32 research outputs found
Broad-band X-ray observation of broad-line radio galaxy 3C 109
We present a study of the central engine in the broad-line radio galaxy 3C
109. To investigate the immediate surrounding of this accreting, supermassive
black hole, we perform a multi-epoch broad-band spectral analysis of a joint
NuSTAR/XMM observation (2017), an archival xmm observation (2005) and the
105-month averaged Swift-BAT data. We are able to clearly separate the spectrum
into a primary continuum, neutral and ionized absorption, and a reflection
component. The photon index of the primary continuum has changed since 2005
(), while
other components remain unchanged, indicative of minimal geometric changes to
the central engine. We constrain the high-energy cutoff of 3C 109
(E\,keV ) for the first time. The
reflector is found to be ionized (log = )
but no relativistic blurring is required by the data. SED analysis confirms the
super-Eddington nature of 3C 109 initially ( 2.09). However,
we do not find any evidence for strong reflection (R = ) or a steep power law index, as expected from a super-Eddington source.
This puts the existing virial mass estimate of 2 M
into question. We explore additional ways of estimating the Eddington ratio,
some of which we find to be inconsistent with our initial SED estimate. We
obtain a new black hole mass estimate of 9.3 M, which
brings all Eddington ratio estimates into agreement and does not require 3C 109
to be super-Eddington.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure
The hard X-ray perspective on the soft X-ray excess
The X-ray spectra of many active galactic nuclei (AGN) exhibit a `soft
excess' below 1keV, whose physical origin remains unclear. Diverse models have
been suggested to account for it, including ionised reflection of X-rays from
the inner part of the accretion disc, ionised winds/absorbers, and
Comptonisation. The ionised reflection model suggests a natural link between
the prominence of the soft excess and the Compton reflection hump strength
above 10keV, but it has not been clear what hard X-ray signatures, if any, are
expected from the other soft X-ray candidate models. Additionally, it has not
been possible up until recently to obtain high-quality simultaneous
measurements of both soft and hard X-ray emission necessary to distinguish
these models, but upcoming joint XMM-NuSTAR programmes provide precisely this
opportunity. In this paper, we present an extensive analysis of simulations of
XMM+NuSTAR observations, using two candidate soft excess models as inputs, to
determine whether such campaigns can disambiguate between them by using hard
and soft X-ray observations in tandem. The simulated spectra are fit with the
simplest "observer's model" of a black body and neutral reflection to
characterise the strength of the soft and hard excesses. A plot of the strength
of the hard excess against the soft excess strength provides a diagnostic plot
which allows the soft excess production mechanism to be determined in
individual sources and samples using current state-of-the-art and next
generation hard X-ray enabled observatories. This approach can be
straightforwardly extended to other candidate models for the soft excess.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. Added
reference
An X-Ray View of the Jet-Cycle in the Radio Loud AGN 3C120
We present a study of the central engine in the broad-line radio galaxy 3C120
using a multi-epoch analysis of a deep XMM-Newton observation and two deep
Suzaku pointings (in 2012). In order to place our spectral data into the
context of the disk-disruption/jet-ejection cycles displayed by this object, we
monitor the source in the UV/X-ray bands, and in the radio band. We find three
statistically acceptable spectral models, a disk-reflection model, a jet-model
and a jet+disk model. Despite being good descriptions of the data, the
disk-reflection model violates the radio constraints on the inclination, and
the jet-model has a fine-tuning problem, requiring a jet contribution exceeding
that expected. Thus, we argue for a composite jet+disk model. Within the
context of this model, we verify the basic predictions of the jet-cycle
paradigm, finding a truncated/refilling disk during the Suzaku observations and
a complete disk extending down to the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO)
during the XMM-Newton observation. The idea of a refilling disk is further
supported by the detection of the ejection of a new jet knot approximately one
month after the Suzaku pointings. We also discover a step-like event in one of
the Suzaku pointings in which the soft band lags the hard band. We suggest that
we are witnessing the propagation of a disturbance from the disk into the jet
on a timescale set by the magnetic field.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Discovery of soft and hard X-ray time lags in low-mass AGNs
The scaling relations between the black hole (BH) mass and soft lag
properties for both active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and BH X-ray binaries
(BHXRBs) suggest the same underlying physical mechanism at work in accreting BH
systems spanning a broad range of mass. However, the low-mass end of AGNs has
never been explored in detail. In this work, we extend the existing scaling
relations to lower-mass AGNs, which serve as anchors between the normal-mass
AGNs and BHXRBs. For this purpose, we construct a sample of low-mass AGNs
() from the XMM-Newton archive and
measure frequency-resolved time delays between the soft (0.3-1 keV) and hard
(1-4 keV) X-ray emissions. We report that the soft band lags behind the hard
band emission at high frequencies Hz, which is
interpreted as a sign of reverberation from the inner accretion disc in
response to the direct coronal emission. At low frequencies ( Hz), the hard band lags behind the soft band variations, which we
explain in the context of the inward propagation of luminosity fluctuations
through the corona. Assuming a lamppost geometry for the corona, we find that
the X-ray source of the sample extends at an average height and radius of and , respectively. Our results confirm that the
scaling relations between the BH mass and soft lag amplitude/frequency derived
for higher-mass AGNs can safely extrapolate to lower-mass AGNs, and the
accretion process is indeed independent of the BH mass.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, Published in MNRA
NuSTAR observations of the powerful radio-galaxy Cygnus A
We present NuSTAR observations of the powerful radio galaxy Cygnus A,
focusing on the central absorbed active galactic nucleus (AGN). Cygnus A is
embedded in a cool-core galaxy cluster, and hence we also examine archival
XMM-Newton data to facilitate the decomposition of the spectrum into the AGN
and intracluster medium (ICM) components. NuSTAR gives a source-dominated
spectrum of the AGN out to >70keV. In gross terms, the NuSTAR spectrum of the
AGN has the form of a power law (Gamma~1.6-1.7) absorbed by a neutral column
density of N_H~1.6x10^23 cm^-2. However, we also detect curvature in the hard
(>10keV) spectrum resulting from reflection by Compton-thick matter out of our
line-of-sight to the X-ray source. Compton reflection, possibly from the outer
accretion disk or obscuring torus, is required even permitting a high-energy
cutoff in the continuum source; the limit on the cutoff energy is E_cut>111keV
(90% confidence). Interestingly, the absorbed power-law plus reflection model
leaves residuals suggesting the absorption/emission from a fast
(15,000-26,000km/s), high column-density (N_W>3x10^23 cm^-2), highly ionized
(xi~2,500 erg cm/s) wind. A second, even faster ionized wind component is also
suggested by these data. We show that the ionized wind likely carries a
significant mass and momentum flux, and may carry sufficient kinetic energy to
exercise feedback on the host galaxy. If confirmed, the simultaneous presence
of a strong wind and powerful jets in Cygnus A demonstrates that feedback from
radio-jets and sub-relativistic winds are not mutually exclusive phases of AGN
activity but can occur simultaneously.Comment: 13 pages; accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
X-ray spectral and flux variability of the microquasar GRS 1758-258 on timescales from weeks to years
We present the spectral and timing evolution of the persistent black hole
X-ray binary GRS 1758-258 based on almost 12 years of observations using the
Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer Proportional Counter Array. While the source was
predominantly found in the hard state during this time, it entered the
thermally dominated soft state seven times. In the soft state GRS 1758-258
shows a strong decline in flux above 3 keV rather than the pivoting flux around
10 keV more commonly shown by black hole transients. In its 3-20 keV hardness
intensity diagram, GRS 1758-258 shows a hysteresis of hard and soft state
fluxes typical for transient sources in outburst. The RXTE-PCA and RXTE-ASM
long-term light curves do not show any orbital modulations in the range of 2 to
30 d. However, in the dynamic power spectra significant peaks drift between
18.47d and 18.04d for the PCA data, while less significant signatures between
19d and 20d are seen for the ASM data as well as for the Swift/BAT data. We
discuss different models for the hysteresis behavior during state transitions
as well as possibilities for the origin of the long term variation in the
context of a warped accretion disk.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic
X-ray Reverberation Mapping of Ark 564 using Gaussian Process Regression
Ark 564 is an extreme high-Eddington Narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy, known for
being one of the brightest, most rapidly variable soft X-ray AGN, and for
having one of the lowest temperature coronae. Here we present a 410-ks NuSTAR
observation and two 115-ks XMM-Newton observations of this unique source, which
reveal a very strong, relativistically broadened iron line. We compute the
Fourier-resolved time lags by first using Gaussian processes to interpolate the
NuSTAR gaps, implementing the first employment of multi-task learning for
application in AGN timing. By fitting simultaneously the time lags and the flux
spectra with the relativistic reverberation model RELTRANS, we constrain the
mass at , although additional components
are required to describe the prominent soft excess in this source. These
results motivate future combinations of machine learning, Fourier-resolved
timing, and the development of reverberation models.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa