NGC 5548: Lack of a Broad Fe K Line and Constraints on the Location of the Hard X-ray Source

TL;DR

This study analyzes Suzaku X-ray spectra of NGC 5548, finding no significant relativistic reflection signatures and constraining the location of the hard X-ray source within 100 gravitational radii.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed spectral analysis of NGC 5548's X-ray emission, setting upper limits on relativistic Fe K line strength and discussing implications for the accretion disk and X-ray source location.

Findings

No significant relativistic Fe K line detected (EW  26 eV)

NGC 5548 exhibits a warm absorber and distant reflection

Hard X-ray source likely within 100 gravitational radii

Abstract

We present an analysis of the co-added and individual 0.7-40 keV spectra from seven Suzaku observations of the Sy 1.5 galaxy NGC 5548 taken over a period of eight weeks. We conclude that the source has a moderately ionized, three-zone warm absorber, a power-law continuum, and exhibits contributions from cold, distant reflection. Relativistic reflection signatures are not significantly detected in the co-added data, and we place an upper limit on the equivalent width of a relativistically broad Fe K line at EW \leq 26 eV at 90% confidence. Thus NGC 5548 can be labeled an "weak" type-1 AGN in terms of its observed inner disk reflection signatures, in contrast to sources with very broad, strong iron lines such as MCG-6-30-15, which are likely much fewer in number. We compare physical properties of NGC 5548 and MCG-6-30-15 that might explain this difference in their reflection properties. Though there is some evidence that NGC 5548 may harbor a truncated inner accretion disk, this evidence is inconclusive, so we also consider light bending of the hard X-ray continuum emission in order to explain the lack of relativistic reflection in our observation. If the absence of a broad Fe K line is interpreted in the light-bending context, we conclude that the source of the hard X-ray continuum lies at <100 gravitational radii. We note, however, that light-bending models must be expanded to include a broader range of physical parameter space in order to adequately explain the spectral and timing properties of average AGN, rather than just those with strong, broad iron lines.