NuSTAR's View of AGN
Abstract
The launch of the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) in June 2012 has opened a new window onto the high-energy universe. The study of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) within them stands to benefit greatly from this observatory. NuSTAR's unique combination of focusing X-ray optics, large effective area and low background over the 3-79 keV energy band allows us to unambiguously probe the nature of complex AGN environs. I will review the planned AGN physics science goals for the mission with a particular focus on joint XMM/Swift/NuSTAR and Suzaku/NuSTAR observing campaigns to constrain the properties of the SMBHs, inner accretion disks and coronae in six bright, nearby AGN. Obtaining high signal-to-noise spectra across a broad bandpass is crucial for this work, enabling degeneracies between the continuum, reflection and absorption signatures in the spectrum to be broken for the first time. I will show early results from the Suzaku/NuSTAR campaign on the bright Seyfert IC 4329A as a preview of the quality of results we can expect from these collaborations.
- Publication:
-
Memorie della Societa Astronomica Italiana
- Pub Date:
- 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013MmSAI..84..669B
- Keywords:
-
- Accretion;
- accretion disks;
- Galaxies: IC 4329A;
- Galaxies: active;
- Galaxies: nuclei;
- X-rays: galaxies