The High Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P): Probing the physics of the X-ray corona in active galactic nuclei

TL;DR

HEX-P will significantly advance understanding of X-ray coronae in active galactic nuclei by providing high-resolution, broad-spectrum observations, enabling detailed studies of their properties, evolution, and role in black hole growth.

Contribution

This paper introduces HEX-P, a new high-energy X-ray mission concept, demonstrating its potential to improve measurements of AGN coronae beyond current capabilities.

Findings

HEX-P will measure key corona properties in unobscured AGN.

It will estimate coronal parameters in obscured AGN in the local universe.

HEX-P will characterize coronae in distant quasars and transient systems.

Abstract

The hard X-ray emission in active galactic nuclei (AGN) and black hole X-ray binaries is thought to be produced by a hot cloud of electrons referred to as the corona. This emission, commonly described by a power law with a high-energy cutoff, is suggestive of Comptonization by thermal electrons. While several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the origin, geometry, and composition of the corona, we still lack a clear understanding of this fundamental component. NuSTAR has been playing a key role improving our knowledge of X-ray coronae thanks to its unprecedented sensitivity above 10 keV. However, these constraints are limited to bright, nearby sources. The High Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P) is a probe-class mission concept combining high spatial resolution X-ray imaging and broad spectral coverage (0.2-80 keV) with a sensitivity superior to current facilities. In this paper, we highlight the major role that HEX-P will play in further advancing our insights of X-ray coronae, notably in AGN. We demonstrate how HEX-P will measure key properties and track the temporal evolution of coronae in unobscured AGN. This will allow us to determine their electron distribution and test the dominant emission mechanisms. Furthermore, we show how HEX-P will accurately estimate the coronal properties of obscured AGN in the local Universe, helping address fundamental questions about AGN unification. In addition, HEX-P will characterize coronae in a large sample of luminous quasars at cosmological redshifts for the first time and track the evolution of coronae in transient systems in real time. We also demonstrate how HEX-P will enable estimating the coronal geometry using spectral-timing techniques. HEX-P will thus be essential to understand the evolution and growth of black holes over a broad range of mass, distance, and luminosity, and will help uncover the black holes' role in shaping the Universe.