High-resolution x-ray spectroscopy with the reflection grating spectrometer of Constellation-X
Abstract
High resolution and signal to noise spectral observations of AGN outflows in the UV demonstrate the need for using covering factor models in calculating absorber column densities. We study the best X-ray data set of an AGN outflow, the Chandra 900 kilosecond observation of NGC 3783, for similar effects in the strongly saturated line series of NeX and OVII. Velocity-dependent covering factor generates much better fits to the OVII He-like series than full covering with the same amount of column. There is also evidence for covering factor in strong L-shell Fe lines. With the low resolution of the HETGS relative to absorption troughs, full covering and partial covering yield similar fits to the NeX Lyman series. Still, both models produce NeX column densities 5 times higher than previous analyses. We generate synthetic data for the future Con-X mission and compare to the Chandra 900 ks data. We calculate the necessary resolution and effective area to correctly identify covering factor models.
- Publication:
-
Space Telescopes and Instrumentation II: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray
- Pub Date:
- June 2006
- DOI:
- 10.1117/12.672911
- Bibcode:
- 2006SPIE.6266E..0CS