*** SCIENTIFIC
RATIONALE ***
The study of active galactic
nuclei (AGNs) has had long historical roots, but in recent years
this subject has undergone a renaissance with the recognition that
the growth of black holes and the accompanying release of accretion
energy may have profound consequences for structure formation in
general. Black holes and their manifestation as AGNs are now
considered to be integral components of the life-cycle of galaxies.
At the same time, the advent of a variety of state-of-the-art
instrumentation, both on the ground and in space,has led to vast
improvements in the quality and quantity of data being gathered
across all wavelengths. The phenomenology of AGNs is richer than
ever. Within this context, it is important to re-examine the physics
of AGNs in a coherent framework. While there have been a number of
related meetings in the last few years, most of these have either
focused on highly specialized areas or else have been very broad,
spanning all scales ranging from the very center to the outskirts of
the host galaxy; many other meetings have concentrated exclusively
on the theme of the coevolution of black holes and
galaxies.
This meeting will focus on the
classical components of the central engine of AGNs: the black hole,
accretion disk, jet, outflow/wind, absorbers, broad-line region,
torus, and narrow-line region. Whenever possible we will attempt to
address the physical properties of these components, and their
associated physical processes, rather than on phenomenology alone.
It is hoped that quantitative studies of the central engine will
ultimately lead not only to a better understanding of the AGN
phenomenon but also to deeper insights into the manner in which AGNs
affect their host galaxies and their larger cosmic
habitat.
The meeting will be framed by a
series of invited reviews, each chosen to cover the various
subtopics represented under the general theme of the conference. We
envision that the invited talks, approximately 35 minutes in length,
will be supplemented by shorter (20-min length) contributed talks.
Ample space will be made available for poster displays.
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***
SCIENTIFIC AGENDA and INVITED SPEAKERS
***
(speakers are still tentative)
1. black holes
-Peterson (reverberation mapping overview) -Kaspi (BH mass
determination)
2. accretion
disk -Blaes (standard disk status, overview) -Mineshige
(slim disks, super-Eddington) -F. Yuan (ADAFs) -Yaqoob
(broad Fe K line diagnostics) -Turner (narrow disk lines)
-Matt (reprocessing, corona) -Uttley (X-ray variability)
3. jets
-Wagner (high-energy gamma-ray studies) -Boettcher
(multiwavelength) -J.-M. Wang (disk-jet connection)
4. winds,
outflows, absorbers -Proga (theory) -Chelouche
(observations) -Reeves (relativistic outflows) -Arav (how to
measure outflow rates) -S. Gallagher (X-ray BALs) -Crenshaw
(UV/warm absorbers)
5. BLR -J.
Shields (Baldwin effect, correlations) -Korista (BLR
photoionization models) -Eracleous (line profiles,
kinematics)
6. torus
-Barth (spectropolarimetry) -Maiolino (X-ray absorption
columns) -S. N. Zhang (HXMT mission)
7. NLR
-Whittle (general overview) -Groves (models)
8. dust grains
-Sturm (Spitzer observations) -Laor (theory) -Czerny
(extinction curve)
9. stellar
processes -Nayakshin (overview theory) -Levenson
(observations) -Hamann (abundance determinations)
10.
summary -Fabian (observations) -Netzer
(theory)
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***
LOCATION ***
The meeting will be held during
the week of October 16-21, 2006, in Xi'an, China. Xi'an, the
capital of the northwest Shaanxi Province, is one of the most
important historical and cultural centers in China, being best known
for the 2200-year-old terra-cotta warriors and horses from the Qin
dynasty. Xi'an is easily accessible by plane from a number of
major cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong). During
mid-October, the weather should be pleasant, and giving the
participants an opportunity to extend their stay to visit Xi'an or
other parts of China. We will arrange for a one-day excursion
during the middle of the meeting to visit the Museum of Terra Cotta
Warriors and Horses, and we will help to make arrangements for more
extensive touring packages before or after the
meeting. |
***
FINANCIAL SUPPORT ***
Due to limited
resources, we regret that we cannot offer financial support for
travel expenses. |
***
SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE ***
D. M. Crenshaw (USA) B. Czerny (Poland)
L. C. Ho (Co-Chair, USA) K. M. Leighly (USA)
D. Lutz (Germany) G. Matt (Italy) S. Mineshige
(Japan) H. Netzer (Israel) B. M. Peterson (USA) D. Proga
(USA) J. C. Shields (USA) S. Wagner (Germany)
J.-M. Wang (Co-Chair, China) T.-G. Wang
(China), X.-B. Wu (China) S. N. Zhang
(China) |
*** LOCAL ORGANIZING
COMMITTEE ***
G. X. Dong ( NSFC) J. X. Hao
(CAS)
X. Y. Hong(SHAO)
P. W. Ji (Co-Chair,NSFC) L. H.
Jiang (IHEP)
H. Y. Wang (Co-Chair, IHEP) S. J.
Xue (NAOC) S.-M. Jia (secretary;
jiasm@mail.ihep.ac.cn) |
*** MEETING WEBSITE and
REGISTRATION ***
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