2006A&A...452..845R -
Astronomy and Astrophysics, volume 452, 845-856 (2006/6-4)
X-ray emission from the blazar AO 0235+16: the XMM-Newton. and Chandra point of view.
RAITERI C.M., VILLATA M., KADLER M., KRICHBAUM T.P., BOETTCHER M., FUHRMANN L. and ORIO M.
Abstract (from CDS):
We analyse five observations of the BL Lac object
AO 0235+16 performed with the Chandra and XMM-Newton satellites during the years 2000-2005. In the February 2002 observation the source is found in a bright state and presents a steep X-ray spectrum, while in all the other epochs it is faint and the spectrum is hard. The soft X-ray spectrum appears to be strongly absorbed, likely by the intervening system at z=0.524, which also absorbs the optical-UV radiation. We find that models that consider spectral curvature are superior to single power law ones in fitting the X-ray spectrum. In particular, we favour a double power law model, which agrees with the assumption of a superposition of two different components in the X-ray domain. Both in the Chandra and in one of the XMM-Newton observations, a tentative detection of the redshifted FeKα emission line may suggest its origin from the inner part of an accretion disc. Thermal emission from this accretion disc might explain the UV-soft-X-ray bump that appears in the spectral energy distributions, when the X-ray spectra are complemented with the optical-UV data from the Optical Monitor onboard XMM-Newton. More likely, the bump can be interpreted in terms of an additional synchrotron component emitted from an inner region of the jet with respect to that where the lower-energy emission comes from. An inspection of the X-ray light curves reveals that intraday variability occurs only when the source is in a bright state.
Abstract Copyright:
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Journal keyword(s):
galaxies: active - galaxies: BL Lacertae objects: general - galaxies: BL Lacertae objects: individual: AO 0235+16 - galaxies: jets - galaxies: quasars: general
Simbad objects:
4
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