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Revealing the large nuclear dust structures in NGC 1068 with MIDI/VLTI

To understand the relation between the small "obscuring torus" and dusty structures at larger scales (5-10 pc) in NGC 1068, we use ESO's Mid-Infrared Interferometer (MIDI) with the 1.8 m Auxiliary Telescopes to achieve the necessary spatial resolution (~ 20-100 millarcsec). We use the chromatic phases in the data to improve the spatial fidelity of the analysis. We present interferometric data for NGC 1068 obtained in 2007 and 2012. We find no evidence of source variability. Many (u,v) points show non-zero chromatic phases indicating significant asymmetries. Gaussian model fitting of the correlated fluxes and chromatic phases provides a 3-component best fit with estimates of sizes, temperatures and positions of the components. A large, warm, off-center component is required at a distance approximately 90 mas to the north-west at a PA ~ -18 deg. The dust at 5-10 pc in the polar region contributes 4 times more to the mid-infrared flux at 12 um than the dust located at the center. This dust may represent the inner wall of a dusty cone. If similar regions are heated by the direct radiation from the nucleus, then they will contribute substantially to the classification of many Seyfert galaxies as Type 2. Such a region is also consistent in other Seyfert galaxies (the Circinus galaxy, NGC 3783 and NGC 424).