S21B0098
S21B0098
Recent models of the inner structure of AGN propose the existence of a radiatively accelerated, dusty outflow launched from the outer regions of the accretion disc. This, however, implies that the accretion disc outer radius is by several orders of magnitude larger than the self-gravity radius, i.e., the radius beyond which accretion discs are expected to become unstable and fragment. Near-IR spectropolarimetry can uniquely reveal the accretion disc spectrum at large radii and so constrain the extent of the disc. The spectrum from the outer disc radii is otherwise swamped by the strong emission from the hottest dust of the obscuring torus that surrounds the disc. We propose to perform near-IR spectropolarimetry on the nuclei of four AGN (2 per night of observation), for which there exists either spectroscopic or photometric near-IR dust reverberation mapping. With the proposed observations we aim to constrain the extent of the accretion disc, in order to assess if it can harbour dust that could contribute to the reverberation signal. Knowledge of the properties of the accretion disc spectrum in the near-IR will enable a reliable separation of the torus hot dust and accretion disc emission to be determined, and so provide accurate dust temperatures.
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