Spectral Analysis of the Accretion Flow in NGC 1052 with Suzaku
L. W. Brenneman, K. A. Weaver, M. Kadler, J. Tueller, A. Marscher, E. Ros, A. Zensus, Y. Y. Kovalev, M. Aller, H. Aller, J. Irwin, J. Kerp, S. Kaufmann
备注:
33 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
We present an analysis of the 101 ks, 2007 Suzaku spectrum of the LINER galaxy NGC 1052. The 0.5-10 keV continuum is well-modeled by a power-law modified by Galactic and intrinsic absorption, and it exhibits a soft, thermal emission component below 1 keV. Both a narrow core and a broader component of Fe K emission centered at 6.4 keV are robustly detected. While the narrow line is consistent with an origin in material distant from the black hole, the broad line is best fit empirically by a model that describes fluorescent emission from the inner accretion disk around a rapidly rotating black hole. We find no evidence in this observation for Comptonized reflection of the hard X-ray source by the disk above 10 keV, however, which casts doubt on the hypothesis that the broad iron line originates in the inner regions of a standard accretion disk. We explore other possible scenarios for producing this spectral feature and conclude that the high equivalent width (EW ~ 185 keV) and full-width-half-maximum velocity of the broad iron line (v ~ 0.37c) necessitate an origin within d ~ 8 gravitational radii of the hard X-ray source. Based on the confirmed presence of a strong radio jet in this galaxy nucleus, the broad iron line may be produced in dense plasma near the base of the jet, implying that emission mechanisms in the centralmost portions of active galactic nuclei are more complex than previously thought.
NGC 1275 is a gamma-ray-emitting radio galaxy at the center of the Perseus cluster. Its multi-wavelength spectrum is similar to that of blazers, and thus a jet-origin of gamma-ray emissions is believed. In the optical and X-ray region, NGC 1275 also shows a bright core, but their origin has not been understood, since a disk emission is not ruled out. In fact, NGC 1275 exhibits optical broad emission lines and a X-ray Fe-K line, which are typical for Seyfert galaxies. In our precious studies of NGC 1275 with Suzaku/XIS, no X-ray time variability was found from 2006 to 2011, regardless of modera…
An enigmatic group of objects, unabsorbed Seyfert 2s may have intrinsically weak broad line regions, obscuration in the line of sight to the BLR but not to the X-ray corona, or so much obscuration that the X-ray continuum is completely suppressed and the observed spectrum is actually scattered into the line of sight from nearby material. NGC 3660 has been shown to have weak broad optical/near infrared lines, no obscuration in the soft X-ray band, and no indication of "changing look" behavior. The only previous hard X-ray detection of this source by Beppo-SAX seemed to indicate that the source …
We present spectral analysis of two Suzaku observations of the Seyfert 2 galaxy, NGC 2110. This source has been known to show complex, variable absorption which we study in depth by analyzing these two observations set seven years apart and by comparing to previously analyzed observations with the XMM-Newton and Chandra observatories. We find that there is a relatively stable, full-covering absorber with a column density of ~3$\times 10 ^{22}$ cm$^{-2}$, with an additional patchy absorber that is likely variable in both column density and covering fraction over timescales of years, consistent …
We present an analysis of the Suzaku observations of the prototype wind-blown bubble NGC 6888 which is based both on use of standard spectral models and on a direct comparison of theoretical models with observations. The X-ray spectra of NGC 6888 are soft and most of the X-rays are in the (0.3 - 1.5 keV) energy range. But, hard X-rays (1.5 - 4.0 keV) are also detected (~10% of the observed flux). The corresponding spectral fits require a relatively cool plasma with kT < 0.5 keV but much hotter plasma with temperature kT > 2.0 keV is needed to match the observed hard X-ray emission. We find no …
We present the results of a deep 300 ks Chandra HETG observation of the highly variable narrow-line Seyfert Type 1 galaxy NGC 4051. The HETG spectrum reveals 28 significant soft X-ray ionised lines in either emission or absorption; primarily originating from H-like and He-like K-shell transitions of O, Ne, Mg and Si (including higher order lines and strong forbidden emission lines from O VII and Ne IX) plus high ionisation L-shell transitions from Fe XVII to Fe XXII and lower ionisation inner-shell lines (e.g. O VI). Modelling the data with XSTAR requires four distinct ionisation zones for the…
We present results from an 87-ks Suzaku observation of the canonical low-excitation radio galaxy (LERG) NGC 6251. We have previously suggested that LERGs violate conventional AGN unification schemes: they may lack an obscuring torus and are likely to accrete in a radiatively inefficient manner, with almost all of the energy released by the accretion process being channeled into powerful jets. We model the 0.5-20 keV Suzaku spectrum with a single power law of photon index $Γ=1.82^{+0.04}_{-0.05}$, together with two collisionally ionized plasma models whose parameters are consistent with the kno…
We present the broadband (0.5-100 keV) spectra of three heavily obscured Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs), NGC 1106, UGC 03752, and NGC 2788A, observed with Suzaku and Swift/Burst Alert Telescope (BAT). The targets are selected from the Swift/BAT 70-month catalog on the basis of high hardness ratio between above and below 10 keV, and their X-ray spectra are reported here for the first time. We apply three models, a conventional model utilizing an analytic reflection code and two Monte-Carlo based torus models with a doughnut-like geometry (MYTorus) and with a nearly spherical geometry (Ikeda toru…
We present the 0.5 - 50 keV Suzaku broad-band X-ray spectral study of the Compton-thick AGN in NGC 5135. The Suzaku observation provides the first detection of NGC 5135 above 10 keV that allowed us, for the first time, to estimate the absorbing column density, the intrinsic X-ray luminosity, the strength of the reflection component and the viewing angle of the torus for this AGN. The 0.5 - 10 keV spectrum of NGC 5135 is characterized by the standard components for a Compton-thick source: a scattered continuum, a prominent Fe Kα emission line (EW ~ 2.1 keV) and a soft excess. At higher energies…
We present X-ray timing and spectral analyses of simultaneous 150 ks Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and Suzaku X-ray observations of the Seyfert 1.5 galaxy NGC 4151. We disentangle the continuum emission, absorption, and reflection properties of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) by applying inner accretion disk reflection and absorption-dominated models. With a time-averaged spectral analysis, we find strong evidence for relativistic reflection from the inner accretion disk. We find that relativistic emission arises from a highly ionized inner accretion disk with a steep emissi…
From the spectral analysis of long Suzaku observations of five radio-loud AGNs we have been able to discover the presence of ultra-fast outflows with velocities ~0.1c in three of them, namely 3C 111, 3C 120 and 3C 390.3. They are consistent with being accretion disk winds/outflows. We also performed a follow-up on 3C 111 to monitor its outflow on ~7days time-scales and detected an anti-correlated variability of a possible relativistic emission line with respect to blue-shifted Fe K features, following a flux increase. This provides the first direct evidence for an accretion disk-wind connectio…
We report the serendipitous discovery of a transient X-ray source, Suzaku J1305$-$4930, $\sim$3 kpc southwest of the nucleus of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 4945. Among the seven Suzaku observations of NGC 4945 from 2005 to 2011, Suzaku J1305$-$4930 was detected four times in July and August in 2010. The X-ray spectra are better approximated with a multi-color disk model than a power-law model. At the first detection on 2010 July 4--5, its X-ray luminosity was $(8.9^{+0.2}_{-0.4}) \times 10^{38}$ erg s$^{-1}$ and the temperature at the inner-disk radius ($kT_{\rm in}$) was $1.12\pm0.04$ keV. At th…
We present a broad-band analysis of deep Suzaku observations of nearby Seyfert 1 AGN: Fairall 9, MCG--6-30-15, NGC 3516, NGC 3783 and NGC 4051. The use of deep observations (exposures >200 ks) with high S/N allows the complex spectra of these objects to be examined in full, taking into account features such as the soft excess, reflection continuum and complex absorption components. After a self-consistent modelling of the broad-band data (0.6-100.0 keV, also making use of BAT data from Swift), the subtle curvature which may be introduced as a consequence of warm absorbers has a measured affect…
We present jointly analyzed data from three deep Suzaku observations of NGC 1365. These high signal-to-noise spectra enable us to examine the nature of this variable, obscured AGN in unprecedented detail on timescales ranging from hours to years. We find that, in addition to the power-law continuum and absorption from ionized gas seen in most AGN, inner disk reflection and variable absorption from neutral gas within the Broad Emission Line Region are both necessary components in all three observations. We confirm the clumpy nature of the cold absorbing gas, though we note that occultations of …
We report the results of a Suzaku X-ray imaging study of NGC6251, a nearby giant radio galaxy with intermediate FR I/II radio properties. Our pointing direction was centered on the gamma -ray emission peak recently discovered with Fermi-LAT around the position of the north-west radio lobe 15 arcmin offset from the nucleus. After subtracting two "off-source" pointings adjacent to the radio lobe, and removing possible contaminants in the XIS field of view, we found significant residual X-ray emission most likely diffuse in nature. The spectrum of the excess X-ray emission is well fit by a power …
We present results obtained from a Suzaku observation of the accretion powered X-ray pulsar GX 1+4. Broad-band continuum spectrum of the pulsar was found to be better described by a simple model consisting of a blackbody component and an exponential cutoff power-law than the previously used compTT continuum model. Though the pulse profile had a sharp dip in soft X-rays ($<$10 keV), phase-resolved spectroscopy confirmed that the dimming was not due to increase in photoelectric absorption. Phase-sliced spectral analysis showed the presence of a significant spectral modulation beyond 10 keV excep…
We present an analysis of the spectral shape and pulse profile of the accretion-powered pulsar 4U 1626-67 observed with Suzaku and NuSTAR during a spin-up state. The pulsar, which experienced a torque reversal to spin-up in 2008, has a spin period of 7.7 s. Comparing the phase-averaged spectra obtained with Suzaku in 2010 and with NuSTAR in 2015, we find that the spectral shape changed between the two observations: the 3-10 keV flux increased by 5% while the 30-60 keV flux decreased significantly by 35%. Phase-averaged and phase-resolved spectral analysis shows that the continuum spectrum obse…
2S 0921$-$630 is an eclipsing low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) with an orbital period of $\sim$ 9 days. Past X-ray observations have revealed that 2S 0921$-$630 has an extended accretion disk corona (ADC), from which most of the X-rays from the system are emitted. We report the result of our Suzaku archival data analysis of 2S 0921$-$630. The average X-ray spectrum is reproduced with a blackbody emission ($kT_{\rm bb} \sim 0.3$ keV) Comptonized by optically-thick gas (``Compton cloud''; optical depth $τ\sim 21$) with a temperature of $\sim 2$ keV, combined with thirteen emission lines. We find tha…
NGC 3147 is so far the most convincing case of a "true" Seyfert 2 galaxy, i.e. a source genuinely lacking the Broad Line Regions. We obtained a Suzaku observation with the double aim to study in more detail the iron line complex, and to check the Compton-thick hypothesis for the lack of observed optical broad lines. The Suzaku XIS and HXD/PIN spectra of the source were analysed in detail. The line complex is composed of at least two unresolved lines, one at about 6.45 keV and the other one at about 7 keV, most likely identified with Fe XVII/XIX, the former, and Fe XXVI, the latter. The high-io…
We present Suzaku observations of the Galactic black hole candidate Swift J1753.5-0127 in the low-hard state. The broadband coverage of Suzaku enables us to detect the source over the energy range 0.6 -- 250 keV. The broadband spectrum (2 -- 250 keV) is found to be consistent with a simple power-law (gamma \sim 1.63). In agreement with previous observations of this system, a significant excess of soft X-ray flux is detected consistent with the presence of a cool accretion disc. Estimates of the disc inner radius infer a value consistent with the ISCO (R_{in} \lesssim 6 R_g, for certain values …
We report results from a 2007 Suzaku observation of the Seyfert 1 AGN NGC 4593. The narrow Fe K alpha emission line has a FWHM width ~4000 km/s, indicating emission from >~ 5000 Rg. There is no evidence for a relativistically broadened Fe K line, consistent with the presence of a radiatively efficient outer disk which is truncated or transitions to an interior radiatively inefficient flow. The Suzaku observation caught the source in a low-flux state; compared to a 2002 XMM observation, the hard X-ray flux decreased by 3.6, while the Fe K alpha line intensity and width each roughly halved. Two …
The X-ray spectra of accreting compact objects often exhibit discrete emission features associated with fluorescent emission in the accretion disk, the strongest of which is the Fe Kalpha fluorescence line at 6.4--6.97keV. These reflection features are amongst the best tools in the study of the inner region of accretion flow around a compact object. Here we report on three Suzaku observations of the neutron star X-ray binary 4U1705-44 where a broad, skewed Fe Kalpha emission line is clearly visible above the continuum. By using a relativistically-blurred reflection model we find that in 4U1705…
From 2013 April to 2014 April, we performed an X-ray and optical simultaneous monitoring of the type 1.5 Seyfert galaxy NGC 3516. It employed Suzaku, and 5 Japanese ground-based telescopes, the Pirka, Kiso Schmidt, Nayuta, MITSuME, and the Kanata telescopes. The Suzaku observations were conducted seven times with various intervals ranging from days, weeks, to months, with an exposure of $\sim50$ ksec each. The optical $B$-band observations not only covered those of Suzaku almost simultaneously, but also followed the source as frequently as possible. As a result, NGC 3516 was found in its faint…
We present 7 sequential weekly observations of NGC 5548 conducted in 2007 with the \textit{Suzaku} X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS) in the 0.2-12 keV band and Hard X-ray Detector (HXD) in 10-600 keV band. The iron K$α$ line is well detected in all seven observations and K$β$ line is also detected in four observations. In this paper, we investigate the origin of the Fe K lines using both the width of the line and the reverberation mapping method. With the co-added XIS and HXD spectra, we identify Fe K$α$ and K$β$ line at 6.396$_{-0.007}^{+0.009}$ keV and 7.08$_{-0.05}^{+0.05}$ keV, respectively…
We present detailed broadband timing and spectral analysis of the persistent, low luminosity and slowly spinning pulsar X Persei using a deep Suzaku observation of the source. The spectrum is unusually hard with a cyclotron resonance scattering feature (CRSF), the presence of which has been debated. By comparing the spectral models relevant for accretion powered pulsars, we have obtained the best constraint on the broadband spectral model of X Persei obtained so far. The CRSF is not confirmed in the average spectrum. We have also identified, the presence of different intensity levels in the so…
We investigate the X-ray spectrum of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151 using the simultaneous Suzaku/NuSTAR observation and flux-resolved INTEGRAL spectra supplemented by Suzaku and XMM observations. Our best spectral solution indicates that the narrow Fe Kalpha line is produced in Compton-thin matter at the distance of several hundred gravitational radii. In such a model, we find a weak but significant relativistic reflection from a disk truncated at about ten gravitational radii when the source is in bright X-ray states. We do not find evidence either for or against the presence of relativistic re…
We present X-ray spectral variability studies of the ultra-luminous X-ray source (ULX) M81 X--6 using {\it Suzaku} and {\it XMM-Newton} observations performed during 2001--2015. The spectra were first fitted by a standard multi-temperature disk and a thermal Comptonization component which revealed spectral variability where the primary distinction is the change in the optical depth of the Comptonizing component, similar to what has been observed for other ULXs. We also fitted the spectra with a general relativistic accretion disk emission and a power-law component and found that it can reprodu…
The dipping low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1915-05 was observed by Suzaku on 2007 November 8 for a net exposure of 39 ksec. It was detected by the XIS with a 0.8-10 keV signal rate of 9.84+\-0.01 cts/s per camera, and HXD-PIN with a 12-45 keV signal rate of 0.29+/-0.01 cts/s. After removing the periodic dips and an X-ray burst, the 0.8 - 45 keV continuum was successfully described by an optically thick disk emission with an inner-disk temperature ~ 0.7 keV and a neutron-star blackbody emission with a temperature ~ 1.3 keV, on condition that the blackbody component, or possibly the disk emission too,…
We describe the X-ray emission as observed with Suzaku from five symbiotic stars that we selected for deep Suzaku observations after their initial detection with ROSAT, ASCA and Swift. We find that the X-ray spectra of all five sources can be adequately fit with absorbed, optically thin thermal plasma models, with either single- or multi-temperature plasmas. These models are compatible with the X-ray emission originating in the boundary layer between an accretion disk and a white dwarf. The high plasma temperatures of kT$~>3$ keV for all five targets were greater than expected for colliding wi…
We present an analysis of the neutron star High Mass X-ray Binary (HMXB) 4U 1909+07 mainly based on Suzaku data. We extend the pulse period evolution, which behaves in a random-walk like manner, indicative of direct wind accretion. Studying the spectral properties of 4U 1909+07 between 0.5 to 90 keV we find that a power-law with an exponential cutoff can describe the data well, when additionally allowing for a blackbody or a partially covering absorber at low energies. We find no evidence for a cyclotron resonant scattering feature (CRSF), a feature seen in many other neutron star HMXBs source…
We used six simultaneous XMM-Newton and Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer plus five Suzaku observations to study the continuum spectrum and the iron emission line in the neutron-star low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1636-53. We modelled the spectra with two thermal components (representing the accretion disc and boundary layer), a Comptonised component (representing a hot corona), and either a Gaussian or a relativistic line component to model an iron emission line at about 6.5 keV. For the relativistic line component we used either the diskline, laor or kyrline model, the latter for three different values …
We report on a Suzaku observation of the newly discovered X-ray binary MAXI J1836-194. The source is found to be in the hard/intermediate spectral state and displays a clear and strong relativistically broadened iron emission line. We fit the spectra with a variety of phenomenological, as well as physically motivated disk reflection models, and find that the breadth and strength of the iron line is always characteristic of emission within a few gravitational radii around a black hole. This result is independent of the continuum used and strongly points toward the central object in MAXI J1836-1…
We present broad band analysis of the Be/X-ray transient 1A 1118-61 by Suzaku at the peak of its 3rd observed outburst in January 2009 and 2 weeks later when the source flux had decayed by an order of magnitude. The continuum was modeled with a \texttt{cutoffpl} model as well as a compTT model, with both cases requiring an additional black body component at lower energies. We confirm the detection of a cyclotron line at ~5 keV and discuss the possibility of a first harmonic at ~110 keV. Pulse profile comparisons show a change in the profile structure at lower energies, an indication for possib…
We present two Suzaku observations of the Galactic center microquasar 1E 1740.7-2942 separated by approximately 700 days. The source was observed on both occasions after a transition to the spectrally hard state. Significant emission from 1E 1740.7-2942 is detected out to an energy of 300 keV, with no spectral break or turnover evident in the data. We tentatively measure a lower limit to the cut-off energy of ~ 380 keV. The spectra are found to be consistent with a Comptonized corona on both occasions, where the high energy emission is consistent with a hard power-law (Γ~ 1.8) with a significa…
The bright type I Seyfert galaxy NGC 3516 was observed by {\it Suzaku} twice, in 2005 October 12--15 and 2009 October 28--November 2, for a gross time coverage of 242 and 544 ksec and a net exposure of 134 and 255 ksec, respectively. The 2--10 keV luminosity was $2.8 \times 10^{41}$ erg s$^{-1}$ in 2005, and $1.6 \times 10^{41}$ erg s$^{-1}$ in 2009. The 1.4--1.7 keV and 2--10 keV count rates both exhibited peak-to-peak variations by a factor of $\sim2$ in 2005, while $\sim 4$ in 2009. In either observation, the 15--45 keV count rate was less variable. The 2--10 keV spectrum in 2005 was signif…
We disentangle X-ray disk reflection from complex line-of-sight absorption in the nearby Seyfert NGC 4151, using a suite of Suzaku, NuSTAR, and XMM-Newton observations. Extending upon earlier published work, we pursue a physically motivated model using the latest angle-resolved version of the lamp-post geometry reflection model relxillCp_lp together with a Comptonization continuum. We use the long-look simultaneous Suzaku/NuSTAR observation to develop a baseline model wherein we model reflected emission as a combination of lamp-post components at the heights of 1.2 and 15.0 gravitational radii…
We present simultaneous Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR ) and Suzaku observations of the X-ray binary Cygnus X-1 in the hard state. This is the first time this state has been observed in Cyg X-1 with NuSTAR, which enables us to study the reflection and broad-band spectra in unprecedented detail. We confirm that the iron line cannot be fit with a combination of narrow lines and absorption features, and instead requires a relativistically blurred profile in combination with a narrow line and absorption from the companion wind. We use the reflection models of Garcia et al. (2014) to…
The type I Seyfert galaxy NGC 3227 was observed by Suzaku six times in 2008, with intervals of $\sim1$ week and net exposures of $\sim50$ ksec each. Among the six observations, the source varied by nearly an order of magnitude, being brightest in the 1st observation with a 2-10 keV luminosity of $1.2\times10^{42}$~erg~s$^{-1}$, while faintest in the 4th with $2.9\times10^{41}$~erg~s$^{-1}$. As it became fainter, the continuum in a 2-45 keV band became harder, while a narrow Fe-K$α$ emission line, detected on all occasions at 6.4 keV of the source rest frame, remained approximately constant in …
We present results from the Suzaku observation of the microquasar GRS 1915+105 performed during the 2005 October multiwavelength campaign. The data include both stable state (class χ) and limit-cycle oscillation (class θ). Correct interstellar absorption as well as effects of dust scattering are fully taken into account in the spectral analysis. The energy spectra in the 2-120 keV band in both states are all dominated by strong Comptonization of disk photons by an optically thick (τ~7-10) and low temperature (T_e ~2-3 keV) hybrid plasmas containing non-thermal electrons produced with 10-60% of…
We present the results of the Suzaku observation of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 4507. This source is one of the X-ray brightest Compton-thin Seyfert 2s and a candidate for a variable absorber. Suzaku caught NGC 4507 in a highly absorbed state characterised by a high column density (NH \sim8 x10^23 cm^-2), a strong reflected component (R\sim 1.9) and a high equivalent width Fe K alpha emission line (EW\sim 500 eV). The Fe K alpha emission line is unresolved at the resolution of the Suzaku CCDs (sigma < 30 eV or FWHM < 3000 km s^-1) and most likely originates in a distant absorber. The Fe K beta em…
The Suzaku AGN Spin Survey is designed to determine the supermassive black hole spin in six nearby active galactic nuclei (AGN) via deep Suzaku stares, thereby giving us our first glimpse of the local black hole spin distribution. Here, we present an analysis of the first target to be studied under the auspices of this Key Project, the Seyfert galaxy NGC 3783. Despite complexity in the spectrum arising from a multi-component warm absorber, we detect and study relativistic reflection from the inner accretion disk. Assuming that the X-ray reflection is from the surface of a flat disk around a Ke…
Long-exposure Suzaku X-ray observations of the active galaxy NGC 4051 from 2005 and 2008 are analysed, in an attempt to reach a self-consistent understanding of the spectral variability on long timescales and at high time resolution. Principal components analysis and a maximum likelihood method of power spectrum analysis are used. In common with other type I AGN, the spectral variability is dominated by a varying-normalisation power-law component together with a quasi-steady, hard-spectrum offset component that contains Fe K atomic features. NGC 4051 displays a strong excess over a power-law a…
The Suzaku observation of LMC X-3 gives the best data to date on the shape of the accretion disk spectrum. This is due to the combination of very low absorbing column density along this line of sight which allows the shape of the disk emisison to be constrained at low energies by the CCD's, while the tail can be simultaneously determined up to 30 keV by the high energy detectors. These data clearly demonstrate that the observed disk spectrum is broader than a simple 'sum of blackbodies', and relativistic smearing of the emission is strongly required. However, the intrinsic emission should be m…
We present a Suzaku observation of the dwarf Seyfert galaxy NGC4395 with an estimated black hole mass of ~10^5 Msun. Rapid and strong X-ray variability with an rms amplitude of ~60 per cent is observed in the 0.4-10 keV band with the XIS cameras. The shape of the light curve appears to depend on energies. The hard X-ray emission is detected up to 35 keV with the HXD-PIN detector at a similar flux level as observed with the INTEGRAL IBIS. The X-ray spectrum below 10 keV is strongly absorbed by partially ionized (xi~35) gas with a mean equivalent hydrogen column density of ~2e22 cm^-2, when a si…
We methodically model the broad-band Suzaku spectra of a small sample of six 'bare' Seyfert galaxies: Ark 120, Fairall 9, MCG-02-14-009, Mrk 335, NGC 7469 and SWIFT J2127.4+5654. The analysis of bare Seyferts allows a consistent and physical modelling of AGN due to a weak amount of any intrinsic warm absorption, removing the degeneracy between the spectral curvature due to warm absorption and the red-wing of the Fe K region. Through effective modelling of the broad-band spectrum and investigating the presence of narrow neutral or ionized emission lines and reflection from distant material, we …
We have performed a detailed pulse phase resolved spectral analysis of the cyclotron resonant scattering features (CRSF) of the two Be/X-ray pulsars A0535+26 and XTE J1946+274 and the wind accreting HMXB pulsar 4U 1907+09 using Suzaku observations. The CRSF parameters vary strongly over the pulse phase and can be used to map the magnetic field and a possible deviation form the dipole geometry in these sources. It also reflects the conditions at the accretion column and the local environment over the changing viewing angles. The pattern of variation with pulse phase are obtained with more than …
We report on partially overlapping XMM-Newton (~260 ks) and Suzaku (~100 ks) observations of the iron K band in the nearby, bright Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509. The source shows a resolved neutral Fe K line, most probably produced in the outer part of the accretion disc. Moreover, the source shows further emission blue-ward of the 6.4 keV line due to ionized material. This emission is well reproduced by a broad line produced in the accretion disc, while it cannot be easily described by scattering or emission from photo-ionized gas at rest. The summed spectrum of all XMM-Newton observations shows t…
We report on the results of a $Suzaku$ observation of the plasma in the filament located between the two massive clusters of galaxies Abell 399 and Abell 401. Abell 399 ($z$=0.0724) and Abell 401 ($z$=0.0737) are expected to be in the initial phase of a cluster merger. In the region between the two clusters, we find a clear enhancement in the temperature of the filament plasma from 4 keV (expected value from a typical cluster temperature profile) to $kT\sim$6.5 keV. Our analysis also shows that filament plasma is present out to a radial distance of 15' (1.3 Mpc) from a line connecting the two …
We study the high energy emission of two active galactic nuclei (AGN), NGC 4258 and NGC 7213. We directly apply the general-relativistic (GR) hot flow model, kerrflow, to the archival BeppoSAX, NuSTAR and Suzaku observations of these objects. Most of these data sets indicate that about 10-20 per cent of the accretion power is used for the direct heating of electrons, however, we find also indications for significant changes of the electron heating efficiency in some cases. Furthermore, all these X-ray data sets indicate rather strongly magnetized flows, with the magnetic field close to the equ…
We present results from the first Suzaku observation of the high-mass X-ray binary 4U 1538-522. The broad-band spectral coverage of Suzaku allows for a detailed spectral analysis, characterizing the cyclotron resonance scattering feature at $23.0 \pm 0.4$ keV and the iron K$α$ line at $6.426 \pm 0.008$ keV, as well as placing limits on the strengths of the iron K$β$ line and the iron K edge. We track the evolution of the spectral parameters both in time and in luminosity, notably finding a significant positive correlation between cyclotron line energy and luminosity. A dip and spike in the lig…
We test the proposed 3-component spectral model for neutron star low mass X-ray binaries using broad-band X-ray data. We have analysed 4 X-ray spectra (0.8-30 keV) obtained with Suzaku during the 2010 outburst of 4U 1608-52, which have allowed us to perform a comprehensive spectral study covering all the classical spectral states. We use a thermally Comptonized continuum component to account for the hard emission, as well as two thermal components to constrain the accretion disc and neutron star surface contributions. We find that the proposed combination of multicolor disc, single-temperature…
Suzaku observations are presented for the high-mass X-ray binaries IGR J16207-5129 and IGR J17391-3021 (=XTE J1739-302). For IGR J16207-5129, we provide the first X-ray broadband (0.5--60 keV) spectrum from which we confirm a large intrinsic column density (nH = 1.6e23 /cm2), and we constrain the cutoff energy for the first time (Ec = 19 keV). A prolonged (> 30 ks) attenuation of the X-ray flux was observed which we tentatively attribute to an eclipse of the probable neutron star by its massive companion, in a binary system with an orbital period between 4 and 9 days, and inclination angles > …
We present observations of a transient He-like Fe K alpha absorption line in Suzaku observations of the black hole binary Cygnus X-1 on 2011 October 5 near superior conjunction during the high/soft state, which enable us to map the full evolution from the start and the end of the episodic accretion phenomena or dips for the first time. We model the X-ray spectra during the event and trace their evolution. The absorption line is rather weak in the first half of the observation, but instantly deepens for ~10 ks, and weakens thereafter. The overall change in equivalent width is a factor of ~3, pe…
(Abridged) We present a two month Suzaku X-ray monitoring of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548. The campaign consists of 7 observations. We analyze the response in the opacity of the gas that forms the ionized absorber to ionizing flux variations. Despite variations by a factor of 4 in the impinging continuum, the soft X-ray spectra of the source show little spectral variations, suggesting no response from the ionized absorber. A detailed time modeling confirms the lack of opacity variations for an absorbing component with high ionization. Instead, the models tentatively suggest that the ionizatio…
The morphology of the circumnuclear gas accreting onto supermassive black holes in Seyfert galaxies remains a topic of much debate. As the innermost regions of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are spatially unresolved, X-ray spectroscopy, and in particular line-of-sight absorption variability, is a key diagnostic to map out the distribution of gas. Observations of variable X-ray absorption in multiple Seyferts and over a wide range of timescales indicate the presence of clumps/clouds of gas within the circumnuclear material. Eclipse events by clumps transiting the line of sight allow us to explore…
Previous X-ray spectral analysis has revealed an increasing number of AGNs with high accretion rates where an outflow with a mildly relativistic velocity originates from the inner accretion disk. Here we report the detection of a new ultra-fast outflow (UFO) with a velocity of $v_{\rm out}=0.319^{+0.005}_{-0.008}c$ in addition to a relativistic disk reflection component in a poorly studied NLS1 WKK~4438, based on archival \nustar and \suzaku observations. The spectra of both \suzaku and \nustar observations show an Fe~\textsc{xxvi} absorption feature and the \suzaku data also show evidence for…
We present the analysis of two Suzaku observations of GX 301-2 at two orbital phases after the periastron passage. Variations in the column density of the line-of-sight absorber are observed, consistent with accretion from a clumpy wind. In addition to a CRSF, multiple fluorescence emission lines were detected in both observations. The variations in the pulse profiles and the CRSF throughout the pulse phase have a signature of a magnetic dipole field. Using a simple dipole model we calculated the expected magnetic field values for different pulse phases and were able to extract a set of geomet…
We present the results of a uniform and systematic search for blue-shifted Fe K absorption lines in the X-ray spectra of five bright Broad-Line Radio Galaxies (BLRGs) observed with Suzaku. We detect, for the first time at X-rays in radio-loud AGN, several absorption lines at energies greater than 7 keV in three out of five sources, namely 3C 111, 3C 120 and 3C 390.3. The lines are detected with high significance according to both the F-test and extensive Monte Carlo simulations. Their likely interpretation as blue-shifted Fe XXV and Fe XXVI K-shell resonance lines implies an origin from highly…
As a radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy (NLS1) detected by Fermi/LAT in GeV $γ$-rays, 1H 0323+342 is a remarkable Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) showing properties characteristic of both NLS1s and blazars. Here we present results of simultaneous X-ray and UV/optical monitoring observations on 1H 0323+342 taken with the UV/Optical Telescope (UVOT) and X-ray Telescope (XRT) onboard the Swift satellite over six years from 2006. Overall, the object showed statistically correlated variations in both the UV and X-ray bands on timescales of years as well as on timescales of days. A deep Suzaku ob…
Observations of the Ultra Luminous X-ray source (ULX) Holmberg IX X-1 were carried out with Suzaku twice, once on 2012 April 13 and then on 2012 October 24, with exposures of 180 ks and 217 ks, respectively. The source showed a hard power-law shape spectrum with a mild cutoff at $\sim 8$ keV, which is typical of ULXs when they are relatively dim. On both occasions, the 0.6-11 keV spectrum was explained successfully in terms a cool ($\sim 0.2$ keV) multi-color disk blackbody emission model and a thermal Comptonization emission produced by an electron cloud with a relatively low temperature and …