Dragons or Warmers?

Over the last few years there has been a debate about the role of the central singularity against the possible contribution of supernovae from a wave of star formation to the activity of AGNs. CanariCam could settle this debate an reveal the exact roles of the two mechanisms.

Line ratios for the [NeII], [ArIII], & [S IV] lines at 12.8, 9.0 & 10.5-microns are a tracer of the hardness of the radiation field.

• Hard radiation field requires a central singularity
• Soft radiation field would indicate that Warmers are the dominant energy source
• An intermediate would suggest that both processes active

No metardees yet because the lines are too weak for 4-m class telescopes.

CanariCam has filters for these lines.