A. Marinucci

Simultaneous NuSTAR and XMM-Newton 0.5-80 KeV Spectroscopy of the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy SWIFT J2127.4+5654

We present a broad-band spectral analysis of the joint XMM–Newton and Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array observational campaign of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 SWIFT J2127.4+5654, consisting of 300 ks performed during three XMM–Newton orbits. We detect a relativistic broadened iron Kα line originating from the innermost regions of the accretion disc surrounding the central black hole, from which we infer an intermediate spin of ɑ=0.58+0.11−0.17. The intrinsic spectrum is steep (Γ = 2.08 ± 0.01) as commonly found in narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies, while the cutoff energy (E_c=108^(+11)_(−10) keV) falls within the range observed in broad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies. We measure a low-frequency lag that increases steadily with energy, while at high frequencies, there is a clear lag following the shape of the broad Fe K emission line. Interestingly, the observed Fe K lag in SWIFT J2127.4+5654 is not as broad as in other sources that have maximally spinning black holes. The lag amplitude suggests a continuum-to-reprocessor distance of about 10–20 r_g. These timing results independently support an intermediate black hole spin and a compact corona.

The NuSTAR spectrum of Mrk 335: extreme relativistic effects within two gravitational radii of the event horizon?

We present 3–50keV NuSTAR observations of the active galactic nuclei Mrk 335 in a very low flux state. The spectrum is dominated by very strong features at the energies of the iron line at 5–7keV and Compton hump from 10–30keV. The source is variable during the observation, withthevariabilityconcentratedatlowenergies,whichsuggestingeitherarelativisticreflection oravariableabsorptionscenario.Inthiswork,wefocusonthereflectioninterpretation,making use of new relativistic reflection models that self consistently calculate the reflection fraction, relativistic blurring and angle-dependent reflection spectrum for different coronal heights to model the spectra. We find that the spectra can be well fitted with relativistic reflection, and that the lowest flux state spectrum is described by reflection alone, suggesting the effects of extreme light-bending occurring within ∼2 gravitational radii (RG) of the event horizon. The reflection fraction decreases sharply with increasing flux, consistent with a point source moving up to above 10 RG as the source brightens. We constrain the spin parameter to greater than 0.9 at the 3σ confidence level. By adding a spin-dependent upper limit on the reflection fraction to our models, we demonstrate that this can be a powerful way of constraining the spin parameter, particularly in reflection dominated states. We also calculate a detailed emissivity profile for the iron line, and find that it closely matches theoretical predictions for a compact source within a few RG of the black hole.

The NuSTAR view of nearby compton-thick active galactic nuclei: the cases of NGC 424, NGC 1320, and IC 2560

We present X-ray spectral analyses for three Seyfert 2 active galactic nuclei (AGNs), NGC 424, NGC 1320, and IC 2560, observed by NuSTAR in the 3–79 keV band. The high quality hard X-ray spectra allow detailed modeling of the Compton reflection component for the first time in these sources. Using quasi-simultaneous NuSTAR and Swift/XRT data, as well as archival XMM-Newton data, we find that all three nuclei are obscured by Compton-thick material with column densities in excess of ~5 × 10^(24) cm^(−2), and that their X-ray spectra above 3 keV are dominated by reflection of the intrinsic continuum on Compton-thick material. Due to the very high obscuration, absorbed intrinsic continuum components are not formally required by the data in any of the sources. We constrain the intrinsic photon indices and the column density of the reflecting medium through the shape of the reflection spectra. Using archival multi-wavelength data we recover the intrinsic X-ray luminosities consistent with the broadband spectral energy distributions. Our results are consistent with the reflecting medium being an edge-on clumpy torus with a relatively large global covering factor and overall reflection efficiency of the order of 1%. Given the unambiguous confirmation of the Compton-thick nature of the sources, we investigate whether similar sources are likely to be missed by commonly used selection criteria for Compton-thick AGNs, and explore the possibility of finding their high-redshift counterparts.

NuSTAR AND XMM-NEWTON OBSERVATIONS OF NGC 1365: EXTREME ABSORPTION VARIABILITY AND A CONSTANT INNER ACCRETION DISK

We present a spectral analysis of four coordinated NuSTAR+XMM-Newton observations of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1365. These exhibit an extreme level of spectral variability, which is primarily due to variable line-of-sight absorption, revealing relatively unobscured states in this source for the first time. Despite the diverse range of absorption states, each of the observations displays the same characteristic signatures of relativistic reflection from the inner accretion disk. Through time-resolved spectroscopy, we find that the strength of the relativistic iron line and the Compton reflection hump relative to the intrinsic continuum are well correlated, which is expected if they are two aspects of the same broadband reflection spectrum. We apply self-consistent disk reflection models to these time-resolved spectra in order to constrain the inner disk parameters, allowing for variable, partially covering absorption to account for the vastly different absorption states that were observed. Each of the four observations is treated independently to test the consistency of the results obtained for the black hole spin and the disk inclination, which should not vary on observable timescales. We find both the spin and the inclination determined from the reflection spectrum to be consistent, confirming that NGC 1365 hosts a rapidly rotating black hole; in all cases the dimensionless spin parameter is constrained to be a* > 0.97 (at 90% statistical confidence or better.

The Link between the Hidden Broad Line Region and the Accretion Rate in Seyfert 2 Galaxies

In the past few years, more and more pieces of evidence have been presented for a revision of the widely accepted unified model of active galactic nuclei. A model based solely on orientation cannot explain all the observed phenomenology. In the following, we will present evidence that accretion rate is also a key parameter for the presence of hidden broad line regions (HBLRs) in Seyfert 2 galaxies. Our sample consists of 21 sources with polarized hidden broad lines and 18 sources without hidden broad lines. We use stellar velocity dispersions from several studies on the Ca II and Mg b triplets in Seyfert 2 galaxies to estimate the mass of the central black holes via the M BH-σ relation. The ratio between the bolometric luminosity, derived from the intrinsic (i.e., unabsorbed) X-ray luminosity, and the Eddington luminosity is a measure of the rate at which matter accretes onto the central supermassive black hole. A separation between Compton-thin HBLR and non-HBLR sources is clear, both in accretion rate (log L bol/L Edd = –1.9) and in luminosity (log L bol = 43.90). When properly luminosity-corrected Compton-thick sources are included, the separation between HBLR and non-HBLR is less sharp but no HBLR source falls below the Eddington ratio threshold. We speculate that non-HBLR Compton-thick sources with accretion rate higher than the threshold do possess a BLR, but something, probably related to their heavy absorption, is preventing us from observing it even in polarized light. Our results for Compton-thin sources support theoretical expectations. In a model presented by Nicastro, the presence of broad emission lines is intrinsically connected with disk instabilities occurring in proximity of a transition radius, which is a function of the accretion rate, becoming smaller than the innermost stable orbit for very low accretion rates and therefore luminosities.

The 2-79 keV X-ray spectrum of the circinus galaxy with NuSTAR, XMM-Newton, and Chandra: a fully Compton-thick active galactic nucleus

The Circinus galaxy is one of the closest obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs), making it an ideal target for detailed study. Combining archival Chandra and XMM-Newton data with new NuSTAR observations, we model the 2-79 keV spectrum to constrain the primary AGN continuum and to derive physical parameters for the obscuring material. Chandras high angular resolution allows a separation of nuclear and off-nuclear galactic emission. In the off-nuclear diffuse emission, we find signatures of strong cold reflection, including high equivalent-width neutral Fe lines. This Compton-scattered off-nuclear emission amounts to 18% of the nuclear flux in the Fe line region, but becomes comparable to the nuclear emission above 30 keV. The new analysis no longer supports a prominent transmitted AGN component in the observed band. We find that the nuclear spectrum is consistent with Compton scattering by an optically thick torus, where the intrinsic spectrum is a power law of photon index Γ = 2.2-2.4, the torus has an equatorial column density of N_H = (6-10) × 10^(24) cm^(–2), and the intrinsic AGN 2-10 keV luminosity is (2.3-5.1) × 10^(42) erg s^(–1). These values place Circinus along the same relations as unobscured AGNs in accretion rate versus Γ and L_X versus L_(IR) phase space. NuSTARs high sensitivity and low background allow us to study the short timescale variability of Circinus at X-ray energies above 10 keV for the first time. The lack of detected variability favors a Compton-thick absorber, in line with the spectral fitting results.

THE BROAD-BAND X-RAY SPECTRUM OF IC 4329A FROM A JOINT NuSTAR/SUZAKU OBSERVATION

We have obtained a deep, simultaneous observation of the bright, nearby Seyfert galaxy IC 4329A with Suzaku and NuSTAR. Through a detailed spectral analysis, we are able to robustly separate the continuum, absorption, and distant reflection components in the spectrum. The absorbing column is found to be modest (~6 X 10^(21) cm^(-2)), and does not introduce any significant curvature in the Fe K band. We are able to place a strong constraint on the presence of a broadened Fe Kα line (E_(rest) = 6.46^(+0.08)_(-0.07) keV with σ = 0.33^(0.08)_(-0.07) keV and EW = 34^(+8)_(-7) eV), though we are not able to constrain any of the parameters of a relativistic reflection model. These results highlight the range in broad Fe K line strengths observed in nearby, bright, active galactic nuclei (roughly an order of magnitude), and imply a corresponding range in the physical properties of the inner accretion disk in these sources. We have also updated our previously reported measurement of the high-energy cutoff of the hard X-ray emission using both observatories rather than just NuSTAR alone: E _(cut) = 186 ± 14 keV. This high-energy cutoff acts as a proxy for the temperature of the coronal electron plasma, enabling us to further separate this parameter from the plasmas optical depth and to update our results for these parameters as well. We derive kT = 50^(+6)_(-3) keV with τ = 2.34^(0.16)_(-0.11) using a spherical geometry, kT = 61 ± 1 keV with τ = 0.68 ± 0.02 for a slab geometry, with both having an equivalent goodness-of-fit.

NuSTAR and Suzaku X-Ray Spectroscopy of NGC 4151: Evidence for Reflection from the Inner Accretion Disk

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 emissivity profile, which suggests an intense, compact illuminating source. We find a preliminary, near-maximal black hole spin_(ɑ > 0.9) accounting for statistical and systematic modeling errors. We find a relatively moderate reflection fraction with respect to predictions for the lamp post geometry, in which the illuminating corona is modeled as a point source. Through a time-resolved spectral analysis, we find that modest coronal and inner disk reflection (IDR) flux variation drives the spectral variability during the observations. We discuss various physical scenarios for the IDR model and we find that a compact corona is consistent with the observed features.

NuSTAR REVEALS THE COMPTONIZING CORONA OF THE BROAD-LINE RADIO GALAXY 3C 382

Broad-line radio galaxies (BLRGs) are active galactic nuclei that produce powerful, large-scale radio jets, but appear as Seyfert 1 galaxies in their optical spectra. In the X-ray band, BLRGs also appear like Seyfert galaxies, but with flatter spectra and weaker reflection features. One explanation for these properties is that the X-ray continuum is diluted by emission from the jet. Here, we present two NuSTAR observations of the BLRG 3C 382 that show clear evidence that the continuum of this source is dominated by thermal Comptonization, as in Seyfert 1 galaxies. The two observations were separated by over a year and found 3C 382 in different states separated by a factor of 1.7 in flux. The lower flux spectrum has a photon-index of

NuSTAR catches the unveiling nucleus of NGC 1068

\Gamma=1.68^{+0.03}_{-0.02}