Variable Fe-K line profiles in Sy 1 galaxies

J. Gelbord¹, K.A. Weaver^1,2

1) Department of Physics & Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
2) also at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA

Abstract:

We discuss Fe K line profile variability in an ASCA sample of Seyfert 1 galaxies. In particular, we examine the line core energies defined by fitting narrow Gaussians. Such an empirical analysis is simplistic but avoids modeling uncertainties. We find significant Fe flux and/or energy variability in ~60% of the sample on time scales ranging from years to hours. For example, the peak line energy in Mrk 279 changes from 6.3 to 6.5 keV in ~10⁴s, suggesting an emission region no more than a few light-hours across.

KEYWORDS: galaxies: Seyfert; line: profiles; X-rays: galaxies.

• Introduction
• Procedure
  • Developed for Mrk 279 ...
  • ...and applied to a broader sample
• Results
• About this document ...