| Proposal ID | 088321 |
| Title | Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall\\: Constraining Reflection in Compton-Thick AGN |
| Download Data Associated to the proposal | https://nxsa.esac.esa.int/nxsa-sl/servlet/data-action-aio?obsno=0883210401 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-wim5ojd |
| Principal Investigator, PI | Dr Michael Koss |
| Abstract | For more than 30 years, it has been assumed that a pc-scale torus produces aconstant Compton-reflection component in heavily obscured AGN. We recentlyfinished the 157-month Swift BAT processing and found to our surprise thatnearly all of the brightest CT AGN are variable. We propose a variability studyof 10 CT AGN with significant variability detected in multi-epoch NuSTARobservations at 2-10 keV, where a significant reflection component was detected,but none or only one high S/N soft X-ray observation exists so the observationsare poorly constrained. This is a time critical opportunity to take advantage ofa recent large set of legacy NuSTAR observations from this summer to studyshorter virgul1 year-long variability periods in CT AGN. |
| Publications |
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| Instrument | EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2 |
| Temporal Coverage | 2021-06-17T17:19:17Z/2022-03-28T18:35:19Z |
| Version | 19.17_20220121_1250 |
| 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. |
| Creator Contact | https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/xmm-newton-helpdesk |
| Date Published | 2023-04-21T00:00:00Z |
| Keywords | "NuSTAR", "reflection component", "compton thick agn", "heavily obscured agn", "ct agn", "poorly constrained", "brightest ct agn", "soft xray", "multi epoch nustar", "variability periods" |
| Publisher And Registrant | European Space Agency |
| Credit Guidelines | European Space Agency, Dr Michael Koss, 2023, 'Mirror comma Mirror comma on the Wall\\: Constraining Reflection in Compton-Thick AGN', 19.17_20220121_1250, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-wim5ojd |