Ark 564 is a luminous accreting supermassive black hole that has revealedseveral extraordinary qualities in soft X-rays: it is the brightest NLS1 from0.3-10 keV, is one of the most highly variable AGN, has a very steep spectrumand strong soft excess. In NuSTAR AO1, we were awarded 200 ks to study thissource above 20 keV for the first time, and discovered that Ark 564 is asexceptional in hard X-rays as it is in soft. Ark 564 has a coronal temperatureof 15 2 keV, one of the lowest ever observed, and also shows an iron K linecomplex that is so highly ionised that it resembles more closely a black holebinary than an AGN. We now propose for an additional 500 ks of NuSTARobservations, simultaneous with 200 ks of XMM-Newton time and 100 ks of NICER time.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2018-12-01T15:20:59Z/2018-12-04T23:10:29Z
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 Erin Kara, 2019, 'THE COOLEST CORONA IN THE EDDINGTON-LIMITED AGN ARK 564', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-9kz85e8
