Reprocessing Models and the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics Spectrum of Markarian 290

Details Reprocessing Models and the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics Spectrum of Markarian 290 Reprocessing Models and the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics Spectrum of Markarian 290

Dec 1996

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996apj...472..571t&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal v.472, p.571

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

9

Galaxies: Nuclei, Galaxies: Individual Name: Markarian 290, X-Rays: Galaxies, Radiation Mechanisms: Thermal, Radiative Transfer

Scientific paper

We present the results from a 40 ks Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics observation of the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 290. The source is found to have a complex spectral form, with emission and absorption features caused by oxygen and iron superimposed on an underlying power- law continuum with photon index ~1.9 Mrk 290 is also found to exhibit significant flux-correlated spectral variability, predominantly below 2 keV, on a timescale of ~5 x 10^4^ s. The relatively strong spectral features observed in this source make it an interesting case to use for an investigation of models for reprocessing of the X-ray continuum by ionized material. We consider ionized reprocessors based on the XSTAR photoionization code for geometries in and out of the line of sight. Models in either geometry provide a vast improvement over a simple absorbed power-law model. The warm absorber/emitter model provides a good explanation of the overall spectral shape, with a column density of N^*^_H,z_ ~ 8 x 10^21^ cm^-2^ of ionized material (ionization parameter ξ = 24) most likely within ~10^17^ cm of the central source. While the data do not allow us to unambiguously determine the origin of the spectral variability, it is consistent with a drop of ~25% in flux accompanied by a proportional drop in the ionization state of the warm absorber. The intense Kα line of equivalent width ~500 eV present in the source can be modeled as a broad Gaussian of FWHM ~0.5 keV, or by a line profile expected from the inner regions of a relativistic accretion disk inclined at ~30^deg^. In both cases, the rest-frame line energy is consistent with weakly ionized iron and cannot be explained by the warm emitter. An ionized reflector can also model the overall spectral shape, yielding ξ_ref_ ~ 80, although it has some difficulty simultaneously fitting both the iron Kα line and the soft X-ray spectral features. This model offers no simple explanation for the observed spectral variability, and the intensity of the reflected component is greater than that expected from a semi-infinite slab illuminated by an isotropic source. A hybrid model featuring reprocessing in both the warm absorber/emitter and reflector may be the most realistic scenario. In this case, the preferred fit models the soft X-ray regime (and spectral variability) with the warm absorber/emitter and the iron Kα line with a weakly ionized reflector (ξ <~ 20).

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