Multi-epoch X-ray spectral analysis of Centaurus A: revealing new constraints on iron emission line origins
arxiv(2024)
Abstract
We conduct X-ray reverberation mapping and spectral analysis of the radio
galaxy Centaurus A to uncover its central structure. We compare the light curve
of the hard X-ray continuum from Swift Burst Alert Telescope observations with
that of the Fe Kα fluorescence line, derived from the Nuclear
Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), Suzaku, XMM-Newton, and Swift X-ray
Telescope observations. The analysis of the light curves suggests that a
top-hat transfer function, commonly employed in reverberation mapping studies,
is improbable. Instead, the relation between these light curves can be
described by a transfer function featuring two components: one with a lag of
0.19_- 0.02^+ 0.10 pc/c, and another originating at r >
1.7 pc that produces an almost constant light curve. Further, we
analyze the four-epoch NuSTAR and six-epoch Suzaku spectra, considering the
time lag of the reflection component relative to the primary continuum. This
spectral analysis supports that the reflecting material is Compton-thin, with
N_H = 3.14_-0.74^+0.44× 10^23 cm^-2. These
results suggest that the Fe Kα emission may originate from Compton-thin
circumnuclear material located at sub-parsec scale, likely a dust torus, and
materials at a greater distance.
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