The detection of Broad Iron K and L line emission in the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy 1H0707-495 using XMM-Newton

Details The detection of Broad Iron K and L line emission in the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy 1H0707-495 using XMM-Newton The detection of Broad Iron K and L line emission in the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy 1H0707-495 using XMM-Newton

2009-05-27

arxiv.org/abs/0905.4383v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

To appear in Nature May 28 2009, 12 pages with 11 figures

Scientific paper

Since the discovery of the first broad iron-K line in 1995 from the Seyfert Galaxy MCG--6-30-15, broad iron-K lines have been found in several other Seyfert galaxies, from accreting stellar mass black holes and even from accreting neutron stars. The iron-K line is prominent in the reflection spectrum created by the hard X-ray continuum irradiating dense accreting matter. Relativistic distortion of the line makes it sensitive to the strong gravity and spin of the black hole. The accompanying iron-L line emission should be detectable when the iron abundance is high. Here we report the first discovery of both iron-K and L emission, using XMM-Newton observations of the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy 1H0707-495. The bright Fe-L emission has enabled us, for the first time, to detect a reverberation lag of 30 s between the direct X-ray continuum and its reflection from matter falling into the hole. The observed reverberation timescale is comparable to the light-crossing time of the innermost radii around a supermassive black hole. The combination of spectral and timing data on 1H0707-495 provides strong evidence that we are witnessing emission from matter within a gravitational radius, or a fraction of a light-minute, from the event horizon of a rapidly-spinning, massive black hole.

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