Broadband X-ray Spectral Analysis of the Double-Nucleus Luminous Infrared Galaxy Mrk 463

TL;DR

This study presents a detailed broadband X-ray spectral analysis of the double-nucleus LIRG Mrk 463, revealing the properties of its dual AGNs, their obscuration levels, and implications for black hole growth during galaxy mergers.

Contribution

First broadband X-ray spectral analysis of Mrk 463's dual AGNs, providing insights into their obscuration, luminosities, and growth stages during merger.

Findings

Both nuclei host obscured AGNs with high intrinsic luminosities.

Mrk 463E shows an X-ray weak SED relative to UV, indicating a high bolometric-to-X-ray ratio.

Mrk 463W has a low Eddington ratio, suggesting an early merger phase.

Abstract

We present a broadband (0.4-70 keV) X-ray spectral analysis of the luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG) system Mrk 463 observed with Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), Chandra, and XMM-Newton, which contains double active galactic nuclei (AGNs) (Mrk 463E and Mrk 463W) with a separation of $\sim$ 3.8 kpc. Detecting their transmitted hard X-ray $>10$ keV continua with NuSTAR, we confirm that Mrk 463E and Mrk 463W have AGNs with intrinsic luminosities of (1.6-2.2) $\times 10^{43}$ and (0.5-0.6) $\times 10^{43}$ erg s$^{-1}$ (2-10 keV) obscured by hydrogen column densities of 8 $\times 10^{23}$ and 3 $\times 10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$, respectively. Both nuclei show strong reflection components from cold matter. The luminosity ratio between X-ray (2-10 keV) and [O IV] 25.89 $\mu$m of Mrk 463E is $\sim$5 times smaller than those of normal Seyfert galaxies, suggesting that the intrinsic SED is X-ray weak relative to the UV luminosity. In fact, the bolometric AGN luminosity of Mrk 463E estimated from $L^{\prime}$-band (3.8 $\mu$m), [O IV] 25.89 $\mu$m, and [Ne V] 14.32 $\mu$m lines indicate a large bolometric-to-X-ray luminosity ratio, $\kappa_{\rm 2-10 keV} \approx$ 110-410, and a high Eddington ratio, $\lambda_{\rm Edd} \sim$ 0.4-0.8. We suggest that the merger triggered a rapid growth of the black hole in Mrk 463E, which is not yet deeply "buried" by circumnuclear dust. By contrast, the $L^{\prime}$-band luminosity of Mrk 463W is unusually small relative to the X-ray luminosity, suggesting that the Eddington ratio is low ($<10^{-3}$) and it might be still in an early phase of merger-driven AGN activity.