217 research outputs found
XMM-Newton observations of ULIRGs I: A Compton-thick AGN in IRAS19254-7245
We present the XMM-Newton observation of the merging system IRAS 19254-7245,
also known as The Superantennae, whose southern nucleus is classified as a
Seyfert 2 galaxy. The XMM-Newton data have allowed us to perform a detailed
X-ray imaging and spectral analysis of this system. We clearly detect, for the
first time in this system, a strong EW ~ 1.4 keV Fe emission line at 6.49+/-0.1
keV (rest-frame). The X-ray spectrum requires a soft thermal component (kT~0.9
keV; L(0.5-2) ~ 4E41 cgs), likely associated with the starburst, and a hard
power-law continuum above 2 keV (observed L(2-10) ~ 4E42 cgs). We confirm the
flatness of this latter component, already noted in previous ASCA data. This
flatness, together with the detection of the strong Fe-Kalpha line and other
broad band indicators, suggest the presence of a Compton-thick AGN with
intrinsic luminosity > 1E44 cgs. We show that a Compton-thick model can
perfectly reproduce the X-ray spectral properties of this object.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Latex manuscript, Accepted for publication in
Astronomy and Astrophysic
Effective absorbing column density in the gamma-ray burst afterglow X-ray spectra
We investigate the scaling relation between the observed amount of absorption
in the X-ray spectra of Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) afterglows and the absorber
redshift. Through dedicated numerical simulations of an ideal instrument, we
establish that this dependence has a power law shape with index 2.4. However,
for real instruments, this value depends on their low energy cut-off, spectral
resolution and on the detector spectral response in general. We thus provide
appropriate scaling laws for specific instruments. Finally, we discuss the
possibility to measure the absorber redshift from X-ray data alone. We find
that 10^5-10^6 counts in the 0.3-10 keV band are needed to constrain the
redshift with 10% accuracy. As a test case we discuss the XMM-Newton
observation of GRB 090618 at z=0.54. We are able to recover the correct
redshift of this burst with the expected accuracy.Comment: MNRAS accepted. 6 figures. 3 table
The XMM-Newton view of the relativistic spectral features in AXJ0447-0627
The XMM-Newton observation of the optically Type 1 AGN AXJ0447-0627 (z=0.214)
unambiguously reveals a complex, bright and prominent set of lines in the 4-8
keV rest frame energy range. Although, from a phenomenological point of view,
the observed properties can be described by a simple power law model plus 5
narrow Gaussian lines (at rest frame energies of nearly 4.49, 5.55, 6.39, 7.02
and 7.85 keV), we find that a model comprising a power law (Gamma of the order
of 2.2), a reflected relativistic continuum, a narrow Fe I Kalpha line from
neutral material as well as a broad Fe Kalpha relativistic line from a ionized
accretion disk represents a good physical description of the data. The ''double
horned'' profile of the relativistic line implies an inclination of the
accretion disk of the order of 45 degree, and an origin in a narrow region of
the disk, from R_in of the order of 19 GM/c^2 to R_out of the order of 30
GM/c^2. The narrow Fe I Kalpha line from neutral material is probably produced
far from the central black hole, most likely in the putative molecular torus.
Although some of these properties have been already found in other Type 1 AGN
and discussed in the literature, at odd with the objects reported so far we
measure high equivalent widths (EWs) of the observed lines: nearly 1.4 keV for
the ``double horned'' relativistic line and nearly 0.4 keV for the narrow line.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, Latex manuscript; accepted for publication in
Ap
Tracking the Iron Kα line and the Ultra Fast Outflow in NGC 2992 at different accretion states
The Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 2992 has been monitored eight times by XMM-Newton in 2010 and then observed again in 2013, while in 2015 it was simultaneously targeted by Swift and NuSTAR. XMM-Newton always caught the source in a faint state (2-10 keV fluxes ranging from 0.3 to 1.6× 10−11 erg cm−2 s−1) but NuSTAR showed an increase in the 2-10 keV flux up to 6× 10−11 erg cm−2 s−1. We find possible evidence of an Ultra Fast Outflow with velocity v1 = 0.21 ± 0.01c (detected at about 99% confidence level) in such a flux state. The UFO in NGC 2992 is consistent with being ejected at a few tens of gravitational radii only at accretion rates greater than 2% of the Eddington luminosity. The analysis of the low flux 2010/2013 XMM data allowed us to determine that the Iron Kα emission line complex in this object is likely the sum of three distinct components: a constant, narrow one due to reflection from cold, distant material (likely the molecular torus); a narrow, but variable one which is more intense in brighter observations and a broad relativistic one emitted in the innermost regions of the accretion disk, which has been detected only in the 2003 XMM observation. Galaxies: active, Galaxies: Seyfert, Galaxies: accretion, Individual: NGC 299
Evidence for ultra-fast outflows in radio-quiet AGNs: II - detailed photo-ionization modeling of Fe K-shell absorption lines
X-ray absorption line spectroscopy has recently shown evidence for previously
unknown Ultra-fast Outflows (UFOs) in radio-quiet AGNs. In the previous paper
of this series we defined UFOs as those absorbers with an outflow velocity
higher than 10,000km/s and assessed the statistical significance of the
associated blueshifted FeK absorption lines in a large sample of 42 local
radio-quiet AGNs observed with XMM-Newton. In the present paper we report a
detailed curve of growth analysis and directly model the FeK absorbers with the
Xstar photo-ionization code. We confirm that the frequency of sources in the
radio-quiet sample showing UFOs is >35%. The outflow velocity distribution
spans from \sim10,000km/s (\sim0.03c) up to \sim100,000km/s (\sim0.3c), with a
peak and mean value of \sim42,000km/s (\sim0.14c). The ionization parameter is
very high and in the range log\xi 3-6erg s^{-1} cm, with a mean value of log\xi
4.2 erg s^{-1} cm. The associated column densities are also large, in the range
N_H\sim10^{22}-10^{24} cm^{-2}, with a mean value of N_H\sim10^{23} cm^{-2}. We
discuss and estimate how selection effects, such as those related to the
limited instrumental sensitivity at energies above 7keV, may hamper the
detection of even higher velocities and higher ionization absorbers. We argue
that, overall, these results point to the presence of extremely ionized and
possibly almost Compton thick outflowing material in the innermost regions of
AGNs. This also suggests that UFOs may potentially play a significant role in
the expected cosmological feedback from AGNs and their study can provide
important clues on the connection between accretion disks, winds and jets.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
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