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Title: THE EFFECT OF UV/SOFT X-RAY EXCESS EMISSION ON THE WARM ABSORBER PROPERTIES OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI—A CASE STUDY OF IRAS 13349+2438

Abstract

The ultraviolet (UV) to X-ray continuum of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is important for maintaining the ionization and thermal balance of the warm absorbers (WAs). However, the spectra in the sensitive energy range ∼13.6-300 eV are unobservable due to Galactic extinction. Moreover, many AGNs show soft X-ray excess emission of varying strength in the 0.1-2 keV band, whose origin is still highly debated. This soft excess connects to the UV bump in the unobserved region of 13.6-300 eV. Here, we investigate the effect of the assumed physical model for the soft excess on the flux of the unobserved part of the spectrum and its effect on the WA properties. We perform a case study using XMM-Newton observations of the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy IRAS 13349+2438 with WA features. Two different physical models for the soft excess (blurred Compton reflection from an ionized disk and optically thick thermal Comptonization of the disk photons) predict different fluxes in the unobserved energy range. However, the current X-ray data quality does not allow us to distinguish between them using derived WA parameters. This, in turn, implies that it is difficult to determine the origin of the soft excess emission using the WA features.

Authors:
; ;  [1];  [2]
  1. Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (India)
  2. Department of Astronomy, Harvard University (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22270696
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 777; Journal Issue: 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; ABSORPTION; ASTRONOMY; ASTROPHYSICS; COSMIC PHOTONS; EV RANGE; GALAXY NUCLEI; KEV RANGE; QUASARS; REFLECTION; SEYFERT GALAXIES; SOFT X RADIATION; ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION

Citation Formats

Laha, Sibasish, Dewangan, Gulab C., Kembhavi, Ajit K., and Chakravorty, Susmita. THE EFFECT OF UV/SOFT X-RAY EXCESS EMISSION ON THE WARM ABSORBER PROPERTIES OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI—A CASE STUDY OF IRAS 13349+2438. United States: N. p., 2013. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/777/1/2.
Laha, Sibasish, Dewangan, Gulab C., Kembhavi, Ajit K., & Chakravorty, Susmita. THE EFFECT OF UV/SOFT X-RAY EXCESS EMISSION ON THE WARM ABSORBER PROPERTIES OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI—A CASE STUDY OF IRAS 13349+2438. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/777/1/2
Laha, Sibasish, Dewangan, Gulab C., Kembhavi, Ajit K., and Chakravorty, Susmita. 2013. "THE EFFECT OF UV/SOFT X-RAY EXCESS EMISSION ON THE WARM ABSORBER PROPERTIES OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI—A CASE STUDY OF IRAS 13349+2438". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/777/1/2.
@article{osti_22270696,
title = {THE EFFECT OF UV/SOFT X-RAY EXCESS EMISSION ON THE WARM ABSORBER PROPERTIES OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI—A CASE STUDY OF IRAS 13349+2438},
author = {Laha, Sibasish and Dewangan, Gulab C. and Kembhavi, Ajit K. and Chakravorty, Susmita},
abstractNote = {The ultraviolet (UV) to X-ray continuum of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is important for maintaining the ionization and thermal balance of the warm absorbers (WAs). However, the spectra in the sensitive energy range ∼13.6-300 eV are unobservable due to Galactic extinction. Moreover, many AGNs show soft X-ray excess emission of varying strength in the 0.1-2 keV band, whose origin is still highly debated. This soft excess connects to the UV bump in the unobserved region of 13.6-300 eV. Here, we investigate the effect of the assumed physical model for the soft excess on the flux of the unobserved part of the spectrum and its effect on the WA properties. We perform a case study using XMM-Newton observations of the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy IRAS 13349+2438 with WA features. Two different physical models for the soft excess (blurred Compton reflection from an ionized disk and optically thick thermal Comptonization of the disk photons) predict different fluxes in the unobserved energy range. However, the current X-ray data quality does not allow us to distinguish between them using derived WA parameters. This, in turn, implies that it is difficult to determine the origin of the soft excess emission using the WA features.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/777/1/2},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22270696}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal},
issn = {0004-637X},
number = 1,
volume = 777,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013},
month = {Fri Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013}
}