XMM-Newton View of the Multi-Phase Warm Absorber in Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC985

TL;DR

This study analyzes XMM-Newton data of NGC 985, revealing a multi-phase warm absorber with two or three ionization components, all in pressure balance, supporting the multi-phase nature of AGN warm absorbers.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of the multi-phase warm absorber in NGC 985 using broad-band X-ray spectra, highlighting the stability of all components in a three-phase model.

Findings

Detection of multiple ionization components in the warm absorber.

All components are in pressure balance, supporting a multi-phase medium.

In a three-phase model, all components are thermally stable.

Abstract

We present an analysis of an XMM-Newton observation of the Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 985. The EPIC spectra present strong residuals to a single power-law model, indicating the presence of ionized absorbing gas and a soft excess. A broad-band fit to the EPIC and RGS spectra shows that the continuum can be well fit with a power-law and a blackbody component. The RGS can be modeled either with two or three absorption components. In the two absorber model the low-ionization one, accounts for the presence of the Fe M-shell unresolved transition array (Fe VII-XIII), and the high ionization component is required by the presence of several Fe L-shell transitions. The data suggest the presence of a third ionized component with higher ionization, so that the Fe L-shell absorption features are produced by two different components (one producing absorption by Fe XVII-XX, and the other absorption by Fe XX-XXII). However, the presence of the third absorbing component cannot be detected by means of an isolated absorption line in a significant way, so we consider this detection only as tentative. Interestingly, all ionization components have similar kinematics. In addition, whether two or three absorbers are considered, the components appear to be in pressure balance. These results give further support to the idea that warm absorbers in AGN consist of a two or three-phase medium. We note that, while in the model with only two absorbers one of them (the high ionization component) lies on an unstable branch of the thermal equilibrium curve, in the model with three absorbers all of the components lie on stable branches of the curve. This gives further plausibility to a multi-phase absorber.