分类： 天文学 >> 天体物理学 提交时间： 2023-02-21
Chaojun Wang
B. Luo
W. N. Brandt
D. M. Alexander
F. E. Bauer
S. C. Gallagher
Jian Huang
Hezhen Liu
D. Stern
摘要： We utilize recent NuSTAR observations (co-added depth 55-120 ks) of PG 1001+054, PG 1254+047, and PHL 1811 to constrain their hard X-ray (≳5 keV) weakness and spectral shapes, and thus to investigate the nature of their extreme X-ray weakness. These quasars showed very weak soft X-ray emission, and they were proposed to be intrinsically X-ray weak, with the X-ray coronae producing weak continuum emission relative to their optical/UV emission. However, the new observations suggest an alternative explanation. The NuSTAR 3-24 keV spectral shapes for PG 1001+054 and PHL 1811 are likely flat (effective power-law photon indices \Gamma_{\rm eff}=1.0^{+0.5}_{-0.6} and \Gamma_{\rm eff}=1.4^{+0.8}_{-0.7}, respectively), while the shape is nominal for PG 1254+047 (\Gamma_{\rm eff}=1.8\pm0.3). PG 1001+054 and PHL 1811 are significantly weak at hard X-ray energies (by factors of 26-74 at rest-frame 8 keV) compared to the expectations from their optical/UV emission, while PG 1254+047 is only hard X-ray weak by a factor of 3. We suggest that X-ray obscuration is present in all three quasars. We propose that, as an alternative to the intrinsic X-ray weakness + X-ray obscuration scenario, the soft and hard X-ray weakness of these quasars can be uniformly explained under an obscuration-only scenario. This model provides adequate descriptions of the multi-epoch soft and hard X-ray data of these quasars, with variable column density and leaked fraction of the partial-covering absorber. We suggest that the absorber is the clumpy dust-free wind launched from the accretion disk. These quasars probably have super-Eddington accretion rates that drive powerful and high-density winds.
分类： 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间： 2023-02-19
M. Paolillo
I. E. Papadakis
W. N. Brandt
F. E. Bauer
G. Lanzuisi
V. Allevato
O. Shemmer
X. C. Zheng
D. De Cicco
R. Gilli
B. Luo
M. Thomas
P. Tozzi
F. Vito
Y. Q. Xue
摘要： We study the ensemble X-ray variability properties of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) over a large range of timescales (20 ks $\leq T\leq$ 14 yrs), redshift ($0\leq z \lesssim 3$), luminosities ($10^{40}$ erg s$^{-1}\leq L_X\leq 10^{46}$ erg s$^{-1}$) and black hole (BH) masses ($10^6 \leq $M$_\odot \leq 10^9$). We propose the use of the variance-frequency diagram, as a viable alternative to the study of the power spectral density (PSD), which is not yet accessible for distant, faint and/or sparsely sampled AGN. We show that the data collected from archival observations and previous literature studies are fully consistent with a universal PSD form which does not show any evidence for systematic evolution of shape or amplitude with redshift or luminosity, even if there may be differences between individual AGN at a given redshift or luminosity. We find new evidence that the PSD bend frequency depends on BH mass and, possibly, on accretion rate. We finally discuss the implications for current and future AGN population and cosmological studies.
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