2012ApJ...747....8D

We explore a detailed model in which the active galactic nucleus (AGN) obscuration results from the extinction of AGN radiation in a global flow driven by the pressure of infrared radiation on dust grains. We assume that external illumination by UV and soft X-rays of the dusty gas located at approximately 1 pc away from the supermassive black hole is followed by a conversion of such radiation into IR. Using 2.5D, time-dependent radiation-hydrodynamics simulations in a flux-limited diffusion approximation we find that the external illumination can support a geometrically thick obscuration via outflows driven by infrared radiation pressure in AGN with luminosities greater than 0.05 L_edd and Compton optical depth, τ_T ≳ 1.