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Published May 20, 2014 | Version Published
Journal Article Open

The Broadband Spectral Variability of MCG–6-30-15 Observed by NuSTAR and XMM-Newton

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Abstract

MCG–6-30-15, at a distance of 37 Mpc (z = 0.008), is the archetypical Seyfert 1 galaxy showing very broad Fe Kα emission. We present results from a joint NuSTAR and XMM-Newton observational campaign that, for the first time, allows a sensitive, time-resolved spectral analysis from 0.35 keV up to 80 keV. The strong variability of the source is best explained in terms of intrinsic X-ray flux variations and in the context of the light-bending model: the primary, variable emission is reprocessed by the accretion disk, which produces secondary, less variable, reflected emission. The broad Fe Kα profile is, as usual for this source, well explained by relativistic effects occurring in the innermost regions of the accretion disk around a rapidly rotating black hole. We also discuss the alternative model in which the broadening of the Fe Kα is due to the complex nature of the circumnuclear absorbing structure. Even if this model cannot be ruled out, it is disfavored on statistical grounds. We also detected an occultation event likely caused by broad-line region clouds crossing the line of sight.

Additional Information

© 2014 American Astronomical Society. Received 2013 December 23; accepted 2014 April 11; published 2014 May 6. A.M. acknowledges financial support from Fondazione Angelo Della Riccia. A.M. and G.M. acknowledge financial support from Italian Space Agency under grant ASI/INAF I/037/ 12/0-011/13. A.M., G. Matt, G. Miniutti, A.C.F., and E.K. acknowledge financial support from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 312789. P.A. acknowledges financial support from Anillo ACT1101. This work was supported under NASA Contract No. NNG08FD60C and made use of data from the NuSTAR mission, a project led by the California Institute of Technology, managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. We thank the NuSTAR Operations, Software, and Calibration teams for support with the execution and analysis of these observations. This research has made use of the NuSTAR Data Analysis Software (NuSTARDAS) jointly developed by the ASI Science Data Center (ASDC, Italy) and the California Institute of Technology (USA).

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Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
46306
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20140617-103551890

Funding

Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI)
ASI/INAF I/037/ 12/0-011/13
European Research Council (ERC)
312789
Anillo project
ACT1101
NASA
NNG08FD60C
NASA/JPL/Caltech
Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF)

Dates

Created
2014-06-17
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2021-11-10
Created from EPrint's last_modified field

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
NuSTAR, Space Radiation Laboratory
Other Numbering System Name
Space Radiation Laboratory
Other Numbering System Identifier
2014-55