Multi-epoch X-ray spectral analysis of Centaurus A: revealing new constraints on iron emission line origins

TL;DR

This study uses X-ray reverberation mapping and spectral analysis to constrain the origin of iron emission lines in Centaurus A, revealing that the Fe Kα line likely originates from Compton-thin material at sub-parsec to parsec scales.

Contribution

It provides new constraints on the location and nature of the Fe Kα emission region in Centaurus A through combined timing and spectral analysis.

Findings

Fe Kα emission likely from Compton-thin material

Two-component transfer function with specific time lags

Reflecting material at sub-parsec to parsec scales

Abstract

We conduct X-ray reverberation mapping and spectral analysis of the radio galaxy Centaurus A to uncover its central structure. We compare the light curve of the hard X-ray continuum from Swift Burst Alert Telescope observations with that of the Fe K$\alpha$ fluorescence line, derived from the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), Suzaku, XMM-Newton, and Swift X-ray Telescope observations. The analysis of the light curves suggests that a top-hat transfer function, commonly employed in reverberation mapping studies, is improbable. Instead, the relation between these light curves can be described by a transfer function featuring two components: one with a lag of $0.19_{- 0.02}^{+ 0.10}~\mathrm{pc}/c$, and another originating at $r > 1.7~\mathrm{pc}$ that produces an almost constant light curve. Further, we analyze the four-epoch NuSTAR and six-epoch Suzaku spectra, considering the time lag of the reflection component relative to the primary continuum. This spectral analysis supports that the reflecting material is Compton-thin, with $N_{\mathrm{H}} = 3.14_{-0.74}^{+0.44} \times 10^{23}~ \mathrm{cm}^{-2}$. These results suggest that the Fe K$\alpha$ emission may originate from Compton-thin circumnuclear material located at sub-parsec scale, likely a dust torus, and materials at a greater distance.