The broadband spectral variability of MCG–6-30-15 observed by nuSTAR and XMM-Newton

Journal Article · Tue May 20 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/787/1/83· OSTI ID:22356814

Marinucci, A.; Matt, G. ^[1]; Miniutti, G. ^[2]; Guainazzi, M. ^[3]; Parker, M. L.; Fabian, A. C.; Kara, E. ^[4]; Brenneman, L.; Elvis, M.; Risaliti, G. ^[5]; Arevalo, P. ^[6]; Ballantyne, D. R. ^[7]; Boggs, S. E. ^[8]; Cappi, M. ^[9]; Christensen, F. E. ^[10]; Craig, W. W. ^[11]; Hailey, C. J. ^[12]; Harrison, F. A. ^[13]; Reynolds, C. S. ^[14]; Stern, D. K. ^[15] ; others, and

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1. Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, via della Vasca Navale 84, I-00146 Roma (Italy)
2. Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Dep. de Astrofisica, ESAC, P.O. Box 78, Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid (Spain)
3. European Space Astronomy Center of ESA, Apartado 50727, E-28080 Madrid (Spain)
4. Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 OHA (United Kingdom)
5. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA (United States)
6. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Instituto de Astrofísica, Casilla 306, Santiago 22 (Chile)
7. Center for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332 (United States)
8. Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, 7 Gauss Way, Berkeley, CA 94720-7450 (United States)
9. INAF, IASF Bologna, Via P Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna (Italy)
10. Danish Technical University, DK-2800 Lyngby (Denmark)
11. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA (United States)
12. Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States)
13. Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
14. Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421 (United States)
15. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)

MCG–6-30-15, at a distance of 37 Mpc (z = 0.008), is the archetypical Seyfert 1 galaxy showing very broad Fe Kα emission. We present results from a joint NuSTAR and XMM-Newton observational campaign that, for the first time, allows a sensitive, time-resolved spectral analysis from 0.35 keV up to 80 keV. The strong variability of the source is best explained in terms of intrinsic X-ray flux variations and in the context of the light-bending model: the primary, variable emission is reprocessed by the accretion disk, which produces secondary, less variable, reflected emission. The broad Fe Kα profile is, as usual for this source, well explained by relativistic effects occurring in the innermost regions of the accretion disk around a rapidly rotating black hole. We also discuss the alternative model in which the broadening of the Fe Kα is due to the complex nature of the circumnuclear absorbing structure. Even if this model cannot be ruled out, it is disfavored on statistical grounds. We also detected an occultation event likely caused by broad-line region clouds crossing the line of sight.

• OSTI ID: 22356814
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 787, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ACCRETION DISKS
BLACK HOLES
ECLIPSE
ELECTRIC GROUNDS
EMISSION
GALAXIES
IRON
KEV RANGE
RELATIVISTIC RANGE
TIME RESOLUTION
VISIBLE RADIATION
X RADIATION