The changing source of X-ray reflection in the radio-intermediate Seyfert 1 galaxy III Zw 2
Abstract
We report on X-ray observations of the radio-intermediate, X-ray bright Seyfert 1 galaxy, III Zw 2, obtained with XMM-Newton, Suzaku, and Swift over the past 17 yr. The source brightness varies significantly over yearly time-scales, but more modestly over periods of days. Pointed observations with XMM-Newton in 2000 and Suzaku in 2011 show spectral differences despite comparable X-ray fluxes. The Suzaku spectra are consistent with a power-law continuum and a narrow Gaussian emission feature at ∼6.4 keV, whereas the earlier XMM-Newton spectrum requires a broader Gaussian profile and soft-excess below ∼2 keV. A potential interpretation is that the primary power-law emission, perhaps from a jet base, preferentially illuminates the inner accretion disc in 2000, but the distant torus in 2011. The interpretation could be consistent with the hypothesized precessing radio jet in III Zw 2 that may have originated from disc instabilities due to an ongoing merging event.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- March 2018
- DOI:
- 10.1093/mnras/stx3146
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1712.01116
- Bibcode:
- 2018MNRAS.475..128G
- Keywords:
-
- galaxies: active;
- galaxies: individual: III Zw 2;
- galaxies: nuclei;
- X-rays: galaxies;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
- E-Print:
- 12 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables