XMM-Newton AGN observations: Iron lines, accretion disks and molecular tori

P.T. O'Brien, J.N. Reeves (University of Leicester)

[Contributed talk, 15min.]

Abstract

We present XMM-Newton observations of an AGN sample covering a wide range in luminosity and spectral type. Both broad and narrow iron K$\alpha$ line components are frequently seen whose relative strengths vary among the sample. The broad iron lines can be highly ionised, with the degree of ionisation correlating with luminosity and/or accretion rate. The narrow-lines appear ubiquitous in low/medium luminosity AGN but are not detected in high luminosity QSOs. In the context of type-1/type-2 unified schemes, this correlation suggests molecular tori are less prominent in higher luminosity AGN. The observed continuum spectrum is also complex, frequently including strong soft X-ray emission in excess of an extrapolated high-energy `powerlaw' component. These high-quality XMM-Newton data provide a powerful test of accretion disk models.

CATEGORY: ACTIVE GALAXIES AND QUASARS