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Deep Chandra Observations of ESO 428-G014: IV. The Morphology of the Nuclear Region in the Hard Continuum and Fe K{\alpha} Line
- Source :
- The Astrophysical Journal, The Astrophysical Journal, American Astronomical Society, 2019, 870 (2), pp.69. ⟨10.3847/1538-4357/aaf0a4⟩
- Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- We report the results of high-resolution subpixel imaging of the hard continuum and Fe K{\alpha} line of the Compton Thick (CT) Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) ESO 428-G014, observed with Chandra ACIS. While the 3-4 keV emission is dominated by an extended component, a single nuclear point source is prominent in the 4-6 keV range. Instead, two peaks of similar intensity, separated by ~36 pc in projection on the plane of the sky are detected in the Fe K{\alpha} emission. The SE knot could be marginally associated with the heavily obscured hard continuum source. We discuss four possible interpretations of the nuclear morphology. (1) Given the bolometric luminosity and likely black hole (BH) mass of ESO 428-G014, we may be imaging two clumps of the CT obscuring torus in the Fe K{\alpha} line. (2) The Fe K{\alpha} knots may be connected with the fluorescent emission from the dusty bicone, or (3) with the light echo of a nuclear outburst. (4) We also explore the less likely possibility that we may be detecting the rare signature of merging nuclei. Considering the large-scale kpc-size extent of the hard continuum and Fe K{\alpha} emission (Papers I and II), we conclude that the AGN in ESO 428-G014 has been active for at least 104 yrs. Comparison with the models of Czerny et al (2009) suggests high accretion rates during this activity.<br />Comment: ApJ in press
- Subjects :
- Active galactic nucleus
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
530 Physics
Point source
media_common.quotation_subject
Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
galaxies: active
Astrophysics
Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
01 natural sciences
Bicone
1912 Space and Planetary Science
Light echo
0103 physical sciences
010303 astronomy & astrophysics
Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
media_common
Physics
Continuum (measurement)
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Torus
Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
Accretion (astrophysics)
galaxies: Seyfert
X-rays: galaxies
[PHYS.ASTR.GA]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.GA]
13. Climate action
Space and Planetary Science
Sky
10231 Institute for Computational Science
3103 Astronomy and Astrophysics
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0004637X and 15384357
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- The Astrophysical Journal, The Astrophysical Journal, American Astronomical Society, 2019, 870 (2), pp.69. ⟨10.3847/1538-4357/aaf0a4⟩
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....257a646f3339f36fbbfb8659928e2a08