BeppoSAX unveils the nuclear component in NGC 6240
Astrophysics
2007-05-23 v1
Abstract
The direct nuclear X-ray emission of the ultraluminous IRAS galaxy NGC 6240 has been observed for the first time by BeppoSAX. It is seen through an absorber with N_H=2*10^{24} cm^{-2}. The 2-10 keV X-ray luminosity >10^{44} erg s^{-1} definitely proves that a powerful AGN is hosted in this galaxy, despite the LINER optical appearance. Assuming the typical L_X/L_bol ratio for quasars, our result implies that it is the AGN and not the starburst that dominates the energy output of NGC 6240.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/9908253,
title = {BeppoSAX unveils the nuclear component in NGC 6240},
author = {P. Vignati and S. Molendi and G. Matt and M. Guainazzi and L. A. Antonelli and L. Bassani and W. N. Brandt and A. C. Fabian and K. Iwasawa and R. Maiolino and G. Malaguti and A. Marconi and G. C. Perola},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/9908253},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
To appear in A&A Letters