73 research outputs found
The iron Kalpha Compton Shoulder in transmitted and reflected spectra
We calculate the Equivalent Widht of the Core and the centroid energy and
relative flux of the 1st order Compton Shoulder of the iron Kalpha emission
line from neutral matter. The calculations are performed with Monte Carlo
simulations. We explore a large range of column densities for both transmitted
and reflected spectra, and study the dependence on the iron abundance. The
Compton Shoulder is now becoming observable in many objects thanks to the
improved sensitivity and/or energy resolution of XMM-Newton and Chandra
satellites, and the present work aims to provide a tool to derive informations
on the geometry and element abundances of the line emitting matter from Compton
Shoulder measurements.Comment: 4 pages; accepted for publication in MNRA
A Chandra Observation of M51: Active Nucleus and Nuclear Outflows
We present a Chandra ACIS-S observation of the nuclear region of the nearby
spiral galaxy M51 (NGC 5194), which has a low-luminosity Seyfert 2 nucleus. The
X-ray image shows the nucleus, southern extranuclear cloud, and northern loop,
the morphology of the extended emission being very similar to those seen in
radio continuum and optical emission line images. The X-ray spectrum of the
nucleus is well represented by a model consisting of soft thermal plasma with
kT ~0.5 keV, a very hard continuum, and an Fe Kalpha emission line at 6.45 keV
with an equivalent width of >2 keV. The very strong Fe line and the flat
continuum indicate that the nucleus is obscured by a column density in excess
of 10^24 cm^-2 and the spectrum is dominated by reflected emission from cold
matter near the nucleus. The X-ray spectra of the extranuclear clouds are well
fitted by a thermal plasma model with kT ~0.5 keV. This spectral shape and
morphology strongly suggest that the clouds are shock heated by the bi-polar
outflow from the nucleus. The shock velocities of the extranuclear cloud and
northern loop inferred from the temperatures of the X-ray gas are 690 km/s and
660 km/s, respectively. By assuming a steady-state situation in which the
emission of the extranuclear clouds is powered by the jets, the mechanical
energy in the jets is found to be comparable to the bolometric luminosity of
the nucleus.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in the Astrophyscal
Jouna
The XMM-Newton/INTEGRAL monitoring campaign of IGR J16318-4848
IGR J16318-4848 is the prototype and one of the more extreme examples of the
new class of highly obscured Galactic X-ray sources discovered by INTEGRAL. A
monitoring campaign on this source has been carried out by XMM-Newton and
INTEGRAL, consisting in three simultaneous observations performed in February,
March and August 2004. The long-term variability of the Compton-thick
absorption and emission line complexes will be used to probe the properties of
the circumstellar matter. A detailed timing and spectral analysis of the three
observations is performed, along with the reanalysis of the XMM-Newton
observation performed in February 2003. The results are compared with
predictions from numerical radiative transfer simulations to derive the
parameters of the circumstellar matter. Despite the large flux dynamic range
observed (almost a factor 3 between observations performed a few months apart),
the source remained bright (suggesting it is a persistent source) and
Compton-thick (NH >1.2x10^24 cm-2). Large Equivalent Width (EW) emission lines
from Fe Kalpha, Fe Kbeta and Ni Kalpha were present in all spectra. The
addition of a Fe Kalpha Compton Shoulder improves the fits, especially in the
2004 observations. Sporadic occurrences of rapid X-ray flux risings were
observed in three of the four observations. The Fe Kalpha light curve followed
the continuum almost instantaneously, suggesting that the emission lines are
produced by illumination of small-scale optically-thick matter around the
high-energy continuum source. Using the iron line EW and Compton Shoulder as
diagnostic of the geometry of the matter, we suggest that the obscuring matter
is in a flattened configuration seen almost edge-on.Comment: accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic
The Phoenix galaxy: UGC4203 re-birth from its ashes?
We report on a dramatic transition between a Compton-thick,
reflection-dominated state and a Compton-thin state in the Seyfert 2 galaxy
UGC4203, discovered by comparing a recent (May 2001) XMM-Newton observation
with ASCA observations performed about six years earlier. This transition can
be explained either as a change in the column density of the absorber, maybe
due to moving clouds in a clumpy torus, or as the revival of a transient active
nucleus, which was in a phase of very low activity when observed by ASCA. If
the latter explanation is correct, spectral transitions of this kind provide
observational support to the idea that Compton-thick and Compton-thin regions
coexist in the same source, the former likely to be identified with the
"torus", the latter with dust lanes on much larger scales.Comment: 6 Latex pages, 5 figures, To appear in Astronomy & Astrophysic
The formerly X-ray reflection-dominated Seyfert~2 galaxy NGC6300
In this paper, a BeppoSAX observation of the bright Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC6300
is presented. The rapidly variable emission from the active nucleus is seen
through a Compton-thin (NH ~ 3x10^23 atomoms/cm/cm) absorber. A
Compton-reflection component with an unusually high reflection fraction (R ~
4.2), and the comparison with a reflection-dominated spectrum measured by RXTE
two and half years earlier suggest that NGC6300 belongs to the class of
"transient" AGN, undergoing long and repeated periods of low-activity. The
spectral transition provides support to the idea that Compton-thick and
Compton-thin X-ray absorbers in Seyfert 2 galaxies are decoupled, the former
being most likely associated with the "torus", whereas the latter is probably
located at much larger distances.Comment: 5 Latex pages, 5 figures, To appear in Monthly Notices of the Royal
Astronomical Society (Letters
Drilled by the jet? XMM-Newton discovers a Compton-thick AGN in the GPS galaxy Mkn668
We report the XMM-Newton discovery of the first Compton-thick obscured AGN in
a Broad Line Radio Galaxy, the Gigahertz Peaked-Spectrum source Mkn668
(OQ+208). The remarkably flat 2-10 keV X-ray spectrum (observed photon index,
\Gamma ~ 0.7), alongside with a prominent iron K-alpha fluorescent emission
line, is a clear signature of a Compton-reflection dominated spectrum. Mkn688
represents a remarkable example of discrepancy between X-ray spectral
properties and optical classification, as its optical spectrum is characterized
by broad and asymmetric Balmer lines. The obscuring matter is constrained to be
located within the radio hotspots, in turn separated by about 10 pc. If the
jets are piercing their way through a Compton-thick medium pervading the
nuclear environment, one could be largely underestimating the radio activity
dynamical age determined from the observed hotspot recession velocity. The soft
X-ray spectrum is dominated by a much steeper component, which may be due to
nuclear continuum electron scattering, or inverse Compton of the - remarkably
large - far infrared emission. Soft X-rays are suppressed by a further
Compton-thin (N_H ~ 10^21/cm/cm) absorbing system, that we identify with matter
responsible for free-free absorption of the radio lobes.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, To appear in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Are the Nuclei of Seyfert 2 Galaxies Viewed Face-On?
We show from modeling the Fe Kalpha line in the ASCA spectra of four X-ray
bright narrow emission line galaxies (Seyfert types 1.9 and 2) that two equally
viable physical models can describe the observed line profile. The first is
discussed by Turner et al. (1998) and consists of emission from a nearly
pole-on accretion disk. The second, which is statistically preferred, is a
superposition of emission from an accretion disk viewed at an intermediate
inclination of about 48 degrees and a distinct, unresolved feature that
presumably originates some distance from the galaxy nucleus. The intermediate
inclination is entirely consistent with unified schemes and our findings
challenge recent assertions that Seyfert 2 galaxies are preferentially viewed
with their inner regions face-on. We derive mean equivalent widths for the
narrow and disk lines of =60 eV and = 213 eV, respectively. The
X-ray data are well described by a geometry in which our view of the active
nucleus intersects and is blocked by the outer edges of the obscuring torus,
and therefore do not require severe misalignments between the accretion disk
and the torus.Comment: 19 pages, 3 postscript figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ
The X-ray Reflectors in the Nucleus of the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 1068
(abridged) Based on observations of the Seyfert nucleus in NGC1068 with ASCA,
RXTE and BeppoSAX, we report the discovery of a flare (increase in flux by a
factor of ~1.6) in the 6.7 keV Fe K line component between observations
obtained 4 months apart, with no significant change in the other (6.21, 6.4,
and 6.97 keV) Fe K_alpha line components. During this time, the continuum flux
decreased by ~20%. The RXTE spectrum requires an Fe K absorption edge near 8.6
keV (Fe XXIII - XXV). The spectral data indicate that the 2-10 keV continuum
emission is dominated (~2/3 of the luminosity) by reflection from a previously
unidentified region of warm, ionized gas located <~ 0.2 pc from the AGN. The
remaining ~1/3 of the observed X-ray emission is reflected from optically
thick, neutral gas. The inferred properties of the warm reflector (WR) are:
size (diameter) ~ 10^{5.5} /cm3, ionization parameter
xi approx 10^{3.5} erg cm/s, and covering fraction 0.003 (L_0/10^{43.5}
erg/s)^{-1} < (Omega/4 pi) < 0.024 (L_0/10^{43.5})^{-1}, where L_0 is the
intrinsic 2-10 keV X-ray luminosity of the AGN. We suggest that the WR gas is
the source of the (variable) 6.7 keV Fe line emission, and the 6.97 keV Fe line
emission. The 6.7 keV line flare is assumed to be due to an increase in the
emissivity of the WR gas from a decrease (by 20-30%) in L_0. The properties of
the WR are most consistent with an intrinsically X-ray weak AGN with L_0 approx
10^{43.0} erg/s. The optical and UV emission that scatters from the WR into our
line of sight is required to suffer strong extinction, which can be reconciled
if the line-of-sight skims the outer surface of the torus. Thermal
bremsstrahlung radio emission from the WR may be detectable in VLBA radio maps
of the NGC 1068 nucleus.Comment: 39 pages (9 postscript figures) AASTEX, ApJ, accepte
The XMM-Newton view of IRAS 09104+4109: evidence for a changing-look Type 2 quasar?
We analyzed the spectroscopic data from the PN and the MOS cameras in the
0.4-10 keV band. We also used an archival BeppoSAX 1-50 keV observation of IRAS
09104+4109 to investigate possible variations of the quasar emission. The X-ray
emission in the EPIC band is dominated by the intra-cluster medium thermal
emission. We found that the quasar contributes ~35% of the total flux in the
2-10 keV band. Both a transmission- (through a Compton-thin absorber with a
Compton optical depth of \tau_C~0.3, i.e. Nh~5 x 10^{23} cm^-2) and a
reflection-dominated (\tau_C>1) model provide an excellent fit to the quasar
continuum emission. However, the value measured for the EW of Fe Kalpha
emission line is only marginally consistent with the presence of a
Compton-thick absorber in a reflection-dominated scenario, which had been
suggested by a previous, marginal (i.e. 2.5\sigma) detection with the hard
X-ray (15-50 keV), non-imaging BeppoSAX/PDS instrument. Moreover, the value of
luminosity in the 2-10 keV band measured by the transmission-dominated model is
fully consistent with that expected on the basis of the bolometric luminosity
of IRAS 09104+4109. From the analysis of the XMM-Newton data we therefore
suggest the possibility that the absorber along the line of sight to the
nucleus of IRAS 09104+4109 is Compton-thin. Alternatively, the absorber column
density could have changed from Compton-thick to -thin in the five years
elapsed between the observations. If this is the case, then IRAS 09104+4109 is
the first 'changing-look' quasar ever detected.Comment: Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic
The X-ray spectra and spectral variability of intermediate type Seyfert galaxies: ASCA observations of NGC 4388 and ESO 103-G35
The X-ray spectra of two intermediate type Seyfert galaxies are investigated
using ASCA observations separated by more than a year. Both NGC 4388 and ESO
103-G35 exhibit strong, narrow Fe K alpha line emission and absorption by cold
neutral gas with a column density ~ 10^23 cm^-2, characteristic of the X-ray
spectra of type 2 Seyfert galaxies. The power law continuum flux has changed by
a factor of 2 over a time-scale of ~ 2 years for both objects, declining in the
case of NGC 4388 and rising in ESO 103-G35. No variation was observed in the
equivalent width of the Fe K alpha line in the spectra of NGC 4388, implying
that the line flux declined with the continuum. We find that the strength of
the line cannot be accounted for by fluorescence in line-of-sight material with
the measured column density unless a `leaky-absorber' model of the type favored
for IRAS 04575-7537 is employed. The equivalent width of the Fe K alpha
emission line is seen to decrease between the observations of ESO 103-G35 while
the continuum flux increased. The 1996 observation of ESO 103-G35 can also be
fitted with an absorption edge at 7.4 0.2 keV due to partially ionized
iron, and when an ionized absorber model is fitted to the data it is found that
the equivalent column of neutral hydrogen rises to 3.5 x 10^23 cm^-2. The Fe K
alpha line flux can be accounted by fluorescence in this material alone and
this model is also a good representation of the 1988 and 1991 Ginga
observations. There is then no requirement for a reflection component in the
ASCA spectra of ESO 103-G35 or NGC 4388.Comment: 45 pages, 5 tables, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
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