Discovery of Energy-dependent X-Ray Microlensing in Q2237+0305
Abstract
We present our long-term Chandra X-ray monitoring data for the gravitationally lensed quasar Q2237+0305 with 20 epochs spanning 10 years. We easily detect microlensing variability between the images in the full (0.2-8 keV), soft (0.2-2 keV), and hard (2-8 keV) bands at very high confidence. We also detect, for the first time, chromatic microlensing differences between the soft and hard X-ray bands. The hard X-ray band is more strongly microlensed than the soft band, suggesting that the corona above the accretion disk thought to generate the X-rays has a non-uniform electron distribution, in which the hotter and more energetic electrons occupy more compact regions surrounding the black holes. Both the hard and soft X-ray bands are more strongly microlensed than the optical (rest-frame UV) emission, indicating that the X-ray emission is more compact than the optical, confirming the microlensing results from other lenses.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- October 2011
- DOI:
- 10.1088/2041-8205/740/2/L34
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1106.6052
- Bibcode:
- 2011ApJ...740L..34C
- Keywords:
-
- accretion;
- accretion disks;
- black hole physics;
- gravitational lensing: micro;
- gravitational lensing: strong;
- quasars: individual: Q2237+0305;
- Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 4 pages, 3 figures, and 1 table