A SUZAKU OBSERVATION OF MCG -2-58-22: CONSTRAINING THE GEOMETRY OF THE CIRCUMNUCLEAR MATERIAL

Journal Article · Sun May 01 04:00:00 EDT 2011 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/732/1/36· OSTI ID:21574635

Rivers, Elizabeth; Markowitz, Alex; Rothschild, Richard ^[1]

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1. Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093-0424 (United States)

We have analyzed a long-look Suzaku observation of the active galactic nucleus MCG -2-58-22, a type 1.5 Seyfert with very little X-ray absorption in the line of sight and prominent features arising from reflection off circumnuclear material: the Fe line and Compton reflection hump. We place tight constraints on the power-law photon index ({Gamma} = 1.80 {+-} 0.02), the Compton reflection strength (R = 0.69 {+-} 0.05), and the Fe K emission line energy centroid and width (E = 6.40 {+-} 0.02 keV, v{sub FWHM} < 7100 km s{sup -1}). We find no significant evidence either for emission from strongly ionized Fe, or for a strong, relativistically broadened Fe line, indicating that perhaps there is no radiatively efficient accretion disk very close in to the central black hole. In addition, we test a new self-consistent physical model from Murphy and Yaqoob, the 'MYTORUS' model, consisting of a donut-shaped torus of material surrounding the central illuminating source and producing both the Compton hump and the Fe K line emission. From the application of this model we find that the observed spectrum is consistent with a Compton-thick torus of material (column density N{sub H} = 3.6{sup +1.3}{sub -0.8} x 10{sup 24} cm{sup -2}) lying outside of the line of sight to the nucleus, leaving it bare of X-ray absorption in excess of the Galactic column. We calculate that this material is sufficient to produce all of the Fe line flux without the need for any flux contribution from additional Compton-thin circumnuclear material.

• OSTI ID: 21574635
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 732; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTS
EMISSION
GALAXIES
GALAXY NUCLEI
IONIZING RADIATIONS
IRON
METALS
RADIATIONS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
X RADIATION