Termination Shocks and the Extended X-Ray Emission in Mrk 78
Abstract
Subarcsecond imaging of the X-ray emission in the type 2 active galactic nucleus (AGN) Mrk 78 with Chandra shows complex structure with spectral variations on scales from ~200 pc to ~2 kpc. Overall the X-ray emission is aligned E-W with the radio (3.6 cm) and narrow emission line region as mapped in [O III], with a marked E-W asymmetry. The eastern X-ray emission is mostly in a compact knot coincident with the location where the radio source is deflected, while the western X-ray emission forms a loop or shell ~2 kpc from the nucleus with radius ~0.7 kpc. There is suggestive evidence of shocks in both the eastern knot and the western arc. Both these positions coincide with large changes in the velocities of the [O III] outflow. We discuss possible reasons why the X-ray shocks on the western side occur ~1 kpc farther out than on the eastern side. We estimate that the thermal energy injected by the shocks into the interstellar medium corresponds to 0.05%-0.6% of the AGN bolometric luminosity.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- May 2022
- DOI:
- 10.3847/1538-4357/ac694d
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2204.13140
- Bibcode:
- 2022ApJ...931...65F
- Keywords:
-
- Active galaxies;
- Active galactic nuclei;
- Markarian galaxies;
- Seyfert galaxies;
- X-ray active galactic nuclei;
- 17;
- 16;
- 1006;
- 1447;
- 2035;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena;
- Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
- E-Print:
- 23 pages, 14 figures, 6 tables