ELT/METIS and the AGN torus

The Mid-infrared E-ELT Thermal Infrared imager and Spectrograph (METIS) is one of the three first-light instruments selected for the European Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and will cover the thermal infrared wavelength range, from ca. 3 - 13 microns. It will be a versatile instrument featuring diffraction-limited imaging and long-slit spectroscopy in the L/M and N bands as well as high spectral resolution (R ~ 100,000) integral field spectroscopy in the L and M bands.

Its spatial resolution of 25 (70) mas in the L (N) band corresponds to a linear scale of 1 (3) parsec in nearby (10 Mpc) galaxies. For nearby AGNs, METIS forms the missing link between JWST and ground-based interferometry in both resolution and sensitivity. METIS will primarily observe continuum emission from dust at 100-800 K, but it will also be sensitive to the emission lines in this wavelength range, e.g. Brackett alpha, coronal lines like [SiIX] and [ArVI] and [AlVI], molecular lines of CO and H2O, and broad silicate emission and absorption lines.

As such it is well matched to tackle several of the outstanding questions in current AGN research including "What triggers AGN activity?" and "How do AGN outflows connect to the host galaxy?". In this talk, I review METIS' instrumental capabilities with a particular focus on the prospects for AGN research.