AGN-host interaction in IC 5063. I. Large-scale X-ray morphology and spectral analysis

TL;DR

This study analyzes deep Chandra X-ray data of IC 5063, revealing complex interactions between radio jets, nuclear radiation, and the interstellar medium, with extended emission indicating significant jet-ISM interactions and nuclear photon effects.

Contribution

First detailed X-ray morphological and spectral analysis of IC 5063 highlighting jet-ISM interactions and nuclear irradiation effects in a radio-loud Seyfert 2 galaxy.

Findings

Soft X-ray emission shows jet-ISM interaction signatures.

Extended hard X-ray and Fe K-alpha emission suggest nuclear photon influence.

Spatially correlated Fe XXV line indicates jet-ISM interaction at hot spots.

Abstract

We report the analysis of the deep (270 ks) X-ray Chandra data of one of the most radio-loud, Seyfert 2 galaxies in the nearby Universe (z=0.01135), IC 5063. The alignment of the radio structure with the galactic disk and ionized bi-cone, enables us to study the effects of both radio jet and nuclear irradiation on the interstellar medium (ISM). The nuclear and bi-cone spectra suggest a low photoionization phase mixed with a more ionized or thermal gas component, while the cross-cone spectrum is dominated by shocked and collisionally ionized gas emission. The clumpy morphology of the soft (<3 keV) X-ray emission along the jet trails, and the large (~2.4 kpc) filamentary structure perpendicular to the radio jets at softer energies (<1.5 keV), suggest a large contribution of the jet-ISM interaction to the circumnuclear gas emission. The hard X-ray continuum (>3 keV) and the Fe K-alpha 6.4 keV emission are both extended to kpc size along the bi-cone direction, suggesting an interaction of nuclear photons with dense clouds in the galaxy disk, as observed in other Compton Thick (CT) active nuclei. The north-west cone spectrum also exhibits an Fe XXV emission line, which appears spatially extended and spatially correlated with the most intense radio hot-spot, suggesting jet-ISM interaction.