SUZAKU VIEW OF X-RAY SPECTRAL VARIABILITY OF THE RADIO GALAXY CENTAURUS A: PARTIAL COVERING ABSORBER, REFLECTOR, AND POSSIBLE JET COMPONENT

Journal Article · Tue Dec 20 04:00:00 EST 2011 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/743/2/124· OSTI ID:22004479

Fukazawa, Yasushi; Hiragi, Kazuyoshi; Yamazaki, Syoko; Mizuno, Motohiro; Hayashi, Kazuma; Hayashi, Katsuhiro; Nishino, Sho; Takahashi, Hiromitsu; Ohno, Masanori ^[1]

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1. Department of Physical Science, Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526 (Japan)

We observed a nearby radio galaxy, Centaurus A (Cen A), three times with Suzaku in 2009 and measured the wide-band X-ray spectral variability more accurately than previous measurements. The Cen A was in an active phase in 2009, and the flux became higher by a factor of 1.5-2.0 and the spectrum became harder than that in 2005. The Fe-K line intensity increased by 20%-30% from 2005 to 2009. The correlation of the count rate between the XIS 3-8 keV and PIN 15-40 keV band showed a complex behavior with a deviation from a linear relation. The wide-band X-ray continuum in 2-200 keV can be fitted with an absorbed power-law model plus a reflection component, or a power law with a partial covering Compton-thick absorption. The difference spectra between high and low flux periods in each observation were reproduced by a power law with a partial covering Compton-thick absorption. Such a Compton-thick partial covering absorber was observed for the first time in Cen A. The power-law photon index of the difference spectra in 2009 is almost the same as that of the time-averaged spectra in 2005, but steeper by {approx}0.2 than that of the time-averaged spectra in 2009. This suggests an additional hard power-law component with a photon index of <1.6 in 2009. This hard component could be a lower part of the inverse-Compton-scattered component from the jet, whose gamma-ray emission has recently been detected with the Fermi Large Area Telescope.

• OSTI ID: 22004479
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 743; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ABSORPTION
GAMMA RADIATION
PHOTONS
RADIO GALAXIES
TELESCOPES
X-RAY GALAXIES