Context. Active galactic nuclei (AGN) show a wealth of interesting physical processes, some of which are poorly understood. In a broader context, they play an important role in processes that are far ...beyond their immediate surroundings, owing to the high emitted power. Aims: We want to address a number of open questions, including the location and physics of the outflow from AGN, the nature of the continuum emission, the geometry and physical state of the X-ray broad emission line region, the Fe-K line complex, the metal abundances of the nucleus, and finally the interstellar medium of our own Galaxy as seen through the signatures it imprints on the X-ray and UV spectra of AGN. Methods: We study one of the best targets for these aims, the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509 with a multiwavelength campaign using five satellites (XMM-Newton, INTEGRAL, Chandra, HST, and Swift) and two ground-based facilities (WHT and PAIRITEL). Our observations cover more than five decades in frequency, from 2 μm to 200 keV. The combination of high-resolution spectroscopy and time variability allows us to disentangle and study the different components. Our campaign covers 100 days from September to December 2009, and is centred on a simultaneous set of deep XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL observations with regular time intervals, spanning seven weeks. Results: We obtain a continuous light curve in the X-ray and UV band, showing a strong, up to 60% flux increase in the soft X-ray band during the three weeks in the middle of our deepest monitoring campaign, and which is correlated with an enhancement of the UV flux. This allows us to study the time evolution of the continuum and the outflow. By stacking the observations, we have also obtained one of the best X-ray and UV spectra of a Seyfert galaxy ever obtained. In this paper we also study the effects of the spectral energy distribution (SED) that we obtained on the photo-ionisation equilibrium. Thanks to our broad-band coverage, uncertainties on the SED do not strongly affect the determination of this equilibrium. Conclusions: Here we present our very successful campaign and in a series of subsequent papers we will elaborate on different aspects of our study.
Anatomy of the AGN in NGC 5548 Mao, Junjie; Kaastra, J. S.; Mehdipour, M. ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
04/2018, Letnik:
612
Journal Article
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The X-ray narrow emission line region (NELR) of the archetypal Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 has been interpreted as a single-phase photoionized plasma that is absorbed by some of the warm absorber ...components. This scenario requires those overlaying warm absorber components to have larger distance (to the central engine) than the X-ray NELR, which is not fully consistent with the distance estimates found in the literature. Therefore, we reanalyze the high-resolution spectra obtained in 2013–2014 with the Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) aboard XMM-Newton to provide an alternative interpretation of the X-ray narrow emission features. We find that the X-ray narrow emission features in NGC 5548 can be described by a two-phase photoionized plasma with different ionization parameters (logξ = 1.3 and 0.1) and kinematics (vout = −50 and −400 km s−1), and no further absorption by the warm absorber components. The X-ray and optical NELR might be the same multi-phase photoionized plasma. Both X-ray and optical NELR have comparable distances, asymmetric line profiles, and the underlying photoionized plasma is turbulent and compact in size. The X-ray NELR is not the counterpart of the UV/X-ray absorber outside the line of sight because their distances and kinematics are not consistent. In addition, X-ray broad emission features that we find in the spectrum can be accounted for by a third photoionized emission component. The RGS spectrum obtained in 2016 is analyzed as well, where the luminosity of most prominent emission lines (the O VII forbidden line and O VIII Lyα line) are the same (at a 1σ confidence level) as in 2013–2014.
We present a detailed analysis of the intrinsic X-ray absorption in the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151 using Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer data obtained in 2002 May as part of a ...program that included simultaneous ultraviolet (UV) spectra using the Hubble Space Telescope Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and the Far Ultraviolet Spectrographic Explorer. Previous studies, most recently using Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA) spectra, revealed a large (>10 super(22) cm super(-2)) column of intervening gas, which has varied both in ionization state and total column density. NGC 4151 was in a relatively low flux state during the observations reported here (625% of its historic maximum), although roughly 2.5 times as bright in the 2-10 keV band as during a Chandra observation in 2000. At both epochs, the soft X-ray band was dominated by emission lines, which show no discernible variation in flux between the two observations. The 2002 Chandra data show the presence of a very highly ionized absorber, in the form of H-like and He-like Mg, Si, and S lines, as well as lower ionization gas via the presence of inner-shell absorption lines from lower ionization species of these elements. The latter accounts for both the bulk of the soft X-ray absorption and the high covering factor UV absorption lines of O VI, C IV, and N V with outflow velocities -500 km s super(-1). The presence of high-ionization gas, which is not easily detected at low resolution (e.g., with ASCA), appears common among Seyfert galaxies. Since this gas is too highly ionized to be radiatively accelerated in sources such as NGC 4151, which is radiating at a small fraction of its Eddington Luminosity, it may be key to understanding the dynamics of mass outflow. We find that the deeper broadband absorption detected in the 2000 Chandra data is the result of both (1) lower ionization of the intervening gas due to the lower ionizing flux and (2) a factor of 63 higher column density of the lower ionization component. To account for this bulk motion, we estimate that this component must have a velocity 1250 km s super(-1) transverse to our line of sight. This is consistent with the rotational velocity of gas arising from the putative accretion disk. While both thermal wind and magnetohydrodynamic models predict large nonradial motions, we suggest that the latter mechanism is more consistent with the results of the photoionization models of the absorbers.
Although AGN feedback through ionised winds is of great importance in models of AGN/galaxy coevolution, the mass and energy output via these winds, even in the nearby universe, is poorly understood. ...The issue is complicated by the wide range of ionisation in the winds, which means that multiwavelength observational campaigns are required to obtain the complete picture. In this paper, we use a ~160 ks XMM-Newton RGS spectrum to get the most accurate view yet of the ionised outflow (warm absorber) in NGC 7469 as seen in X-rays, finding that there is a wide range of ionisation, with log ξ in the range ~0.5-3.5 erg cm s-1, and two main velocity regimes, at 580-720 and 2300 km s-1, with the highest velocity gas being the least ionised. The total absorbing column density in the X-rays is of order 3 $\times$ 1021 cm-2. We find that the lowest ionisation phase of the absorber is probably identical with one of the phases of the UV absorber discovered in previous studies. We show that both X-ray and UV absorbers are consistent with an origin near the base of a torus wind, where matter is being launched and accelerated. Calculating the mass outflow rate and kinetic luminosity of all the absorber phases, we demonstrate that the X-ray absorbing gas carries respectively ~90% and 95% of the mass and kinetic energy output of the ionised outflow.
Multiwavelength campaign on Mrk 509 Ponti, G; Cappi, M; Costantini, E ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
1/2013, Letnik:
549
Journal Article
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We report on a detailed study of the Fe K emission/absorption complex in the nearby, bright Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509. The study is part of an extensive XMM-Newton monitoring consisting of 10 ...pointings (~60 ks each) about once every 4 days, and includes a reanalysis of previous XMM-Newton and Chandra observations. We aim at understanding the origin and location of the Fe K emission and absorption regions. We combine the results of time-resolved spectral analysis on both short and long time-scales including model-independent rms spectra. This campaign has made the first reverberation measurement of the resolved component of the Fe K alpha line possible, from which we can infer a location for the bulk of its emission at a distance of r~40-1000rsubg from the BH.
We present medium-resolution (λ/Δλ ~ 20 000) ultraviolet spectra covering the 1155-1760 Å spectral range of the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509 obtained using the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) on the ...Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Our observations were obtained simultaneously with a Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer observation using the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and they are part of a multiwavelength campaign in September through December 2009 which also included observations with XMM-Newton, Swift, and INTEGRAL. Our spectra are the highest signal-to-noise observations to date of the intrinsic absorption components seen in numerous prior ultraviolet observations. To take advantage of the high S/N, we describe special calibrations for wavelength, flat-field and line-spread function corrections that we applied to the COS data. We detect additional complexity in the absorption troughs compared to prior observations made with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) on HST. We attribute the UV absorption to a variety of sources in Mrk 509, including an outflow from the active nucleus, the interstellar medium and halo of the host galaxy, and possible infalling clouds or stripped gaseous material from a merger that are illuminated by the ionizing radiation of the active nucleus. Variability between the STIS and COS observation of the most blue-shifted component (#1) allows us to set an upper limit on its distance of <250 pc. Similarly, variability of component 6 between FUSE observations limits its distance to <1.5 kpc. The absorption lines in all components only partially cover the emission from the active nucleus with covering fractions that are lower than those seen in the prior STIS observations and are comparable to those seen in spectra from the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). Given the larger apertures of COS and FUSE compared to STIS, we favor scattered light from an extended region near the active nucleus as the explanation for the partial covering. As observed in prior X-ray and UV spectra, the UV absorption has velocities comparable to the X-ray absorption,but the bulk of the ultraviolet absorption is in a lower ionization state with lower total column density than the gas responsible for the X-ray absorption. We conclude that the outflow from the active nucleus is a multiphase wind. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated with program # 12022. Tables 3-7, 9-12, and Appendix are available in electronic form via www.aanda.org
The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) has surveyed a large sample (>100) of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the low-redshift universe (z < 1). Its response at short wavelengths makes it ...possible to measure directly the far-ultraviolet spectral properties of quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) and Seyfert 1 galaxies at z < 0.3. Using archival FUSE spectra, we form a composite extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) spectrum of QSOs at z , 0.67. After consideration of many possible sources of systematic error in our analysis, we find that the spectral slope of the FUSE composite spectrum, a = -0.56 super(+) sub(-) super(0) sub(0) super(.) sub(.) super(3) sub(2) super(8) sub(8) for F sub(v) 8 v super(a), is significantly harder than the EUV (l 1200 AA) portion of the composite spectrum of QSOs with z > 0.33 formed from archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) spectra, a = -1.76 c 0.12. We identify several prominent emission lines in the FUSE composite and find that the high-ionization O VI and Ne VIII emission lines are enhanced relative to the HST composite. Power-law continuum fits to the individual FUSE AGN spectra reveal a correlation between EUV spectral slope and AGN luminosity in the FUSE and FUSE+HST samples, in the sense that lower luminosity AGNs show harder spectral slopes. We find an anticorrelation between the hardness of the EUV spectral slope and AGN black hole mass, using estimates of this quantity found in the literature. We interpret these results in the context of the well-known anticorrelation between AGN luminosity and emission-line strength, the Baldwin effect, given that the median luminosity of the FUSE AGN sample is an order of magnitude lower than that of the HST sample.
We present a new method to model an HST/COS (Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph) spectrum, aimed to analyse intrinsic UV absorption from the outflow of Mrk 290, a Seyfert I galaxy. We ...use newly updated xstar to generate photoionization models for the intrinsic absorption from the active galactic nuclei (AGN) outflow, the line emission from the AGN broad- and narrow-line regions, and the local absorption from high-velocity clouds and Galactic interstellar medium. The combination of these physical models accurately fits the COS spectrum. Three intrinsic absorbers outflowing with velocities ~500 km s... are identified, two of which are found directly from two velocity components of the N V and C IV doublets, while the third is required by the extra absorption in the Ly... Their outflow velocities, ionization states and column densities are consistent with the lowest and moderate ionization warm absorbers (WAs) in the X-ray domain found by Chandra observations, suggesting a one-to-one correspondence between the absorbing gas in the UV and X-ray bands. The small turbulent velocities of the WAs (...) support our previous argument from the X-ray study that the absorbers originate from the inner side of the torus due to thermal evaporation. Given the covering fractions of ~65 per cent for the three WAs, we deduce that the lengths and the thicknesses of the WAs are comparable, which indicates that the geometry of WAs are more likely clouds rather than flat and thin layers. In addition, the modelling of the broad-line emission suggests a higher covering fraction of clouds when they are very closer to the black hole. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
Multi-wavelength campaign on NGC 7469 Mehdipour, M.; Kaastra, J. S.; Costantini, E. ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
07/2018, Letnik:
615
Journal Article
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Odprti dostop
We investigate the physical structure of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) wind in the Seyfert-1 galaxy NGC 7469 through high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy with Chandra HETGS and photoionisation ...modelling. Contemporaneous data from Chandra, HST, and Swift are used to model the optical-UV-X-ray continuum and determine the spectral energy distribution (SED) at two epochs, 13 yr apart. For our investigation we use new observations taken in December 2015–January 2016, and historical ones taken in December 2002. We study the impact of a change in the SED shape, seen between the two epochs, on the photoionisation of the wind. The HETGS spectroscopy shows that the AGN wind in NGC 7469 consists of four ionisation components, with their outflow velocities ranging from − 400 to − 1800 km s-1. From our modelling we find that the change in the ionising continuum shape between the two epochs results in some variation in the ionisation state of the wind components. However, for the main ions detected in X-rays, the sum of their column densities over all components remains in practice unchanged. For two of the four components, which are found to be thermally unstable in both epochs, we obtain 2 < r < 31 pc and 12 < r < 29 pc using the cooling and recombination timescales. For the other two thermally stable components, we obtain r < 31 pc and r < 80 pc from the recombination timescale. The results of our photoionisation modelling and thermal stability analysis suggest that the absorber components in NGC 7469 are consistent with being a thermally driven wind from the AGN torus. Finally, from analysis of the zeroth-order ACIS/HETG data, we discover that the X-ray emission in the range 0.2–1 keV is spatially extended over 1.5–12′′. This diffuse soft X-ray emission is explained by coronal emission from the nuclear starburst ring in NGC 7469. The star formation rate inferred from this diffuse soft X-ray emission is consistent with those found by far-infrared studies of NGC 7469.
Aims: We study the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509 with the Reflection Grating Spectrometers (RGS) of XMM-Newton, using for the first time the RGS multi-pointing mode of XMM-Newton to constrain the ...properties of the outflow in this object. We obtain very accurate spectral properties from a 600 ks spectrogram of Mrk 509 with excellent quality. Methods: We derive an accurate relative calibration for the effective area of the RGS and an accurate absolute wavelength calibration. We improve the method for adding time-dependent spectra and enhance the efficiency of the spectral fitting by two orders of magnitude. Results: Taking advantage of the spectral data quality when using the new RGS multi-pointing mode of XMM-Newton, we show that the two velocity troughs previously observed in UV spectra are resolved.
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