Excess Hard X-ray Emission from the Obscured Low Luminosity AGN In the Nearby Galaxy M 51 (NGC 5194)

We observed the nearby galaxy M~51 (NGC 5194) with BeppoSAX. The X-ray properties of the nucleus below 10 keV are almost the same as the ASCA results regarding the hard component and the neutral Fe K$\alpha$ line, but the intensity is about half of the ASCA 1993 data. Beyond this, in the BeppoSAX PDS data, we detected a bright hard X-ray emission component which dominates above 10 keV. The 10 -- 100 keV flux and luminosity of this component are respectively $2\times10^{-11}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ and $2\times10^{41}$ erg s$^{-1}$. These are about 10 times higher than the extrapolation from the soft X-ray band, and similar to the flux observed with Ginga, which found a bright power law component in 2 -- 20 keV band. Considering other wavelength properties and the X-ray luminosity, together with strong neutral Fe K line, the hard X-ray emission most likely arises from a low luminosity active nucleus, which is obscured with a column density of $\sim10^{24}$cm$^{-2}$. This suggests that hidden low luminosity AGNs may well be present in other nearby galaxies. We interpret the discrepancy between Ginga and other X-ray satellites to be due to a large variability of absorption column density toward the line of sight over several years, suggesting that the Compton thick absorption material may be present on a spatial scale of a parsec. Apart from the nucleus, several ultra-luminous off-nuclear X-ray sources detected in M~51 exhibit long-term time variability, suggesting the state transition similar to that observed in Galactic black hole candidates.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, accepted for A&

The Declined Activity in the Nucleus of NGC 1316

NGC 1316 (Fornax A) is a radio galaxy with prototypical double lobes, where the magnetic field intensity is accurately measured via the inverse-Compton technique. The radio-emitting electrons in the lobes are inferred to have a synchrotron life time of 0.1 Gyr. Considering the lobe energetics, we estimate the past nuclear X-ray luminosity of NGC 1316 to be at least 4 times 10^{34} W (4 times 10^{41} erg s^{-1}). Thus, the nucleus was rather active at least 0.1 Gyr ago. In contrast, we confirmed with ASCA and ROSAT that the nucleus of NGC 1316 is very faint in X-rays at present, with the 2--10 keV luminosity of any AGN-like hard component being < 2 times 10^{33} W (2 times 10^{40} erg s^{-1}) even assuming a nuclear obscuration up to 10^{28} m^{-2} (10^{24} cm^{-2}). This is at least an order of magnitude lower than the estimated past activity, indicating that the nucleus is presently very inactive. From these two results, we conclude that the nucleus of NGC 1316 has become dormant during the last 0.1 Gyr. This suggests the possible abundance of ``dormant'' quasars in nearby galaxies.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, to be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letter

Extreme X-ray spectral variability in the Seyfert 2 Galaxy NGC 1365

We present multiple Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of the type 1.8 Seyfert Galaxy NGC 1365, which shows the most dramatic X-ray spectral changes observed so far in an AGN: the source switched from reflection dominated to transmission dominated and back in just 6 weeks. During this time the soft thermal component, arising from a ~1 kpc region around the center, remained constant. The reflection component is constant at all timescales, and its high flux relative to the primary component implies the presence of thick gas covering a large fraction of the solid angle. The presence of this gas, and the fast variability time scale, suggest that the Compton-thick to Compton thin change is due to variation in the line-of-sight absorber, rather than to extreme intrinsic emission variability. We discuss a structure of the circumnuclear absorber/reflector which can explain the observed X-ray spectral and temporal properties.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Detection of an iron K Emission Line from the LINER NGC 4579

We present the results of an ASCA observation of the LINER NGC 4579. A point-like X-ray source is detected at the nucleus with a 2-10 keV luminosity of 1.5x10^41 ergs/s assuming a distance of 16.8 Mpc. The X-ray spectrum is represented by a combination of a power-law with a photon index of ~1.7 and soft thermal component with kT~0.9 keV. An iron K emission line is detected at 6.73+/-0.13 keV (rest frame) with an equivalent width of 490 +180/-190 eV and is statistically significant at more than 99.9 % confidence. The line center energy is consistent with Helium-like iron and is significantly higher than 6.4 keV which is expected from fluorescence by "cold" (or a lower ionization state of) iron. The iron line profile shows no significant red tail in contrast to Seyfert 1 galaxies although the statistics are limited. The line center energy, equivalent width, and profile are consistent with an origin in an ionized accretion disk. However the large mass accretion rate necessary to ionize the accretion disk is not consistent with the observed luminosity and normal accretion models.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, to appear in The Astrophysical Journa

X-ray Properties of LINERs and Low-luminosity Seyfert Galaxies Observed with ASCA. I. Observations and Results

This paper presents a comprehensive study of the X-ray properties of low-ionization nuclear emission-line regions (LINERs) and low-luminosity Seyfert galaxies based on observations obtained with ASCA. We analyzed data of 53 observations of 21 LINERs and 17 low-luminosity Seyferts. X-ray emission has been detected in all but one object. The X-ray luminosities in the 2-10 keV band range from 4e39 ergs/s to 5e41 ergs/s, which are 1-3 orders of magnitude smaller than in classical Seyfert galaxies. The X-ray spectra of most objects are well described by a canonical model which consists of (1) a soft component from a thermal plasma with kT<1 keV and (2) a hard component represented by a power law with a photon index~1.8 or thermal bremsstrahlung emission with kT~10 keV. Several objects do not require the soft thermal component, and their continua are well fitted by a single power-law model. Some objects show heavy absorption with column densities in excess of 1e23 cm^-2. We detect in several objects Fe K line emission with equivalent widths ranging from 50 eV to 2 keV. Variability on timescales less than a day is uncommon in our sample. By comparing multiple observations made with ASCA or with published observations from other satellites, we show that at least eight objects are variable on timescales of a week to several years. We find that the morphologies of many objects, both in the soft and hard bands, are consistent with being pointlike relative to the telescope PSF; a few are clearly extended in either or both energy bands.Comment: 38 pages, To appear in The Astrophysical Journal Supplements., v13

A Chandra detection of diffuse hard X-ray emission associated with the lobes of the radio galaxy 3C 452

An 80 ksec Chandra ACIS observation of the radio galaxy 3C 452 is reported. A diffuse X-ray emission associated with the lobes has been detected with high statistical significance, together with the X-ray nucleus of the host galaxy. The 0.5--5 keV ACIS spectrum of the diffuse emission is described by a two-component model, consisting of a soft thermal plasma emission from the host galaxy halo and a hard non-thermal power-law component. The hard component is ascribed to the inverse Comptonization of cosmic microwave background photons by the synchrotron emitting electrons in the lobes, because its spectral energy index, 0.68+-0.28, is consistent with the radio synchrotron index, 0.78. These results reveal a significant electron dominance in the lobes. The electrons are inferred to have a relatively uniform distribution, while the magnetic field is compressed toward the lobe periphery.Comment: 4 figures, 2 tables, Accepted by ApJL (to appear in the December 1 issue

Interferometric 12CO(J=2-1) image of the Nuclear Region of Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 1097

We have mapped the central region of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 1097 in 12CO(J=2-1) with the Submillieter Array (SMA). The 12CO(J=2-1) map shows a central concentration and a surrounding ring, which coincide respectively with the Seyfert nucleus and a starburst ring. The line intensity peaks at the nucleus, whereas in a previously published 12CO(J=1-0) map the intensity peaks at the starburst ring. The molecular ring has an azimuthally averaged 12CO(J=2-1)/(J=1-0) intensity ratio (R21) of about unity, which is similar to those in nearby active star forming galaxies, suggesting that most of the molecular mass in the ring is involved in fueling the starburst. The molecular gas can last for only about 1.2\times10^8 years without further replenishment assuming a constant star formation rate and a perfect conversion of gas to stars. The velocity map shows that the central molecular gas is rotating with the molecular ring in the same direction, while its velocity gradient is much steeper than that of the ring. This velocity gradient of the central gas is similar to what is usually observed in some Seyfert 2 galaxies. To view the active nucleus directly in the optical, the central molecular gas structure can either be a low-inclined disk or torus but not too low to be less massive than the mass of the host galaxy itself, be a highly-inclined thin disk or clumpy and thick torus, or be an inner part of the galactic disk. The R21 value of ~1.9 of the central molecular gas component, which is significantly higher than the value found at the molecular gas ring, indicates that the activity of the Seyfert nucleus may have a significant influence on the conditions of the molecular gas in the central component.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Ap

Poststarburst Models of LINERs

Since the discovery of low-ionization nuclear emission-line regions in many galaxies (LINERs), it has been recognized that they constitute a class of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) which are thought to be powered by gas accretion onto a central, supermassive black hole. LINERs are observed in approximately one third of galaxies in the local universe and it has been often thought that they harbor an AGN-like central engine with moderate activity. However, some LINERs show no direct evidence for AGNs such as broad emission lines, radio jets, hard X-ray emission, spectral energy distributions which are inconsistent with starlight, and so on. For such LINERs (a subset of type 2 LINERs), we present new poststarburst models which explain some of their most important optical narrow emission-line ratios. In these models, the ionization sources are planetary nebula nuclei (PNNs) with temperature of ~ 10^5 K which appear in the late-phase evolution of intermediate-mass stars with mass between ~ 3 M_solar and ~ 6 M_solar. Such PNNs left in a typical starburst nucleus can produce an Halpha luminosity of L(Halpha) ~ 10^38 ergs s^-1 for typical poststarburst LINERs and ~ 10^39 ergs s^-1 only in exceptionally bright cases. The PNN phase lasts until the death of the lowest-mass stars formed in the starburst, which is ~ 5 x 10^8 yr for an assumed lower limit of the initial mass function of 3 M_solar. This long duration appears consistent with the observed higher frequency of occurrence of LINERs if every galaxy could experience the starburst activity several times in its life. We therefore propose that some LINERs which show no direct evidence for AGNs may be poststarburst nuclei powered by a cluster of PNNs.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, emulateapj.sty; To appear in the September 2000 issue of the Astronomical Journa

Heavy X-ray Absorption in Soft X-ray Weak Active Galactic Nuclei

Recent ROSAT studies have identified a significant population of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) that are notably faint in soft X-rays relative to their optical fluxes. Are these AGN intrinsically X-ray weak or are they just highly absorbed? Brandt, Laor & Wills have systematically examined the optical and UV spectral properties of a well-defined sample of these soft X-ray weak (SXW) AGN drawn from the Boroson & Green sample of all the Palomar Green AGN with z<0.5. We present ASCA observations of three of these SXW AGN: PG 1011-040, PG 1535+547 (Mrk 486), and PG 2112+059. In general, our ASCA observations support the intrinsic absorption scenario for explaining soft X-ray weakness; both PG 1535+547 and PG 2112+059 show significant column densities (N_H~10^22-10^23 cm^-2) of absorbing gas. Interestingly, PG 1011-040 shows no spectral evidence for X-ray absorption. The weak X-ray emission may result from very strong absorption of a partially covered source, or this AGN may be intrinsically X-ray weak. PG 2112+059 is a Broad Absorption Line (BAL) QSO, and we find it to have the highest X-ray flux known of this class. It shows a typical power-law X-ray continuum above 3 keV; this is the first direct evidence that BAL QSOs indeed have normal X-ray continua underlying their intrinsic absorption. Finally, marked variability between the ROSAT and ASCA observations of PG 1535+547 and PG 2112+059 suggests that the soft X-ray weak designation may be transient, and multi-epoch 0.1-10.0 keV X-ray observations are required to constrain variability of the absorber and continuum.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures, LaTeX, uses aaspp4.sty; submitted to Ap