A DEEP X-RAY VIEW OF THE BARE AGN ARK 120. I. REVEALING THE SOFT X-RAY LINE EMISSION
- Center for Space Science and Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 (United States)
- Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, UMR 7550, 11 rue de l’Université, F-67000 Strasbourg (France)
- Astrophysics Group, School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG (United Kingdom)
- Dept of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH (United Kingdom)
The Seyfert 1 galaxy Ark 120 is a prototype example of the so-called class of bare nucleus active galactic nuclei (AGNs), whereby there is no known evidence for the presence of ionized gas along the direct line of sight. Here deep (>400 ks exposure), high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of Ark 120 is presented from XMM-Newton observations that were carried out in 2014 March, together with simultaneous Chandra /High Energy Transmission Grating exposures. The high-resolution spectra confirmed the lack of intrinsic absorbing gas associated with Ark 120, with the only X-ray absorption present originating from the interstellar medium (ISM) of our own Galaxy, with a possible slight enhancement of the oxygen abundance required with respect to the expected ISM values in the solar neighborhood. However, the presence of several soft X-ray emission lines are revealed for the first time in the XMM-Newton RGS spectrum, associated with the AGN and arising from the He- and H-like ions of N, O, Ne, and Mg. The He-like line profiles of N, O, and Ne appear velocity broadened, with typical FWHMs of ∼5000 km s{sup −1}, whereas the H-like profiles are unresolved. From the clean measurement of the He-like triplets, we deduce that the broad lines arise from a gas of density n {sub e} ∼ 10{sup 11} cm{sup −3}, while the photoionization calculations infer that the emitting gas covers at least 10% of 4 π steradian. Thus the broad soft X-ray profiles appear coincident with an X-ray component of the optical–UV broad-line region on sub-parsec scales, whereas the narrow profiles originate on larger parsec scales, perhaps coincident with the AGN narrow-line region. The observations show that Ark 120 is not intrinsically bare and substantial X-ray-emitting gas exists out of our direct line of sight toward this AGN.
- OSTI ID:
- 22667441
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 828, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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