Uncovering the geometry of the hot X-ray corona in the Seyfert galaxy NGC4151 with IXPE

TL;DR

This study uses X-ray polarimetry to reveal that the hot corona in NGC4151 has a slab-like geometry, not spherical, providing new insights into the structure of AGN coronae.

Contribution

First X-ray polarization measurement of an AGN corona, demonstrating the capability of IXPE to determine coronal geometry through spectro-polarimetric analysis.

Findings

Polarization degree of 4.9% in 2-8 keV range

Excludes spherical lamppost corona geometry

Supports a slab-like or wedge-shaped corona

Abstract

We present an X-ray spectro-polarimetric analysis of the bright Seyfert galaxy NGC4151. The source has been observed with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) for 700 ks, complemented with simultaneous XMM-Newton (50 ks) and NuSTAR (100 ks) pointings. A polarization degree ${\Pi} = 4.9 {\pm} 1.1 \%$ and angle ${\Psi}= 86{\deg} {\pm} 7{\deg}$ east of north ($68\%$ confidence level) are measured in the 2-8 keV energy range. The spectro-polarimetric analysis shows that the polarization could be entirely due to reflection. Given the low reflection flux in the IXPE band, this requires however a reflection with a very large ($> 38 \%$) polarization degree. Assuming more reasonable values, a polarization degree of the hot corona ranging from ${\sim}4$ to ${\sim}8\%$ is found. The observed polarization degree excludes a spherical lamppost geometry for the corona, suggesting instead a slab-like geometry, possibly a wedge, as determined via Monte Carlo simulations. This is further confirmed by the X-ray polarization angle, which coincides with the direction of the extended radio emission in this source, supposed to match the disc axis. NGC4151 is the first AGN with an X-ray polarization measure for the corona, illustrating the capabilities of X-ray polarimetry and IXPE in unveiling its geometry.