Open AccessX‐ray absorption and re‐emission from an ionized outflow in the Type 1 quasi‐stellar object 2MASS 234449+1221 observed by XMM–Newton
Author(s) -
Pounds K. A.,
Wilkes B. J.,
Page K. L.
Publication year - 2005
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 - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.09365.x
Subject(s) - physics , astrophysics , opacity , ionization , active galactic nucleus , galaxy , spectral line , outflow , emission spectrum , absorption (acoustics) , line (geometry) , astronomy , plasma , photon , ion , geometry , mathematics , quantum mechanics , meteorology , optics , acoustics
We report on the analysis of a short XMM–Newton observation of the reddened Type 1 quasi‐stellar object (QSO) 2MASS 234449+1221 first identified in the Two‐Micron All‐Sky Survey (2MASS). The underlying X‐ray continuum is found to be typical of a broad‐line active galaxy, with photon index Γ∼ 1.9 . Low‐energy absorption can be modelled by a column N H ∼ 10 22 cm −2 of moderately ionized gas or a smaller column of cold gas. Addition of a soft X‐ray emission component significantly improves the fit in both cases. With the assumption that the soft X‐ray flux represents emission from gas photoionized by the incident X‐ray continuum, a comparison of the absorbed and emitted luminosities indicates a covering factor of ∼8–17 per cent. The unusual opportunity simultaneously to observe and quantify ionized absorption and emission in 2MASS 234449+1221 is due to the relatively large opacity – for a Type 1 active galactic nucleus (AGN) – of the absorbing gas, which depresses the normally strong continuum below ∼1 keV. A comparison of the soft X‐ray emission of 2MASS 234449+1221 with that of other Type 1 and Type 2 AGNs suggests the existence of an inner turbulent extension to ionized outflows, not detected in current high‐resolution X‐ray spectra.