AnRXTEObservation of NGC 6300: a New Bright Compton Reflection–dominated Seyfert 2 Galaxy

Scanning and pointed RXTE observations of the nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC6300 reveal that it is a source of hard X-ray continuum and large equivalentwidth Fe K$\alpha$ emission. These properties are characteristic ofCompton-reflection dominated Seyfert 2 galaxies. The continuum can be modeledas Compton-reflection; subsolar iron abundance is required and a highinclination preferred. However, the poor energy resolution of RXTE means thatthis description is not unique, and the continuum can also be modeled using a``dual absorber'', i.e. a sum of absorbed power laws. Observations with higherenergy resolution detectors will cleanly discriminate between these two models.Optical observations support the Compton-reflection dominated interpretation as$L_X/L_{[OIII]}$ is low. NGC 6300 is notable because with $F_{2-10}\approx 6.4\times 10^{-12} ergs cm^{-2} s^{-1}$, it is the second brightest such objectknown.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ (Sept. 1 1999, Vol. 522 #1