Observation of Cen A by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer

Abstract

The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer made a short (10 ks) observation of the radio galaxy Centaurus A on 14 August 1996. Analysis of the combined 2.5-240 keV spectrum has revealed a heavily absorbed(NH=9.42+/-0.24 e22 cm-2) primary power law (index=1.86+/-0.015) and an iron line due to fluorescence of cold matter (EW=162+/-25 eV). Flux from either a jet, primary flux scattered into the line of sight, or primary flux seen through a partial absorber was not required. The iron line width is unresolved at the 95% confidence level (sigma < 0.54 keV). No significant variability in the iron line flux is seen from measurements over the last two decades, while the overall continuum flux varied by more than a factor of four, which implies that the line emission region is distant from that of the primary emission. While radio-quiet Seyfert galaxies exhibit spectral components attributable to Compton reflection from cold matter, Cen A reveals no such component (exposed solid angle ratio < 0.09). This supports unified models of active galaxies that have little difference between Seyfert 2 and low luminosity radio galaxies

24 pages, 3 figures, accepted to The Astrophysical Journal

References in corpus (4)

• In-flight Performance of the High Energy X-ray Timing Experiment on the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer
• ASCA observations of type-2 Seyfert galaxies: II. The Importance of X-ray Scattering and Reflection
• X-ray and soft gamma-ray spectra of Broad-Line Radio Galaxies
• Rosat, Asca and Osse Observations of the Broad Line Radio Galaxy 3C120

Cited by in corpus (13)

• Hard X-ray Emission From Low Mass X-ray Binaries
• An X-ray Spectral Survey of Radio-Loud AGN With ASCA
• Resolving the innermost parsec of Centaurus A at mid-infrared wavelengths
• The BL Lac heart of Centaurus A
• Unveiling the Active Nucleus of Centaurus A
• The Suzaku Observation of the Nucleus of the Radio-Loud Active Galaxy Centaurus A: Constraints on Abundances of the Accreting Material
• INTEGRAL observations of AGN in the Galactic Plane
• Suzaku view of X-ray Spectral Variability of the Radio Galaxy Centaurus A : Partial Covering Absorber, Reflector, and Possible Jet Component
• INTEGRAL and RXTE Observations of Centaurus A
• BeppoSAX Observations of Centaurus A: the Hard Continuum and the Iron Line Feature
• HST infrared imaging polarimetry of Centaurus A: implications for the unified scheme and the existence of a mis-directed BL Lac nucleus
• RXTE monitoring of Centaurus A
• A Soft X-Ray Lag Detected in Centaurus A