Analysis of the 3C445 Soft X-ray Spectrum as Observed by Chandra high-energy gratings

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the soft X-ray spectrum of 3C445 observed by Chandra, identifying ionized emission lines, modeling their origin, and concluding they originate from the broad line region based on detailed spectral analysis.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed spectral analysis of 3C445's soft X-ray emission, distinguishing between collisional and photoionized plasma origins, and locates the emission region within the BLR.

Findings

Emission lines originate from collisionally ionized plasma.

A one-component photoionization model fits the spectrum well.

Emission lines are likely from the broad line region.

Abstract

We present a detailed analysis of the soft X-ray emission of 3C445 using an archival Chandra HETG spectrum. Highly-ionized H- and He-like Mg, Si and S lines, as well as a resolved low-ionized Si K$\alpha$ line, are detected in the high resolution spectrum. The He-like triplets of Mg and Si are resolved into individual lines, and the calculated R ratios indicate a high density for the emitter. The low values of the G ratios indicate the lines originate from collisionally ionized plasmas. However, the detection of a resolved narrow Ne X RRC feature in the spectrum seems to prefer to a photoionized environment. The spectrum is subsequently modelled with a photoionization model, and the results are compared with that of a collisional model. Through a detailed analysis on the spectrum, we exclude a collisional origin for these emission lines. A one-component photoionization model provides a great fit to the emission features. The best-fit parameters are log$\xi$ = $3.3^{+0.4}_{-0.3}$ erg cm s$^{-1}$, $n_{H}$ = $5^{+15}_{-4.5}\times10^{10}$ cm$^{-3}$ and $N_{H}$ = $2.5^{+3.8}_{-1.7}\times10^{20}$ cm$^{-2}$. According to the calculated high density for the emitter, the measured velocity widths of the emission lines and the inferred the radial distance (6 $\times$ $10^{14}$ - 8 $\times$ $10^{15}$ cm), we suggest the emission lines originating from matter locate in the broad line region (BLR).