AGN outflows couple supermassive black holes to their environments. Using anambitious multiwavelength campaign on NGC 5548, (XMM-Newton, HST, Swift, andoptical) we propose to achieve a new level of physical understanding for theseenigmatic winds by obtaining the deepest RGS spectrum of any AGN, allowing us todetermine the ionisation structure of the gas. Using EPIC data we will measurethe response of the outflow to continuum variations, which combined with HST/COSdata determines unambiguously the location and tomography of the outflowcomponents. Time-dependent UV and X-ray continuum variations will constrain thegeometry and physics close to the black hole. Our team pioneered this approach,and recently applied it successfully (12 refereed papers) to Mrk 509.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2013-06-22T04:10:29Z/2014-02-05T01:23:43Z
Version
17.56_20190403_1200
Mission Description
The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis.
European Space Agency, Dr Jelle Kaastra, 2015, 'Deciphering AGN outflows: multiwavelength monitoring of NGC 5548', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-ftzxscj
