Modeling Warm Absorption in HST/COS Spectrum of Mrk 290 with XSTAR

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new modeling approach using XSTAR to analyze UV absorption features in the spectrum of Mrk 290, revealing multiple warm absorbers and their physical properties, and linking UV and X-ray absorbing gas.

Contribution

The study develops an advanced photoionization modeling method with XSTAR to interpret UV and X-ray absorption features in AGN spectra, providing insights into absorber geometry and origin.

Findings

Identified three intrinsic UV absorbers with velocities ~500 km/s.

Found a one-to-one correspondence between UV and X-ray warm absorbers.

Suggested that warm absorbers are likely clouds near the torus, not thin layers.

Abstract

We present a new method to model a HST/COS spectrum, aimed to analyze intrinsic UV absorption from the outflow of Mrk 290, a Seyfert I galaxy. We use newly updated XSTAR to generate photoionization models for the intrinsic absorption from the AGN outflow, the line emission from the AGN broad and narrow line regions, and the local absorption from high velocity clouds and Galactic interstellar medium. The combination of these physical models accurately fit the COS spectrum. Three intrinsic absorbers outflowing with velocities ~500 km/s are identified, two of which are found directly from two velocity components of the N V and C IV doublets, while the third is required by the extra absorption in the Lyman alpha. Their outflow velocities, ionization states and column densities are consistent with the lowest and moderately ionization warm absorbers (WAs) in the X-ray domain found by Chandra observations, suggesting an one-to-one correspondence between the absorbing gas in the UV and X-ray bands. The small turbulent velocities of the WAs (v_turb~<100 km/s) support our previous argument from the X-ray study that the absorbers originate from the inner side of the torus due to thermal evaporation. Given the covering fractions of ~65% for the three WAs, we deduce that the lengths and the thicknesses of the WAs are comparable, which indicates that the geometry of WAs are more likely clouds rather than flat and thin layers. In addition, the modeling of the broad line emission suggests a higher covering fraction of clouds when they are very closer to the black hole.