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Delving into the depths of NGC 3783 with XRISM

Journal Article · · Astronomy & Astrophysics
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [10];  [11];  [12];  [13];  [14];  [15];  [16];  [11];  [17];  [12]
  1. Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD (United States)
  2. Space Research Organisation Netherlands (SRON), Leiden (Netherlands); Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)
  3. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  4. Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)
  5. Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa (Israel); Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
  6. European Space Agency (ESA), Madrid (Spain). European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC)
  7. James Madison Univ., Harrisonburg, VA (United States)
  8. European Space Agency (ESA), Noordwijk (Netherlands). European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC)
  9. Univ. of Tokyo (Japan)
  10. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)
  11. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
  12. Leiden Univ. (Netherlands); Space Research Organisation Netherlands (SRON), Leiden (Netherlands)
  13. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
  14. Univ. of Teacher Education Fukuoka (Japan)
  15. Tohoku Univ., Sendai (Japan)
  16. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA), Sagamihara, Kanagawa (Japan)
  17. Kagoshima Univ. (Japan)
+ Show Author Affiliations
We present our study of the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) observation of the Seyfert-1 galaxy NGC 3783. XRISM’s Resolve microcalorimeter has enabled, for the first time, a detailed characterization of the highly ionized outflows in this active galactic nucleus. Our analysis constrains their outflow and turbulent velocities, along with their ionization parameter (ξ) and column density (NH). The high-resolution Resolve spectrum reveals a distinct series of Fe absorption lines between 6.4 and 7.8 keV, ranging from Fe XVIII to Fe XXVI. At lower energies (1.8−3.3 keV), absorption features from Si, S, and Ar are also detected. Our spectroscopy and photoionization modeling of the time-averaged Resolve spectrum uncovers six outflow components, five of which exhibit relatively narrow absorption lines with outflow velocities ranging from 560 to 1170 km s−1. In addition, a broad absorption feature is detected, which is consistent with Fe XXVI outflowing at 14 300 km s−1 (0.05 c). The kinetic luminosity of this component is 0.8−3% of the bolometric luminosity. Our analysis of the Resolve spectrum shows that more highly ionized absorption lines are intrinsically broader than those of lower-ionization species, indicating that the turbulent velocity of the six outflow components (ranging from 0 to 3500 km s−1) increases with ξ. Furthermore, we find that the column density (NH) of the outflows generally declines with the ionization parameter up to log ξ = 3.2 but rises beyond this point, suggesting a complex ionization structure. The absorption profile of the Fe XXV resonance line is intriguingly similar to UV absorption lines (Lyα and C IV) observed by the Hubble Space Telescope, from which we infer that the outflows are clumpy in nature. Our XRISM/Resolve results from lower- and higher-ionization regimes support a “hybrid wind” scenario in which the observed outflows have multiple origins and driving mechanisms. We explore various interpretations of our findings within active galactic nucleus wind models.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
2587424
Report Number(s):
LLNL--JRNL-2007049
Journal Information:
Astronomy & Astrophysics, Journal Name: Astronomy & Astrophysics Vol. 699; ISSN 1432-0746; ISSN 0004-6361
Publisher:
EDP SciencesCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

X-rays: galaxies
X-rays: individuals: NGC 3783
galaxies: Seyfert
galaxies: active
techniques: spectroscopic