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Recent high angular resolution observations resolved for the first time themid-infrared (MIR) structure of nearby active galactic nuclei (AGN).Surprisingly, they revealed that a major fraction of their MIR emission comesfrom the polar regions. This is at odds with the expectation based on AGNunification, which postulates a dusty torus in the equatorial region. Thenearby, archetypical AGN in the Circinus galaxy offers one of the bestopportunities to study the MIR emission in greater detail. New, high qualityMIR images obtained with the upgraded VISIR instrument at the Very LargeTelescope show that the previously detected bar-like structure extends up to atleast 40 pc on both sides of the nucleus along the edges of the ionizationcone. Motivated by observations across a wide wavelength range and on differentspatial scales, we propose a phenomenological dust emission model for the AGNin the Circinus galaxy consisting of a compact dusty disk and a large-scaledusty cone shell, illuminated by a tilted accretion disk with an anisotropicemission pattern. Undertaking detailed radiative transfer simulations, wedemonstrate that such a model is able to explain the peculiar MIR morphologyand account for the entire IR spectral energy distribution. Our results callfor caution when attributing dust emission of unresolved sources entirely tothe torus and warrant further investigation of the MIR emission in the polarregions of AGN.

Dissecting the active galactic nucleus in Circinus -- I. Peculiar mid-IR morphology explained by a dusty hollow cone