@article{13472,
  author = {A. Amorim and G. Bourdarot and W. Brandner and J. Dexter and et. al},
  title = {VLTI/GRAVITY Interferometric Measurements of Innermost Dust Structure Sizes around AGNs},
  abstract = {<p>We present new VLTI/GRAVITY near-infrared interferometric measurements of the angular size of the innermost hot dust continuum for 14 type 1 AGNs. The angular sizes are resolved on scales of ~0.7 mas and the inferred ring radii range from 0.028 to 1.33 pc, comparable to those reported previously and a factor 10-20 smaller than the mid-infrared sizes in the literature. Combining our new data with previously published values, we compile a sample of 25 AGN with bolometric luminosity ranging from&nbsp;1042&nbsp;to&nbsp;1047erg&nbsp;s−1, with which we study the radius-luminosity (R-L) relation for the hot dust structure. Our interferometric measurements of radius are offset by a factor 2 from the equivalent relation derived through reverberation mapping. Using a simple model to explore the dust structure s geometry, we conclude that this offset can be explained if the 2 um emitting surface has a concave shape. Our data show that the slope of the relation is in line with the canonical&nbsp;R∝L0.5&nbsp;when using an appropriately non-linear correction for bolometric luminosity. In contrast, using optical luminosity or applying a constant bolometric correction to it results in a significant deviation in the slope, suggesting a potential luminosity dependence on the spectral energy distribution. Over four orders of magnitude in luminosity, the intrinsic scatter around the R-L relation is 0.2 dex, suggesting a tight correlation between innermost hot dust structure size and the AGN luminosity.</p>},
  year = {2024},
  journal = {Submitted},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.13458},
}