XRISM Spectroscopy of the Fe K$_{\alpha}$ Emission Line in the Seyfert AGN NGC 4151 Reveals the Disk, Broad Line Region, and Torus

TL;DR

This paper analyzes XRISM spectra of NGC 4151 to resolve the complex Fe K$_{\alpha}$ emission line, revealing multiple emission regions and their dynamics, which enhances understanding of AGN accretion structures.

Contribution

The study provides the first detailed spectral decomposition of the Fe K$_{\alpha}$ line in NGC 4151 using XRISM, identifying distinct emission components and their likely origins.

Findings

The Fe K$_{\alpha}$ line consists of three components with different origins.

The narrowest component is consistent with emission from neutral gas near the torus.

Evidence of variability suggests small radii for some emission regions.

Abstract

We present an analysis of the first two XRISM/Resolve spectra of the well-known Seyfert-1.5 active galactic nucleus in NGC 4151, obtained in December 2023. Our work focuses on the nature of the narrow Fe K$_{\alpha}$ emission line at 6.4 keV, the strongest and most common X-ray line observed in AGN. The total line is found to consist of three components. Even the narrowest component of the line is resolved with evident Fe K$_{\alpha,1}$ (6.404 keV) and K$_{\alpha,2}$ (6.391 keV) contributions in a 2:1 flux ratio, fully consistent with neutral gas with negligible bulk velocity. Subject to the limitations of our models, the narrowest and intermediate-width components are consistent with emission from optically thin gas, suggesting that they arise in a disk atmosphere and/or wind. Modeling the three line components in terms of Keplerian broadening, they are readily associated with (1) the inner wall of the ``torus,'' (2) the innermost optical ``broad line region'' (or, ``X-ray BLR''), and (3) a region with a radius of $r\simeq 100~GM/c^{2}$ that may signal a warp in the accretion disk. Viable alternative explanations of the broadest component include a fast wind component and/or scattering; however, we find evidence of variability in the narrow Fe K$_{\alpha}$ line complex on time scales consistent with small radii. The best-fit models are statistically superior to simple Voigt functions, but when fit with Voigt profiles the time-averaged lines are consistent with a projected velocity broadening of FWHM$=1600^{+400}_{-200}~{\rm km}~{\rm s}^{-1}$. Overall, the resolution and sensitivity of XRISM show that the narrow Fe K line in AGN is an effective probe of all key parts of the accretion flow, as it is currently understood. We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of AGN accretion, future studies with XRISM, and X-ray-based black hole mass measurements.