Robust measurements of black hole spin in supermassive black holes that are notrapidly rotating is difficult because of selection effects and technicalchallenges. We propose to observe the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy, Mrk 79, withNuSTAR and XMM, to confirm or correct the existing measured spin parameter ofa*virgul0.7, which is based on multi-epoch XMM and Suzaku observations. Thoughmeasurements from the multi-epoch analysis are precise, some parameters (e.g. photon index and reflection fraction) appear unusual when compared with typicalAGN values. The sensitivity above 10 keV provided with NuSTAR will let usdirectly constrain the primary continuum and Compton hump. This will result inmore accurate measurements of the model parameters and a tighter constraint of the black hole spin.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2020-09-25T10:57:50Z/2020-09-25T22:13:47Z
Version
18.02_20200221_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, Prof Luigi Gallo, 2021, 'Does Mrk 79 have an intermediate spin black hole', 18.02_20200221_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-h0cj1k6
