The High Energy view of the Broad Line Radio Galaxy 3C 111

Abstract

We present the analysis of Suzaku and XMM-Newton observations of the broad-line radio galaxy (BLRG) 3C 111. Its high energy emission shows variability, a harder continuum with respect to the radio quiet AGN population, and weak reflection features. Suzaku found the source in a minimum flux level; a comparison with the XMM-Newton data implies an increase of a factor of 2.5 in the 0.5-10 keV flux, in the 6 months separating the two observations. The iron K complex is detected in both datasets, with rather low equivalent width(s). The intensity of the iron K complex does not respond to the change in continuum flux. An ultra-fast, high-ionization outflowing gas is clearly detected in the XIS data; the absorber is most likely unstable. Indeed, during the XMM-Newton observation, which was 6 months after, the absorber was not detected. No clear roll-over in the hard X-ray emission is detected, probably due to the emergence of the jet as a dominant component in the hard X-ray band, as suggested by the detection above ~ 100 keV with the GSO on-board Suzaku, although the present data do not allow us to firmly constrain the relative contribution of the different components. The fluxes observed by the gamma-ray satellites CGRO and Fermi would be compatible with the putative jet component if peaking at energies E ~ 100 MeV. In the X-ray band, the jet contribution to the continuum starts to be significant only above 10 keV. If the detection of the jet component in 3C 111 is confirmed, then its relative importance in the X-ray energy band could explain the different observed properties in the high-energy emission of BLRGs, which are otherwise similar in their other multiwavelength properties. Comparison between X-ray and gamma-ray data taken at different epochs suggests that the strong variability observed for 3C 111 is probably driven by a change in the primary continuum.

Accepted for publication in MNRAS; 15 pages, 9 figures, 5 tables

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Cited by in corpus (14)

• Ultra-fast outflows in radio-loud active galactic nuclei
• The gamma-ray emission region in the FRII Radio Galaxy 3C 111
• Comparison of ejection events in the jet and accretion disc outflows in 3C 111
• A Suzaku sample of unabsorbed narrow-line and broad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies: I. X-ray spectral properties
• Infrared and hard X-ray diagnostics of AGN identification from the Swift/BAT and AKARI all-sky surveys
• The Spectacular Radio-Near-IR-X-ray Jet of 3C 111: X-ray Emission Mechanism and Jet Kinematics
• An outburst scenario for the X-ray spectral variability in 3C 111
• Retrograde versus prograde models of accreting black holes
• On the presence of ultra-fast outflows in the WAX sample of Seyfert galaxies
• The complex circumnuclear environment of the broad-line radio galaxy 3C 390.3 revealed by Chandra HETG
• Feeding and feedback in the powerful radio galaxy 3C 120
• The nature of the multi-wavelength emission of 3C 111
• Constraints on the radio loud/radio quiet dichotomy from the fundamental plane
• Excess Galactic molecular absorption toward the radio galaxy 3C 111