Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of the nucleus of Centaurus A
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35 pages
Published in:
- Astrophys.J. 612 (2004) 786-796
e-Print:
- astro-ph/0405539 [astro-ph]
DOI:
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Abstract: (arXiv)
We present X-ray spectra of the nucleus of the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A from observations with the XMM-Newton EPIC CCD cameras (two exposures separated by 12 months) and the Chandra HETGS. For the first time in an FRI type galaxy, we resolve fluorescent K emission from cold, neutral, or near-neutral iron at 6.4 keV, with an rms line width of 20 eV. The Fe line parameters observed are consistent with fluorescent emission from material at a large distance from the AGN, either in the form of an absorber that nearly completely surrounds the central engine or a torus that lies predominantly out of the line of sight. Unresolved emission lines from neutral Si K at 1.74 keV and neutral S K at 2.30 keV are also detected. We find no evidence in the data for a previously reported 6.8 keV broadened Fe line. The continuum spectrum is well fitted with a combination of a heavily absorbed power-law component that we relate, using Bondi theory, to accretion phenomena in the form of a standard, geometrically thin, optically thick disk, and a second, less absorbed, power-law component that we associate with emission from the subparsec VLBI radio jet.- galaxies: active
- galaxies: individual (Centaurus A, NGC 5128)
- galaxies: jets
- galaxies: nuclei
- X-rays: galaxies
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