion Disk Winds: Theory and Observational
Implications
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2. Proposal For  3. Cycle  4. Parallel Pointing Tolerance
AR               13        <none>
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5. Investigators
                                                                                     Contact?
    PI: Dr. Isaac Shlosman                University of Kentucky
   CoI: Dr. Achim Feldmeier               Universitat Potsdam                           N

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6. Abstract

HST observations of UV emission- and absorption-line spectra in AGN indicate the
presence of highly structured outflows, characterized by complex large-scale flow
patterns and small-scale clumpiness. These outflows are best explained as winds
coming off accretion disks around supermassive black holes, propelled and shaped by
a combination of line-radiation pressure and hydromagnetic forces. We propose to
make the first comprehensive study of hybrid radiative/hydromagnetic winds in the
context of AGN flows. We will particularly focus on a new class of instabilties,
"radiative-magnetoacoustic'' modes, that show great promise for explaining both the
global properties of the winds (velocity fields, mass loss rates) as well as the
small-scale clumpiness. Our results will be fed into a 3D radiative transfer code to
compute synthetic BEL and BAL line profiles, to study their time and shape
variability, that can be directly compared with existing (and future) HST
observations of AGN.
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                                                10284(  1) - 04/02/04 10:47  - [  2]

            Summary Form for Proposal  10284

  Item                         Used in this proposal
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  Proposal Category            AR
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