We carry out a systematic study of the X-ray emission from the active nuclei of the 0.02<z<0.7 2Jy sample, using Chandra and XMM-Newton observations. We combine our results with those from mid-IR, optical emission line and radio observations, and add
them to those of the 3CRR sources. We show that the low-excitation objects in our samples redit{show signs} of radiatively inefficient accretion. We study the effect of the jet-related emission on the various luminosities, confirming that it is the main source of soft X-ray emission for our sources. We also find strong correlations between the accretion-related luminosities, and identify several sources whose optical classification is incompatible with their accretion properties. We derive the bolometric and jet kinetic luminosities for the samples and find a difference in the total Eddington rate between the low and high-excitation populations, with the former peaking at ~1 per cent and the latter at ~20 per cent Eddington. Our results are consistent with a simple Eddington switch when the effects of environment on radio luminosity and black hole mass calculations are considered. The apparent independence of jet kinetic power and radiative luminosity in the high-excitation population in our plots supports a model in which jet production and radiatively efficient accretion are not strongly correlated in high-excitation objects, though they have a common underlying mechanism.
Markarian 6 is a nearby (D~78 Mpc) Seyfert 1.5, early-type galaxy, with a double set of radio bubbles. The outer set spans ~7.5 kpc and is expanding into the halo regions of the host galaxy. We present an analysis of our new Chandra observation, toge
ther with archival XMM-Newton data, to look for evidence of emission from shocked gas around the external radio bubbles, both from spatially resolved regions in Chandra and from spectral analysis of the XMM data. We also look for evidence of a variable absorbing column along our line of sight to Mrk 6, to explain the evident differences seen in the AGN spectra from the various, non-contemporaneous, observations. We find that the variable absorption hypothesis explains the differences between the Chandra and XMM spectra, with the Chandra spectrum being heavily absorbed. The intrinsic N_H varies from ~8x10^{21} atoms*cm^{-2} to ~3x10^{23} atoms*cm^{-2} on short timescales (2-6 years). The past evolution of the source suggests this is probably caused by a clump of gas close to the central AGN, passing in front of us at the moment of the observation. Shells of thermal X-ray emission are detected around the radio bubbles, with a temperature of ~0.9 keV. We estimate a temperature of ~0.2 keV for the external medium using luminosity constraints from our Chandra image. We analyse these results using the Rankine-Hugoniot shock jump conditions, and obtain a Mach number of ~3.9, compatible with a scenario in which the gas in the shells is inducing a strong shock in the surrounding ISM. This could be the third clear detection of strong shocks produced by a radio-powerful Seyfert galaxy. These results are compatible with previous findings on Centaurus A and NGC 3801, supporting a picture in which these AGN-driven outflows play an important role in the environment and evolution of the host galaxy.
