Joint Fit of Warm Absorbers in COS & HETG Spectra of NGC 3783

TL;DR

This study presents a joint fit of UV and X-ray spectra of NGC 3783, revealing five warm absorbers with diverse properties and implications for AGN outflows and mass loss.

Contribution

First joint modeling of UV and X-ray warm absorbers in NGC 3783 using photoionization models, revealing their physical properties and dynamics.

Findings

Five warm absorbers explain all observed absorption features.

Ionization parameters range from 0.6 to 3.8, and velocities from 380 to 1060 km/s.

Total mass outflow rate estimated between 0.22 and 4.1 solar masses per year.

Abstract

Warm Absorbers (WAs), as an important form of AGN outflows, show absorption in both UV and X-ray band. Using XSTAR generated photoionization models, for the first time we present a joint fit to the simultaneous observations of HST/COS and Chandra/HETGS on NGC 3783. A total of five WAs explain well all absorption features from the AGN outflows, which are spread over a wide range of parameters: ionization parameter log{\xi} from 0.6 to 3.8, column density log N_H from 19.5 to 22.3 cm^{-2}, velocity v from 380 to 1060 km s^{-1}, and covering factor from 0.33 to 0.75. Not all the five WAs are consistent in pressure. Two of them are likely different parts of the same absorbing gas, and two of the other WAs may be smaller discrete clouds that are blown out from the inner region of the torus at different periods. The five WAs suggest a total mass outflowing rate within the range of 0.22-4.1 solar mass per year.