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1.
We have monitored the Seyfert galaxy NGC 3227 with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer ( RXTE ) since 1999 January. During late 2000 and early 2001 we observed an unusual hardening of the 2–10 keV X-ray spectrum which lasted several months. The spectral hardening was not accompanied by any correlated variation in flux above 8 keV. We therefore interpret the spectral change as transient absorption by a gas cloud of column density 2.6 × 1023 cm−2 crossing the line of sight to the X-ray source. A spectrum obtained by XMM–Newton during an early phase of the hard-spectrum event confirms the obscuration model and shows that the absorbing cloud is only weakly ionized. The XMM–Newton spectrum also shows that ∼10 per cent of the X-ray flux is not obscured, but this unabsorbed component is not significantly variable and may be scattered radiation from a large-scale scattering medium. Applying the spectral constraints on the cloud ionization parameter and assuming that the cloud follows a Keplerian orbit, we constrain the location of the cloud to be   R ∼ 10–100  light-days from the central X-ray source, and its density to be   n H∼ 108 cm−3  , implying that we have witnessed the eclipse of the X-ray source by a broad line region cloud.  相似文献   

2.
We present ROSAT High Resolution Imager (HRI) and ASCA observations of the well-known ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) IRAS 19254−7245 (the 'Superantennae' ). The object is not detected by ROSAT , implying a 3 σ upper limit of X-ray luminosity L X∼8×1041 erg s−1 in the 0.1–2 keV band. However, we obtain a clear detection by ASCA , yielding a luminosity in the 2–10 keV band of 2×1042 erg s−1. The X-ray spectrum of IRAS 19254−7245 is very hard, equivalent to a photon index of Γ=1.0±0.35. We therefore attempt to model the X-ray data using a 'scatterer' model, in which the intrinsic X-ray emission along our line of sight is obscured by an absorbing screen while some fraction, f , is scattered into our line of sight by an ionized medium; this is the standard model for the X-ray emission in obscured (but non Compton-thick) Seyfert galaxies. We obtain an absorbing column density of N H=2×1023 cm−2 for a power-law photon index of Γ=1.9, an order of magnitude above the column estimated on the basis of optical observations; the percentage of the scattered emission is high (∼20 per cent). Alternatively, a model where most of the X-ray emission comes from reflection on a Compton-thick torus ( N H>1024 cm−2) cannot be ruled out. We do not detect an Fe line at 6.4 keV; however, the upper limit (90 per cent) to the equivalent width of the 6.4 keV line is high (∼3 keV). Overall , the results suggest that most of the X-ray emission originates in a highly obscured Seyfert 2 nucleus.  相似文献   

3.
Chandra X-ray Observatory observations of the powerful, peculiar radio galaxy 3C 123 have resulted in an X-ray detection of the bright eastern hotspot, with a 1-keV flux density of ∼5 nJy. The X-ray flux and spectrum of the hotspot are consistent with the X-rays being inverse-Compton scattering of radio synchrotron photons by the population of electrons responsible for the radio emission ('synchrotron self-Compton emission') if the magnetic fields in the hotspot are close to their equipartition values. 3C 123 is thus the third radio galaxy to show X-ray emission from a hotspot which is consistent with being in equipartition. Chandra also detects emission from a moderately rich cluster surrounding 3C 123, with L X(2–10 keV)=2×1044 erg s−1 and kT ∼5 keV, and absorbed emission from the active nucleus, with an inferred intrinsic column density of 1.7×1022 cm−2 and an intrinsic 2–10 keV luminosity of 1044 erg s−1.  相似文献   

4.
We present X-ray results on the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Arp 220 obtained with BeppoSAX . X-ray emission up to 10 keV is detected. No significant signal is detected with the PDS detector in the higher energy band. The 2–10 keV emission has a flat spectrum (Γ∼1.7) , similar to M82, and a luminosity of ∼ 1×1041 erg s−1 . A population of X-ray binaries may be a major source of this X-ray emission. The upper limit of an iron K line equivalent width at 6.4 keV is ≃600 eV. This observation imposes the tightest constraint so far on an active nucleus if present in Arp 220. We find that a column density of X-ray absorption must exceed 1025 cm−2 for an obscured active nucleus to be significant in the energetics, and the covering factor of the absorption should be almost unity. The underluminous soft X-ray starburst emission may need a good explanation, if the bolometric luminosity is primarily powered by a starburst.  相似文献   

5.
We propose a model for the source of the X-ray background (XRB) in which low-luminosity active nuclei ( L  ∼ 1043 erg s−1) are obscured ( N  ∼ 1023 cm−2) by nuclear starbursts within the inner ∼ 100 pc. The obscuring material covers most of the sky as seen from the central source, rather than being distributed in a toroidal structure, and hardens the averaged X-ray spectrum by photoelectric absorption. The gas is turbulent with velocity dispersion ∼ few × 100 km s−1 and cloud–cloud collisions lead to copious star formation. Although supernovae tend to produce outflows, most of the gas is trapped in the gravity field of the star-forming cluster itself and the central black hole. A hot ( T  ∼ 106 − 107 K) virialized phase of this gas, comprising a few per cent of the total obscuring material, feeds the central engine of ∼ 107 M⊙ through Bondi accretion, at a sub-Eddington rate appropriate for the luminosity of these objects. If starburst-obscured objects give rise to the residual XRB, then only 10 per cent of the accretion in active galaxies occurs close to the Eddington limit in unabsorbed objects.  相似文献   

6.
We report a Chandra observation of the   z =3.395  radio galaxy B2 0902+343. The unresolved X-ray source is centred on the active nucleus. The spectrum is well fitted by a flat power law of photon index of  Γ∼1.1  with intrinsic absorption of  8×1022 cm-2  , and an intrinsic  2–10 keV  luminosity of  3.3×1045 erg s-1  . More complex models that allow for a steeper spectral index cause the column density and intrinsic luminosity to increase. The data limit any thermal luminosity of the hot magnetized medium, assumed responsible for high Faraday rotation measures seen in the radio source, to less than ∼1045 erg s−1.  相似文献   

7.
When observed by XMM–Newton in 2003, the type 1.5 quasi-stellar object 2MASS 0918+2117 was found to be in a low state, with an X-ray flux approximately four to five times fainter than during an earlier Chandra observation. The 2–6 keV spectrum was unusually hard (photon index  Γ∼ 1.25  ), with evidence for a reflection-dominated continuum, while a soft excess visible below ∼1 keV prevented confirmation of the anticipated low energy absorber. In a second XMM–Newton observation in 2005, the X-ray flux is found to have recovered, with a 2–10 keV continuum spectrum now typical of a broad-line active galaxy  (Γ∼ 2)  and a deficit of flux below ∼1 keV indicative of continuum absorption in a column   N H∼ 4 × 1021 cm−2  . We find the preferred ionization state of the absorbing gas to be low, which then leaves a residual soft excess of similar spectral form and flux to that found in the 2003 XMM–Newton observation. Although observed at different epochs, we note that dust in the absorbing column could also explain the red nucleus and strong optical polarization of 2MASS 0918+2117.  相似文献   

8.
We present BeppoSAX observations of Nova Velorum 1999 (V382 Vel), carried out in a broad X-ray band covering 0.1–300 keV only 15 d after the discovery and again after 6 months. The nova was detected at day 15 with the BeppoSAX instruments which measured a flux F x≃1.8×10−11 erg cm−2 s−1 in the 0.1–10 keV range and a 2 σ upper limit F x<6.7×10−12 erg cm−2 s−1 in the 15–60 keV range. We attribute the emission to shocked nebular ejecta at a plasma temperature kT ≃6 keV . At six months no bright component emerged in the 15–60 keV range, but a bright central supersoft X-ray source appeared. The hot nebular component previously detected had cooled to a plasma temperature kT <1 keV . There was strong intrinsic absorption of the ejecta in the first observation and not in the second, because the column density of neutral hydrogen decreased from N (H)≃1.7×1023 to N (H)≃1021 cm−2 (close to the interstellar value). The unabsorbed X-ray flux also decreased from F x=4.3×10−11 to F x≃10−12 erg cm−2 s−1 .  相似文献   

9.
BeppoSAX observations of the high-redshift ( z =4.72) blazar GB 1428+4217 confirm the presence of a complex soft X-ray spectrum first seen with the ROSAT PSPC. Flattening below a rest-frame energy of 5 keV can be accounted for by absorption from an equivalent column density of (cold) gas with N H∼8×1022 cm−2 . Below 2 keV a (variable) excess of a factor of ∼20 above the extrapolated absorbed spectrum is also detected. These findings are consistent with and extend to higher redshifts the correlation between increasing soft X-ray flattening and increasing z , previously pointed out for large samples of radio-loud quasars. We propose that such features, including X-ray absorption and soft excess emission as well as absorption in the optical spectra, can be satisfactorily accounted for by the presence of a highly ionized nuclear absorber with column N H∼1023 cm−2 , with properties possibly related to the conditions in the nuclear regions of the host galaxy. High-energy X-ray emission consistent with the extrapolation of the medium-energy spectrum is detected up to ∼300 keV (rest frame).  相似文献   

10.
We report results of an 18-ks exposure with the ACIS instrument on Chandra of the powerful z =0.62 radio galaxy 3C 220.1. The X-ray emission separates into cluster gas of emission-weighted kT ∼5 keV , 0.7–12 keV luminosity (to a radius of 45 arcsec) of 5.6×1044 erg s−1 and unresolved emission (coincident with the radio core). While the extended X-ray emission is clearly thermal in nature, a straightforward cooling-flow model, even in conjunction with a point-source component, is a poor fit to the radial profile of the X-ray emission. This is despite the fact that the measured properties of the gas suggest a massive cooling flow of ∼130 M⊙ yr−1, and the data show weak evidence for a temperature gradient. The central unresolved X-ray emission has a power-law spectral energy index α ∼0.7 and 0.7–12 keV luminosity of 1045 erg s−1, and any intrinsic absorption is relatively small. The two-point spectrum of the core emission between radio and X-ray energies has α rx=0.75 . Since this is a flatter spectrum than seen in other sources where the X-ray emission is presumed to be radio-related, regions close to the active galactic nucleus (AGN) in this source may dominate the central X-ray output, as is believed to be the case for lobe-dominated quasars. Simple unification models would be challenged if this were found to be the case for a large fraction of high-power radio galaxies.  相似文献   

11.
We present an X-ray spectroscopic study of the bright Compton-thick Seyfert 2 galaxies NGC 1068 and the Circinus Galaxy, performed with BeppoSAX . Matt et al. interpreted the spectrum above 4 keV as the superposition of Compton reflection and warm plasma scattering of the nuclear radiation. When this continuum is extrapolated downwards to 0.1 keV, further components arise. The NGC 1068 spectrum is rich in emission lines, mainly owing to K α transitions of He-like elements from oxygen to iron, plus a K α fluorescent line from neutral iron. If the ionized lines originate in the warm scatterer, its thermal and ionization structure must be complex. From the continuum and line properties, we estimate a column density, N warm, of the warm scatterer less than a few×1021 cm−2. In the Circinus Galaxy, the absence of highly ionized iron is consistent with a scattering medium with U X≲5 and N warm∼ a few×1022 cm−2. In both cases the neutral iron line is most naturally explained as fluorescence in the medium responsible for the Compton reflection continuum. In NGC 1068 an optically thin plasma emission with kT ≃500 eV and strongly sub-solar metallicity is required, while such a component is only marginal in the Circinus Galaxy. We tentatively identify this component as emission of diffuse hot gas in the nuclear starbursts. Possible causes for the metal depletion are discussed.  相似文献   

12.
The cluster 3C 129 is classified as a rich cluster. An analysis of the properties of the cluster 3C 129 from ROSAT PSPC and HRI, Einstein IPC, and EXOSAT ME observations is presented. The mean temperature from a joint fit of the ROSAT PSPC and EXOSAT ME data is 5.5(±0.2) keV. The luminosity is 0.6×1044 erg s−1 in 0.2–2.4 keV and 2.7×1044 erg s−1 in 0.2–10 keV. We find a cooling flow with a rate of ∼84 M⊙ yr−1. The central gas density is 6×10−3 cm−3, and the ICM mass is 3.6×1013 M⊙. The total cluster mass is ∼5×1014 M⊙. The X-ray morphology shows an east–west elongation, which is evidence for a recent merger event. The radio source 3C 129.1 is located near the X-ray centre. Another cluster member galaxy (the radio galaxy 3C 129) is a prototype of head-tailed radio galaxies, and is located in the west part of the cluster. The tail points along the gradient of intracluster gas pressure. There are no significant point X-ray sources associated with the AGNs of the two radio galaxies.  相似文献   

13.
Using MERLIN with 0.2-arcsec resolution we have observed neutral hydrogen absorption against the central region of the starburst galaxy NGC 3628. The central region resolves into ∼16 continuum components at 1.4 GHz. From comparison with published 15-GHz data, we infer that these components are supernova remnants, although three components may be consistent with a weak active galactic nucleus. Neutral hydrogen absorption is seen against the continuum emission with column densities ∼1022 cm−2. The absorption appears to be from two separate absorbing structures. Assuming a simple morphology, the main velocity structure can be attributed to a ring of neutral gas with a radius 130 pc rotating around a central starburst with a velocity gradient of 1270 km s−1 kpc−1. From simple assumptions, the mass interior to this ring is 0.9 × 109 M⊙. The second absorption structure may represent outflow from the starburst region or a large-scale galactic structure. Alternatively the absorption structure may be non-axisymmetric, such as a bar.  相似文献   

14.
We present Chandra and XMM–Newton observations of 12 bright  [ f (2–10 keV) > 10−13 erg cm−2 s−1]  sources from the ASCA search for the High Energy Extragalactic Population (SHEEP) survey. Most of these have been either not observed or not detected previously with the ROSAT mission, and therefore they constitute a sample biased towards hard sources. The Chandra observations are important in locating the optical counterpart of the X-ray sources with accuracy. Optical spectroscopic observations show that our sample is associated with both narrow-line (NL) (six objects) and broad-line (BL) active galactic nuclei (AGN) (five objects), with one source remaining unidentified. Our sources cover the redshift range 0.04–1.29, spanning luminosities from 1042 to  1045 erg s−1  (2–10 keV). The NL sources have preferentially lower redshift (and luminosity) compared to the BL ones. This can be most easily explained in a model where the NL AGN are intrinsically less luminous than the BL ones in line with the results of Steffen et al. The X-ray spectral fittings show a roughly equal number of obscured  ( N H > 1022 cm−2)  and unobscured  ( N H < 1022 cm−2)  sources. There is a clear tendency for obscured sources to be associated with NL AGN and unobscured sources with BL ones. However, there is a marked exception with the highest obscuring column observed at a BL AGN at a redshift of z = 0.5.  相似文献   

15.
We present a Chandra observation of the powerful radio galaxy 3C 294 showing clear evidence for a surrounding intracluster medium. At a redshift of 1.786 this is the most distant cluster of galaxies yet detected in X-rays. The radio core is detected as a point source, which has a spectrum consistent with a heavily absorbed power law, implying an intrinsic 2–10 keV luminosity of ∼1045 erg s−1. A small excess of emission is associated with the southern radio hotspots. The soft, diffuse emission from the intracluster medium is centred on the radio source. It has an hourglass shape in the north–south direction, extending to radii of at least 100 kpc, well beyond the radio source. The X-ray spectrum of this extended component is fitted by a thermal model with temperature ∼5 keV, or by gas cooling from above 7 keV at rates of ∼ 400–700 M⊙ yr−1. The rest-frame 0.3–10 keV luminosity of the cluster is ∼ 4.5×1044 erg s−1. The existence of such a cluster is consistent with a low-density universe.  相似文献   

16.
Prominent Fe Kα line emission is detected in the XMM–Newton spectrum of the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Arp 220. The centroid of the line is found at an energy of 6.7 keV and the equivalent width of the line is  EW ∼ 1.9 keV  (at 3.5σ significance). A few other spectral features are found at various degrees of significance in the lower energy range on a hard 2.5–10 keV continuum  (Γ∼ 1)  . The large EW of the Fe K line poses a problem with interpreting the hard X-ray emission as integrated X-ray binary emission. A thermal emission spectrum with a temperature of   kT ∼ 7 keV  modified by absorption of   N H≃ 3 × 1022 cm−2  , can describe the 2.5–10 keV continuum shape and the Fe K emission. A hot bubble that is shocked internally in a starburst region would have a similar temperature and gives a good explanation for the observed X-ray properties with a high star formation rate. An ensemble of radio supernovae in a dense environment, as suggested from VLBI imaging, could be another possibility, if such powerful supernovae are produced continuously at a high rate. However, the apparent lack of emission from X-ray binaries is incompatible with the high supernova rate (∼2 SNe yr−1) required by both interpretations. Highly photoionized, low-density gas illuminated by a hidden Compton-thick active galactic nucleus is a possible alternative for the hard X-ray emission, which can be tested by examining whether radiative recombination continua from highly ionized Ca and Fe are present in better quality data from a forthcoming observation.  相似文献   

17.
We present analyses of the ASCA X-ray spectra of two Seyfert galaxies, Tololo 0109383 and ESO 138G1. In both cases, spectral fitting reveals two statistically acceptable continuum models: Compton reflection and partial covering. Both spectra have strong iron K lines, with equivalent widths greater than 1.5 keV. These large equivalent widths are suggestive of heavier obscuration than that directly indicated by the partial-covering models (  21023 cm-2),  with the actual column densities being 'Compton-thick' (i.e.   N H1.51024 cm-2).  We use the hard X-ray/[O  iii ] flux correlation for Seyferts and data from the literature to provide additional support for this hypothesis. Since Tololo 0109383 is known to have optical type 1 characteristics such as broad Balmer line components and Fe  ii emission, this result marks it as a notable object.  相似文献   

18.
We present results from a new XMM–Newton observation of the high-redshift quasar RX J1028.6 – 0844 at a redshift of 4.276. The soft X-ray spectral flattening, as reported by a previous study with ASCA , is confirmed to be present, with, however, a reduced column density when modelled by absorption. The inferred column density for absorption intrinsic to the quasar is  2.1(+0.4−0.3) × 1022  cm−2  for cold matter, and higher for ionized gas. The spectral flattening shows remarkable similarity with that of two similar object, namely GB 1428 + 4217 and PMN J0525 − 3343. The results improve upon those obtained from a previous short-exposure observation for RX J1028.6 – 0844 with XMM–Newton . A comparative study of the two XMM–Newton observations reveals a change in the power-law photon index from  Γ≃ 1.3  to 1.5 on time-scales of about one year. A tentative excess emission feature in the rest-frame 5–10 keV band is suggested, which is similar to that marginally suggested for GB 1428 + 4217.  相似文献   

19.
We present the Chandra ACIS-S3 data of the old classical nova RR Pic (1925). The source has a count rate of 0.067 ± 0.002 count s−1 in the 0.3–5.0 keV energy range. We detect the orbital period of the underlying binary system in the X-ray wavelengths. We also find that the neutral hydrogen column density differs for orbital minimum and orbital maximum spectra with values  0.25+0.23−0.18× 1022  and  0.64+0.13−0.14× 1022 cm−2  at 3σ confidence level. The X-ray spectrum of RR Pic can be represented by a composite model of bremsstrahlung with a photoelectric absorption, two absorption lines centered around 1.1–1.4 keV and five Gaussian lines centered at emission lines around 0.3–1.1 keV corresponding to various transitions of S, N, O, C, Ne and Fe. The bremsstrahlung temperature derived from the fits ranges from 0.99 to 1.60 keV and the unabsorbed X-ray flux is found to be  2.5+0.4−1.2× 10−13 erg  cm−2 s−1  in the 0.3–5.0 keV range with a luminosity of 1.1 ± 0.2  1031 erg s−1  at 600 pc. We also detect excess emission in the spectrum possibly originating from the reverse shock in the ejecta. A fit with a cooling flow plasma emission model shows enhanced abundances of He, C, N, O and Ne in the X-ray emitting region indicating existence of diffusive mixing.  相似文献   

20.
We present J , H and K -band spectroscopy of Cygnus A, spanning 1.0–2.4 μm in the rest-frame and hence several rovibrational H2, H recombination and [Fe  ii ] emission lines. The lines are spatially extended by up to 6 kpc from the nucleus, but their distinct kinematics indicate that the three groups (H, H2 and [Fe  ii ]) are not wholly produced in the same gas. The broadest line, [Fe  ii ] λ 1.644, exhibits a non-Gaussian profile with a broad base (FWHM≃1040 km s−1), perhaps because of the interaction with the radio source. Extinctions to the line-emitting regions substantially exceed earlier measurements based on optical H recombination lines.
Hard X-rays from the quasar nucleus are likely to dominate the excitation of the H2 emission. The results of Maloney, Hollenbach & Tielens are thus used to infer the total mass of gas in H2 v=1–0 S(1)-emitting clouds as a function of radius, for gas densities of 103 and 105 cm−3, and stopping column densities N H=1022–1024 cm−2. Assuming azimuthal symmetry, at least 2.3×108 M⊙ of such material is present within 5 kpc of the nucleus, if the line-emitting clouds see an unobscured quasar spectrum. Alternatively, if the bulk of the X-ray absorption to the nucleus inferred by Ueno et al. actually arises in a circumnuclear torus, the implied gas mass rises to ∼1010 M⊙. The latter plausibly accounts for 109 yr of mass deposition from the cluster cooling flow, for which within this radius.  相似文献   

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