2021A&A...647A.102M

We present a detailed X-ray spectral analysis of the nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy MCG-01-24-12 based on a multi-epoch data set. Data were obtained with different X-ray satellites, namely XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, Swift, and Chandra, and cover different time intervals, from a few days to years. From 2006 to 2013 the source had a 2-10 keV flux of ∼1.5x10^–11erg/cm²/s, consistent with archival observations based on HEAO and BeppoSAX data, though a 2019 Chandra snapshot caught the source in an extreme low flux state a factor of ∼10 fainter than its historical level. Based on phenomenological and physically motivated models, we find the X-ray spectrum of MCG-01-24-12 to be best modelled by a power-law continuum emission with Γ=1.76±0.09 with a high energy cut-off at E_c=70_–14⁺²¹keV that is absorbed by a fairly constant column density of N_H=(6.3±0.5)x10²²cm^–2. These quantities allowed us to estimate the properties of the hot corona in MCG-01-24-12 for the cases of a spherical or slab-like hot Comptonising plasma to be kT_e=27_–4⁺⁸keV, τ_e=5.5±1.3 and kT_e=28_–5⁺⁷keV, τ=3.2±0.8, respectively. Finally, despite the short duration of the exposures, possible evidence of the presence of outflows is discussed.