Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Luminosity-Variation Independent Location Of The Circum-Nuclear, Hot Dust In Ngc 4151, Jorg-Uwe Pott, Matt A. Malkan, Moshe Elitzur, Andrea M. Ghez, Tom M. Herbst, Rainer Schödel, Julien Woillez

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

After recent sensitivity upgrades at the Keck Interferometer (KI), systematic interferometric 2 μm studies of the innermost dust in nearby Seyfert nuclei are within observational reach. Here, we present the analysis of new interferometric data of NGC 4151, discussed in context of the results from recent dust reverberation, spectro-photometric, and interferometric campaigns. The complete data set gives a complex picture, in particular the measured visibilities from now three different nights appear to be rather insensitive to the variation of the nuclear luminosity. KI data alone indicate two scenarios: the K-band emission is either dominated to ~90% by size …