A dataset provided by the European Space Agency

Proposal ID 0220151
Obs ID 02201510001
Title Spectral variability of NGC 5548 - pivoting or two components?
Download Data Associated to the proposal https://isla.esac.esa.int/tap/download/bundle?format=ascii_curl&product_id=prop_id:0220151
DOI https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-rrmhx3s
Author McHardy
Abstract It has been known for many years that the X-ray spectral indices ofSeyfert galaxies in the 2-10 keV band become steeper as the fluxincreases. Recently we, and others, have defined the shape of theflux/spectral index relationship very precisely and, in particular, itis noted that the spectral index reaches an asymptotic level at highfluxes.There are two main possible explanations for this relationship. Thefirst possibility is that the spectrum could consist of twocomponents, a relatively hard component of approximately constantflux, and a soft component of variable flux. The second possibilityis that there is intrinsic spectral variability in the component whichdominates the X-ray flux, such that the spectrum does becomeintrinsically softer at high fluxes, perhaps pivoting about some highenergy (100keV).Determining which possibility is actually the case has importantimplications for the physics of the high energy emission regionand is the main aim of the present proposal. Integral is ideallysuited to this programme.
Publications
Temporal Coverage 2004-06-14T18:56:01Z / 2004-06-17T09:18:16Z
Version 1.0
Mission Description The INTEGRAL (International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory) mission, launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) on October 17, 2002, was designed to study high-energy phenomena in the universe. INTEGRAL was operating until february 2025 and it was equipped with three high-energy instruments: the Imager on Board the INTEGRAL Satellite (IBIS), the Spectrometer on INTEGRAL (SPI), and the JEM-X (Joint European Monitor for X-rays). Its Optical Monitoring Camera (OMC) provided optical V-band magnitude measurements, complementing the high-energy observations.
Creator Contact https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/integral/helpdesk
Date Published 2025-03-25T09:54:30Z
Publisher And Registrant European Space Agency
Credit Guidelines European Space Agency, McHardy, 2025, 'Spectral variability of NGC 5548 - pivoting or two components?', 1.0, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-rrmhx3s