The X-Ray Spectral Energy Distribution of the Nearby Giant Elliptical Galaxy Maffei 1
Abstract
We present the first constraints on the 1-20 keV spectral energy distribution of a normal elliptical galaxy, Maffei 1, based on simultaneous Chandra and NuSTAR observations. Many early-type galaxies (ETGs) have been studied in the E < 8 keV X-ray, with Chandra and XMM-Newton. However, the hard X-ray (E > 10 keV) properties of normal elliptical galaxies are not yet observationally constrained. At 3.4 Mpc, Maffei 1 is the nearest large normal elliptical that can be studied to sufficient depth with NuSTAR. Using one archival ACIS-S3 and eight new ACIS-I Chandra observations, (totaling ≈ 177 ks), along with two new NuSTAR observations (totaling ≈ 246 ks), the 1-20 keV X-ray spectrum of Maffei 1 was modeled with XSPEC. We find that an absorbed power-law, with a photon index = 2.26 ± 0.07, and intrinsic absorption (nH) = 7.5×1021 cm-2 provided a good fit to the source.
- Publication:
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AAS/High Energy Astrophysics Division
- Pub Date:
- April 2022
- Bibcode:
- 2022HEAD...1910717F