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Register a new userThe hard X-ray emission of the luminous infrared galaxy NGC 6240 as observed by NuSTAR
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We present a broad-band (~0.3-70 keV) spectral and temporal analysis of NuSTAR observations of the luminous infrared galaxy NGC 6240, combined with archival Chandra, XMM-Newton and BeppoSAX data. NGC 6240 is a galaxy in a relatively early merger state with two distinct nuclei separated by ~1.5. Previous Chandra observations have resolved the two nuclei, showing that they are both active and obscured by Compton-thick material. Although they cannot be resolved by NuSTAR, thanks to the unprecedented quality of the NuSTAR data at energies >10 keV, we clearly detect, for the first time, both the primary and the reflection continuum components. The NuSTAR hard X-ray spectrum is dominated by the primary continuum piercing through an absorbing column density which is mildly optically thick to Compton scattering (tau ~ 1.2, N_H ~ 1.5 x 10^(24) cm^-2). We detect moderate hard X-ray (> 10 keV) flux variability up to 20% on short (15-20 ksec) timescales. The amplitude of the variability is maximum at ~30 keV and is likely to originate from the primary continuum of the southern nucleus. Nevertheless, the mean hard X-ray flux on longer timescales (years) is relatively constant. Moreover, the two nuclei remain Compton-thick, although we find evidence of variability of the material along the line of sight with column densities N_H <~ 2 x 10^(23) cm-2 over long (~3-15 years) timescales. The observed X-ray emission in the NuSTAR energy range is fully consistent with the sum of the best-fit models of the spatially resolved Chandra spectra of the two nuclei.
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We present a broadband (~0.5-79 keV) spectral and temporal analysis of multiple NuSTAR observations combined with archival Suzaku and Chandra data of NGC4945, the brightest extragalactic source at 100 keV. We observe hard X-ray (> 10 keV) flux and spectral variability, with flux variations of a factor 2 on timescales of 20 ksec. A variable primary continuum dominates the high energy spectrum (>10 keV) in all the states, while the reflected/scattered flux which dominates at E< 10 keV stays approximately constant. From modelling the complex reflection/transmission spectrum we derive a Compton depth along the line of sight of tau_Thomson ~ 2.9, and a global covering factor for the circumnuclear gas of ~ 0.15. This agrees with the constraints derived from the high energy variability, which implies that most of the high energy flux is transmitted, rather that Compton-scattered. This demonstrates the effectiveness of spectral analysis in constraining the geometric properties of the circumnuclear gas, and validates similar methods used for analyzing the spectra of other bright, Compton-thick AGN. The lower limits on the e-folding energy are between 200-300 keV, consistent with previous BeppoSAX, Suzaku and Swift BAT observations. The accretion rate, estimated from the X-ray luminosity and assuming a bolometric correction typical of type 2 AGN, is in the range ~0.1-0.3 lambda_Edd depending on the flux state. The substantial observed X-ray luminosity variability of NGC4945 implies that large errors can arise from using single-epoch X-ray data to derive L/L_Edd values for obscured AGNs.
NuSTAR observed the bright Compton-thin, narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxy, NGC 5506, for about 56 ks. In agreement with past observations, the spectrum is well fit by a power law with Gamma~1.9, a distant reflection component and narrow ionized iron lines. A relativistically blurred reflection component is not required by the data. When an exponential high energy cutoff is added to the power law, a value of 720(+130,-190) keV (90% confidence level) is found. Even allowing for systematic uncertainties, we find a 3 sigma lower limit to the high-energy cutoff of 350 keV, the highest lower limit to the cutoff energy found so far in an AGN by NuSTAR.
M87 hosts a 3-6 billion solar mass black hole with a remarkable relativistic jet that has been regularly monitored in radio to TeV bands. However, hard X-ray emission gtrsim 10keV, which would be expected to primarily come from the jet or the accretion flow, had never been detected from its unresolved X-ray core. We report NuSTAR detection up to 40 keV from the the central regions of M87. Together with simultaneous Chandra observations, we have constrained the dominant hard X-ray emission to be from its unresolved X-ray core, presumably in its quiescent state. The core spectrum is well fitted by a power law with photon index Gamma=2.11 (+0.15 -0.11). The measured flux density at 40 keV is consistent with a jet origin, although emission from the advection-dominated accretion flow cannot be completely ruled out. The detected hard X-ray emission is significantly lower than that predicted by synchrotron self-Compton models introduced to explain emission above a GeV.
We present the first sub-arcminute images of the Galactic Center above 10 keV, obtained with NuSTAR. NuSTAR resolves the hard X-ray source IGR J17456-2901 into non-thermal X-ray filaments, molecular clouds, point sources and a previously unknown central component of hard X-ray emission (CHXE). NuSTAR detects four non-thermal X-ray filaments, extending the detection of their power-law spectra with $Gammasim1.3$-$2.3$ up to ~50 keV. A morphological and spectral study of the filaments suggests that their origin may be heterogeneous, where previous studies suggested a common origin in young pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe). NuSTAR detects non-thermal X-ray continuum emission spatially correlated with the 6.4 keV Fe K$alpha$ fluorescence line emission associated with two Sgr A molecular clouds: MC1 and the Bridge. Broad-band X-ray spectral analysis with a Monte-Carlo based X-ray reflection model self-consistently determined their intrinsic column density ($sim10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$), primary X-ray spectra (power-laws with $Gammasim2$) and set a lower limit of the X-ray luminosity of Sgr A* flare illuminating the Sgr A clouds to $L_X stackrel{>}{sim} 10^{38}$ erg s$^{-1}$. Above ~20 keV, hard X-ray emission in the central 10 pc region around Sgr A* consists of the candidate PWN G359.95-0.04 and the CHXE, possibly resulting from an unresolved population of massive CVs with white dwarf masses $M_{rm WD} sim 0.9 M_{odot}$. Spectral energy distribution analysis suggests that G359.95-0.04 is likely the hard X-ray counterpart of the ultra-high gamma-ray source HESS J1745-290, strongly favoring a leptonic origin of the GC TeV emission.
Aims. We study the long-term variability of the well-known Seyfert 2 galaxy Mrk 1210 (a.k.a. UGC 4203, or the Phoenix galaxy). Methods. The source was observed by many X-ray facilities in the last 20 years. Here we present a NuSTAR observation and put the results in context of previously published observations. Results. NuSTAR observed Mrk 1210 in 2012 for 15.4 ks. The source showed Compton-thin obscuration similar to that observed by Chandra, Suzaku, BeppoSAX and XMM-Newton over the past two decades, but different from the first observation by ASCA in 1995, in which the active nucleus was caught in a low flux state - or obscured by Compton-thick matter, with a reflection-dominated spectrum. Thanks to the high-quality hard X-ray spectrum obtained with NuSTAR and exploiting the long-term spectral coverage spanning 16.9 years, we can precisely disentangle the transmission and reflection components and put constraints on both the intrinsic long-term variability and hidden nucleus scenarios. In the former case, the distance between the reflector and the source must be at least ~ 2 pc, while in the latter one the eclipsing cloud may be identified with a water maser-emitting clump.
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