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Register a new userA rapidly variable narrow X-ray iron line in Mkn 841
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Authors
P.O. Petrucci
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We report on the detection of a rapidly variable narrow Fe K$alpha$ line in Mkn 841. The source has been observed two times by XMM-Newton and simultaneously with BeppoSAX. The two observations, of about 10ks long each, were separated by $sim$ 15 hours. The line flux reaches a maximum during the first observation and is significantly reduced in the second one. The continuum shape and flux, instead, keep roughly constant between the two pointings. Such rapid variability of a narrow (unresolved by the XMM-pn instrument) line has never been reported in the past. These results are not easily explained in the standard cold reflection model where the narrow line component is supposed to be produced far from the primary X-ray source (e.g. from the torus) and is thus not expected to vary rapidly. Different interpretations are discussed.
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Mkn 841 has been observed during 3 different periods (January 2001, January 2005 and July 2005) by XMM-Newton for a total cumulated exposure time of ~108 ks. We present in this paper a broad band spectral analysis of the complete EPIC-pn data sets. These observations confirm the presence of the strong soft excess and complex iron line profile known to be present in this source since a long time. They also reveal their extreme and puzzling spectral and temporal behaviors. Indeed, the 0.5-2 keV soft X-ray flux decreases by a factor 3 between 2001 and 2005 and the line shape appears to be a mixed of broad and narrow components, both variable but on differen timescales. The broad-band 0.5-10 keV spectra are well described by a model including a primary power law continuum, a blurred photoionized reflection and a narrow iron line, the blurred reflection fitting self-consistently the soft excess and the broad line component. The origin and nature of the narrow component is unclear.
Mkr 841 is a bright Seyfert 1 galaxy known to harbor a strong soft excess and a variable K$alpha$ iron line. It has been observed during 3 different periods by XMM for a total cumulated exposure time of $sim$108 ks. We present in this paper a broad band spectral analysis of the complete EPIC-pn data sets. We were able to test two different models for the soft excess, a relativistically blurred photoionized reflection (r model) and a relativistically smeared ionized absorption (a model). The continuum is modeled by a simple cut-off power law and we also add a neutral reflection. These observations reveal the extreme and puzzling spectral and temporal behaviors of the soft excess and iron line. The 0.5-3 keV soft X-ray flux decreases by a factor 3 between 2001 and 2005 and the line shape appears to be a mixture of broad and narrow components. We succeed in describing this complex broad-band 0.5-10 keV spectral variability using either r or a to fit the soft excess. Both models give statistically equivalent results even including simultaneous BeppoSAX data up to 200 keV. Both models are consistent with the presence of remote reflection characterized by a constant narrow component in the data. However they differ in the presence of a broad line component present in r but not needed in a. This study also reveals the sporadic presence of relativistically redshifted narrow iron lines.
We present the energy-dependent power spectral density (PSD) and cross-spectral properties of Mkn 766, obtained from combining data obtained during an XMM-Newton observation spanning six revolutions in 2005 with data obtained from an XMM-Newton long-look in 2001. The PSD shapes and rms-flux relations are found to be consistent between the 2001 and 2005 observations, suggesting the 2005 observation is simply a low-flux extension of the 2001 observation and permitting us to combine the two data sets. The resulting PSD has the highest temporal frequency resolution for any AGN PSD measured to date. Applying a broken power-law model yields break frequencies which increase in temporal frequency with photon energy. Obtaining a good fit when assuming energy-independent break frequencies requires the presence of a Lorentzian at 4.6+/-0.4 * 10^-4 Hz whose strength increases with photon energy, a behavior seen in black hole X-ray binaries. The cross-spectral properties are measured; temporal frequency-dependent soft-to-hard time lags are detected in this object for the first time. Cross-spectral results are consistent with those for other accreting black hole systems. The results are discussed in the context of several variability models, including those based on inwardly-propagating viscosity variations in the accretion disk.
Mkn 841 has been observed simultaneously by XMM and BeppoSAX in January 2001. Due to operational contingency, the 30ks XMM observation was split into two parts, separated by about 15 hours. We first report the presence of a narrow iron line which appears to be rapidly variable between the two pointings, requiring a non-standard interpretation. We then focus on the analysis of the broad band (0.3-200 keV) continuum using the XMM/EPIC, RGS and SAX/PDS data. The Mkn 841 spectrum is well fitted by a comptonization model in a geometry more photon-fed than a simple slab geometry above a passive disk. It presents a relatively large reflection (R>2) which does not agree with an apparently weak iron line. It also show the presence of a strong soft excess wellfitted by a comptonized spectrum in a cool plasma, suggesting the presence of a multi-temperature corona.
We use publicly available XMM-Newton data to systematically compare the hard X-ray photon indices, $Gamma_{rm 2-10 keV}$ and the iron K$alpha$ emission lines of narrow-line (NL) and broad-line Seyfert 1 (BLS1) galaxies. We compile a flux-limited ($f_{rm 2-10 keV} geq 1 times 10^{-12}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$) sample including 114 radio-quiet objects, with the 2-10 keV luminosity ranging from 10$^{41}$ to 10$^{45}$ erg s$^{-1}$. Our main results are: 1) NLS1s and BLS1s show similar luminosity distributions; 2) The weighted mean of $Gamma_{rm 2-10 keV}$ of NLS1s, BLS1s and the total sample is $2.04pm0.04$, $1.74pm0.02$, $1.84pm0.02$, respectively; a significant anti-correlation between ga and FWHMH$beta$ suggests that $Gamma_{rm 2-10 keV} > 2.0$ may be taken to indicate X-ray luminous NLS1 type; 3) The 6.4 keV narrow iron K$alpha$ lines from NLS1s are generally weaker than that from BLS1s; this would indicate a smaller covering factor of the dusty tori in NLS1s, if the line emission originates from the inner boundary region of the dusty torus in an AGN; 4) all the broadened iron K$alpha$ lines with intrinsic width $sigma>0.5$ keV correspond to FWHMhb $leq 4000 ~kms$.
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