Open AccessOn the nature of the X‐ray absorption in the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 4507
Author(s) -
Comastri A.,
Vignali C.,
Cappi M.,
Matt G.,
Audano R.,
Awaki H.,
Ueno S.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.1998.01302.x
Subject(s) - physics , astrophysics , galaxy , emission spectrum , neon , line (geometry) , extrapolation , absorption (acoustics) , spectral line , astronomy , atomic physics , optics , mathematical analysis , geometry , mathematics , argon
We present results of the ASCA observation of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 4507. The 0.5–10 keV spectrum is rather complex and consists of several components: (i) a hard X‐ray power law heavily absorbed by a column density of about 3‐10 23 cm −2 , (ii) a narrow Fe Kα line at 6.4 keV, (iii) soft continuum emission well above the extrapolation of the absorbed hard power law and (iv) a narrow emission line at ∼0.9 keV. The line energy, consistent with highly ionized neon (Ne IX), may indicate that the soft X‐ray emission is derived from a combination of resonant scattering and fluorescence in a photoionized gas. Some contribution to the soft X‐ray spectrum from thermal emission, as a blend of Fe L lines, by a starburst component in the host galaxy cannot be ruled out with the present data.