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| Paper: |
Radiation Pressure Supported Starburst Galaxies and The Fueling of Active Galactic Nuclei |
| Volume: |
408, The Starburst−AGN Connection |
| Page: |
128 |
| Authors: |
Thompson, T.A. |
| Abstract: |
Radiation pressure from the absorption and scattering of starlight by dust grains may be a crucial feedback mechanism in starburst galaxies and the self-gravitating parsec-scale disks that accompany the fueling of active galactic nuclei. I review the case for radiation pressure in both optically-thin and highly optically-thick contexts. I describe the conditions for which Eddington-limited star formation yields a characteristic flux of ~ 1013 Lʘ kpc−2, and I discuss the physical circumstances for which the flux from radiation pressure supported disks is below or above this value. In particular, I describe the young stellar disk on ~ 0.1 pc scales at the Galactic Center. I argue that its bolometric flux at formation, ~ 1015 Lʘ kpc−2, and the observed stellar mass and scale height imply that the disk may have been radiation pressure supported during formation. |
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