Christopher S. Reynolds and Jörn Wilms 2000 ApJ 533 821 doi:10.1086/308712
Christopher S. Reynolds1,2 and Jörn Wilms3
Show affiliationsIt has recently been suggested that Compton downscattering may give rise to the broad iron lines seen in the X-ray spectra of Seyfert 1 galaxies. This challenges the standard model, in which these lines originate from the innermost regions of the black hole accretion disk with Doppler shifts and gravitational redshifts giving rise to the broadened line profile. Here we apply observational constraints to the Compton downscattering model for MCG-6-30-15 and NGC 3516, the two best cases to date of Seyfert galaxies with relativistically broad lines. We show that the continuum source in MCG-6-30-15 required by the constrained model violates the blackbody limit. In the case of NGC 3516, only a very small region of parameter space is compatible with the constraints. Hence, we conclude that the Comptonization model is not a viable one for the broad line seen in these two objects. The accretion disk model remains the best interpretation of these data.
galaxies: individual (MCG –6-30-15, NGC 3516); galaxies: Seyfert; line: formation; X-rays: galaxies
Issue 2 (2000 April 20)
Received 1999 November 29, accepted for publication 1999 December 3
Christopher S. Reynolds and Jörn Wilms 2000 ApJ 533 821
Pierre Hillion 2001 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 34 4687
A Matzkin 2006 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 39 10859
Simon Wicks and Miklos Gyulassy 2007 J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phys. 34 S989
Hisato Yasumatsu and Tamotsu Kondow 2003 Rep. Prog. Phys. 66 1783
S K Tripathi et al 2009 Smart Mater. Struct. 18 125012
F Acernese et al 2005 Class. Quantum Grav. 22 S1139
K A Polzin and E Y Choueiri 2003 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 36 3156
Yohannes Shiferaw and Yadin Y Goldschmidt 2000 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 33 4461
James P Gregory and Antonio Padilla 2003 Class. Quantum Grav. 20 4221