Chandra Observations of Mrk 273: Unveiling the Central AGN and the Extended Hot Gas Halo

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Active Galaxies And Quasars

Scientific paper

%% %% We report X-ray results of the ultraluminous IRAS galaxy Mrk 273 obtained using the ACIS-S3 instrument on board Chandra. The high resolution X-ray image, for the first time, reveals a compact hard X-ray nucleus. Its position is coincident with the northern nucleus identified in the optical, infrared, radio and in molecular CO maps. Its X-ray energy distribution is well described by a heavily obscured AGN spectra with an absorbed power-law plus a narrow FeKα emission line at 6.4 keV. The neutral hydrogen column density is about 4× 1023 cm-2, implying an absorption-corrected X-ray luminosity (0.1-10 keV) for the nucleus of LX≈ 6.5× 1043 ergs s-1 for H0=50 km s-1 Mpc-1. The X-ray properties therefore firmly establishes the northern nucleus of Mrk 273 as a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus. There are also bright soft X-ray clumps and diffuse soft X-ray emissions surrounding the central hard X-ray nucleus within the 10'' of the nuclear region. Its spectrum can be fitted by a MEKAL thermal model with temperature of about 0.8 keV and high metallicity (Z~1.5Zsolar) plus emission lines from α elements and ions. We find that a soft X-ray clump, about 4'' (projected separation of about 4 kpc) southwest of the northern hard X-ray nucleus, is coincident with a nebula with strong OIII emissions. Further outside the central region, the Chandra observations reveal a very extended hot halo in Mrk 273. The X-ray halo encompasses the entire optical tidal tail and plume, with a projected size of about 54 kpc× 34 kpc. The total soft X-ray luminosity (0.1-2.4 keV) of the hot halo is LX≈ 1.9× 1041 ergs s-1, in the range of the soft X-ray luminosity of bright elliptical galaxies. The temperature of the hot gas is about 0.62 keV with a low metallicity (Z ~0.1 Zsolar). We discuss the nature of AGN and the implications of our results on the origin of X-ray halos in elliptical galaxies.

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