NuSTAR reveals an intrinsically X-ray weak broad absorption line quasar in the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Markarian 231

Teng, Stacy H.; Rigby, J. R.; Brandt, W. N.; Luo, B.; Harrison, F. A.; Grefenstette, B. W.; Madsen, K. K.; Alexander, D. M.; Gandhi, P.; Bauer, F. E.; Boggs, S. E.; Craig, W. W.; Christensen, F. E.; Comastri, A.; Fabian, A. C.; Farrah, D.; Fiore, F.; Hailey, C. J.; Hickox, R. C.; others, and

doi:10.1088/0004-637X/785/1/19

Title: NuSTAR reveals an intrinsically X-ray weak broad absorption line quasar in the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Markarian 231

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Abstract

We present high-energy (3-30 keV) NuSTAR observations of the nearest quasar, the ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) Markarian 231 (Mrk 231), supplemented with new and simultaneous low-energy (0.5-8 keV) data from Chandra. The source was detected, though at much fainter levels than previously reported, likely due to contamination in the large apertures of previous non-focusing hard X-ray telescopes. The full band (0.5-30 keV) X-ray spectrum suggests the active galactic nucleus (AGN) in Mrk 231 is absorbed by a patchy and Compton-thin (N{sub H}∼1.2{sub −0.3}{sup +0.3}×10{sup 23} cm{sup –2}) column. The intrinsic X-ray luminosity (L {sub 0.5–30} {sub keV} ∼ 1.0 × 10{sup 43} erg s{sup –1}) is extremely weak relative to the bolometric luminosity where the 2-10 keV to bolometric luminosity ratio is ∼0.03% compared to the typical values of 2%-15%. Additionally, Mrk 231 has a low X-ray-to-optical power law slope (α{sub OX} ∼ –1.7). It is a local example of a low-ionization broad absorption line quasar that is intrinsically X-ray weak. The weak ionizing continuum may explain the lack of mid-infrared [O IV], [Ne V], and [Ne VI] fine-structure emission lines which are present in sources with otherwise similar AGN properties. We argue that the intrinsic X-ray weakness may bemore »« less

Authors:

Teng, Stacy H.; Rigby, J. R. ^[1]; Brandt, W. N.; Luo, B. ^[2]; Harrison, F. A.; Grefenstette, B. W.; Madsen, K. K. ^[3]; Alexander, D. M.; Gandhi, P. ^[4]; Bauer, F. E. ^[5]; Boggs, S. E.; Craig, W. W. ^[6]; Christensen, F. E. ^[7]; Comastri, A. ^[8]; Fabian, A. C. ^[9]; Farrah, D. ^[10]; Fiore, F. ^[11]; Hailey, C. J. ^[12]; Hickox, R. C. ^[13]; others, and

Observational Cosmology Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Lab, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)
Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom)
Departamento de Astronomía y Astrofísica, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 306, Santiago 22 (Chile)
Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)
DTU Space, National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Elektrovej 327, DK-2800 Lyngby (Denmark)
INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, Via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna (Italy)
Institute of Astronomy, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA (United Kingdom)
Department of Physics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061 (United States)
Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, via Frascati 33, I-00040 Monteporzio Catone (Italy)
Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States)
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, 6127 Wilder Laboratory, Hanover, NH 03755 (United States)

Publication Date:: Thu Apr 10 00:00:00 EDT 2014

OSTI Identifier:: 22357188

Resource Type:: Journal Article

Journal Name:: Astrophysical Journal

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 785; Journal Issue: 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0004-637X

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; ABSORPTION; APERTURES; BOLOMETERS; COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS; EMISSION; FINE STRUCTURE; HARD X RADIATION; KEV RANGE; LUMINOSITY; MARKARIAN GALAXIES; QUASARS; X-RAY GALAXIES; X-RAY SPECTRA

Citation Formats


                    Teng, Stacy H., Rigby, J. R., Brandt, W. N., Luo, B., Harrison, F. A., Grefenstette, B. W., Madsen, K. K., Alexander, D. M., Gandhi, P., Bauer, F. E., Boggs, S. E., Craig, W. W., Christensen, F. E., Comastri, A., Fabian, A. C., Farrah, D., Fiore, F., Hailey, C. J., Hickox, R. C., Ptak, A. F., E-mail: stacy.h.teng@nasa.gov, and others, and. NuSTAR reveals an intrinsically X-ray weak broad absorption line quasar in the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Markarian 231.  United States: N. p., 2014. 
        Web.  doi:10.1088/0004-637X/785/1/19.

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                    Teng, Stacy H., Rigby, J. R., Brandt, W. N., Luo, B., Harrison, F. A., Grefenstette, B. W., Madsen, K. K., Alexander, D. M., Gandhi, P., Bauer, F. E., Boggs, S. E., Craig, W. W., Christensen, F. E., Comastri, A., Fabian, A. C., Farrah, D., Fiore, F., Hailey, C. J., Hickox, R. C., Ptak, A. F., E-mail: stacy.h.teng@nasa.gov, & others, and. NuSTAR reveals an intrinsically X-ray weak broad absorption line quasar in the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Markarian 231.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/785/1/19

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                    Teng, Stacy H., Rigby, J. R., Brandt, W. N., Luo, B., Harrison, F. A., Grefenstette, B. W., Madsen, K. K., Alexander, D. M., Gandhi, P., Bauer, F. E., Boggs, S. E., Craig, W. W., Christensen, F. E., Comastri, A., Fabian, A. C., Farrah, D., Fiore, F., Hailey, C. J., Hickox, R. C., Ptak, A. F., E-mail: stacy.h.teng@nasa.gov, and others, and. 2014.  
        "NuSTAR reveals an intrinsically X-ray weak broad absorption line quasar in the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Markarian 231".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/785/1/19.

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@article{osti_22357188,

  title        = {NuSTAR reveals an intrinsically X-ray weak broad absorption line quasar in the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Markarian 231},

  author       = {Teng, Stacy H. and Rigby, J. R. and Brandt, W. N. and Luo, B. and Harrison, F. A. and Grefenstette, B. W. and Madsen, K. K. and Alexander, D. M. and Gandhi, P. and Bauer, F. E. and Boggs, S. E. and Craig, W. W. and Christensen, F. E. and Comastri, A. and Fabian, A. C. and Farrah, D. and Fiore, F. and Hailey, C. J. and Hickox, R. C. and Ptak, A. F., E-mail: stacy.h.teng@nasa.gov and others, and},

  abstractNote = {We present high-energy (3-30 keV) NuSTAR observations of the nearest quasar, the ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) Markarian 231 (Mrk 231), supplemented with new and simultaneous low-energy (0.5-8 keV) data from Chandra. The source was detected, though at much fainter levels than previously reported, likely due to contamination in the large apertures of previous non-focusing hard X-ray telescopes. The full band (0.5-30 keV) X-ray spectrum suggests the active galactic nucleus (AGN) in Mrk 231 is absorbed by a patchy and Compton-thin (N{sub H}∼1.2{sub −0.3}{sup +0.3}×10{sup 23} cm{sup –2}) column. The intrinsic X-ray luminosity (L {sub 0.5–30} {sub keV} ∼ 1.0 × 10{sup 43} erg s{sup –1}) is extremely weak relative to the bolometric luminosity where the 2-10 keV to bolometric luminosity ratio is ∼0.03% compared to the typical values of 2%-15%. Additionally, Mrk 231 has a low X-ray-to-optical power law slope (α{sub OX} ∼ –1.7). It is a local example of a low-ionization broad absorption line quasar that is intrinsically X-ray weak. The weak ionizing continuum may explain the lack of mid-infrared [O IV], [Ne V], and [Ne VI] fine-structure emission lines which are present in sources with otherwise similar AGN properties. We argue that the intrinsic X-ray weakness may be a result of the super-Eddington accretion occurring in the nucleus of this ULIRG, and may also be naturally related to the powerful wind event seen in Mrk 231, a merger remnant escaping from its dusty cocoon.},

  doi          = {10.1088/0004-637X/785/1/19},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22357188},
  journal      = {Astrophysical Journal},

  issn         = {0004-637X},

  number       = 1,

  volume       = 785,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Thu Apr 10 00:00:00 EDT 2014},

  month        = {Thu Apr 10 00:00:00 EDT 2014}

}

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