Testing the Radio-loud vs Radio-quiet AGN Dichotomy through the Ionized Circumnuclear Gas in 3C 445

The circumnuclear environment of Seyferts contains photoionized gas responsible for complex X-ray absorption/emission. Evidence for such a component in radio-loud AGN is, instead, very rare. And yet, the presence of an ionized, scattering medium is postulated by unification models for these sources, and in models for jet formation. Here we propose sensitive Chandra LETGS observations of 3C 445, a nearby bright Broad-Line Radio Galaxy with a line-dominated soft X-ray spectrum. For the first time in a luminous radio-loud AGN, it will be possible to resolve the soft emission lines, determining the kinematics and location of the photoionized gas, its role in jet collimation and thereby probe the differences in the circumnuclear environment between radio-loud and radio-quiet AGN.