High‐Resolution X‐Ray and Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of the Complex Intrinsic Absorption in NGC 4051 withChandraand theHubble Space Telescope
- 10 August 2001
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Astronomical Society in The Astrophysical Journal
- Vol. 557 (1) , 2-17
- https://doi.org/10.1086/321635
Abstract
We present the results from simultaneous observations of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4051 with the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer and the Hubble Space Telescope Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. The X-ray grating spectrum reveals absorption and emission lines from hydrogen-like and helium-like ions of O, Ne, Mg, and Si. We resolve two distinct X-ray absorption systems: a high-velocity blueshifted system at -2340 ± 130 km s-1 and a low-velocity blueshifted system at -600 ± 130 km s-1. In the UV spectrum we detect strong absorption, mainly from C IV, N V, and Si IV, that is resolved into as many as nine different intrinsic absorption systems with velocities between -650 and 30 km s-1. Although the low-velocity X-ray absorption is consistent in velocity with many of the UV absorption systems, the high-velocity X-ray absorption seems to have no UV counterpart. In addition to the absorption and emission lines, we also observe rapid X-ray variability and a state of low X-ray flux during the last ≈15 ks of the observation. NGC 4051 has a soft X-ray excess that we fit in both the high and low X-ray flux states. The high-resolution X-ray spectrum directly reveals that the soft excess is not composed of narrow emission lines and that it has significant spectral curvature. A power-law model fails to fit it, while a blackbody produces a nearly acceptable fit. We compare the observed spectral variability with the results of previous studies of NGC 4051.Keywords
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