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The Variable Fast Soft X-Ray Wind in PG 1211+143

The Variable Fast Soft X-Ray Wind in PG 1211+143 Thumbnail


Abstract

The analysis of a series of seven observations of the nearby ( z = 0.0809) QSO PG 1211+143, taken with the Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) onboard XMM-Newton in 2014, are presented. The high-resolution soft X-ray spectrum, with a total exposure exceeding 600 ks, shows a series of blueshifted absorption lines from the He and H-like transitions of N, O, and Ne, as well as from L-shell Fe. The strongest absorption lines are all systematically blueshifted by -0.06 c , originating in two absorption zones from low- and high-ionization gas. Both zones are variable on timescales of days, with the variations in absorber opacity effectively explained by either column density changes or the absorber ionization responding directly to the continuum flux. We find that the soft X-ray absorbers probably exist in a two-phase wind at a radial distance of ~10 17 –10 18 cm from the black hole with the lower-ionization gas as denser clumps embedded within a higher-ionization outflow. The overall mass outflow rate of the soft X-ray wind may be as high as ##IMG## [http://ej.iop.org/images/0004-637X/854/1/28/apjaaa776ieqn1.gif] {$2{M}_{\odot }$} yr -1 , close to the Eddington rate for PG 1211+143 and similar to that previously deduced from the Fe K absorption.

Acceptance Date Jan 11, 2018
Publication Date Feb 8, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Astrophysical Journal
Print ISSN 0004-637X
Publisher American Astronomical Society
Pages 28 - ?
DOI https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aaa776
Keywords accretion, accretion disks, black hole physics, galaxies, active, individual (PG 1211+143)
Publisher URL http://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aaa776

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