<italic>ASCA</italic> observations of the Seyfert 1 galaxies Mrk 1040 and MS 0225.5 + 3121

We present {\it ASCA} observations of the Seyfert 1 galaxies Mrk~1040 andMS~0225.5+3121. Mrk~1040 was found to have decreased in flux by almost a factorof 4 since an {\it EXOSAT} observation 10\,years ago. The energy spectrum ofMrk~1040 displays complexity both at soft energies (below 0.8\thinspace keV)and at hard energies (6--7\thinspace keV). The latter is readily interpreted asfluorescent K$\alpha$ emission from cold iron expected when the primary X-raysource illuminates cold optically-thick material. This line is both broad (withFWHM 16\,000--70\,000 km\,s$^{-1}$) and strong (equivalent width $\sim 550\pm250$\, eV) suggesting that it originates from material close to the compactobject with non-solar abundances. Abundance effects on the equivalent width ofsuch a line are investigated via Monte Carlo simulations. We find that stronglines can be produced with physically plausible abundances. The effect ofabundances on the associated reflection continuum is also discussed. The softspectral complexity implies either a strong soft excess together with intrinsicabsorption, or a complex absorber. Various models for the nature of such acomplex absorber are discussed. MS~0225.5+3121 shows no evidence for anyvariability and has a spectrum that is well described by a power law withGalactic absorption.Comment: 8 pages (including figures) uuencoded compressed Postscript file. Submitted to Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ