Constraining the geometry of AGN outflows with reflection spectroscopy

Abstract

We collate active galactic nuclei (AGN) with reported detections of both relativistic reflection and ultra-fast outflows. By comparing the inclination of the inner disc from reflection with the line-of-sight velocity of the outflow, we show that it is possible to meaningfully constrain the geometry of the absorbing material. We find a clear relation between the velocity and inclination, and demonstrate that it can potentially be explained either by simple wind geometries or by absorption from the disc surface. Due to systematic errors and a shortage of high- quality simultaneous measurements our conclusions are tentative, but this study represents a proof-of-concept that has great potential.

arXiv comment5 pages, 3 figures, accepted to MNRAS letters

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Cited by in corpus (8)

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• A stratified ultrafast outflow in 1H0707-495?
• Active Galactic Nuclei with Ultra-fast Outflows Monitoring Project: The Broad-line Region of Mrk 79 as a Disk Wind
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• A Full Characterisation of the Supermassive Black Hole in IRAS 09149-6206
• Detection of a variable ultra-fast outflow in the Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxy PG 1448+273
• A systematic study of the ultra-fast outflow responses to luminosity variations in active galactic nuclei
• Detection of an Unidentified Soft X-ray Emission Feature in NGC 5548