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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0The Astrophysical Journal

Local Heavily Obscured Active Galaxies Observed with Chandra. I. Spectral Properties of the Nuclear and Extended X-Ray Emission

  • R. Middei1,2
  • G. Fabbiano2
  • A. Trindade Falcão2,3
  • D. Ł. Król2,4
  • W. P. Maksym5
  • M. Elvis2
5 affiliations
  1. 1INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
  2. 2Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian
  3. 3NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
  4. 4Astronomical Observatory of the Jagiellonian University
  5. 5NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Open at sourcePDFDOICite

Abstract

The Chandra X-ray Observatory has revealed that kiloparsec-scale extended X-ray emission is commonly associated with heavily absorbed ( log ( N H /cm ⁻² ) > 23) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the local Universe. We present a homogeneous spatially resolved spectral analysis of a sample of nearby obscured AGN observed with deep (>100 ks) Chandra/ACIS exposures and all associated with extranuclear extended emission. Exploiting the subarcsecond resolution of Chandra, we separate unresolved nuclear emission from physically distinct extended regions and model their spectra using photoionized and thermal plasma components. The extended emission is spectrally complex, requiring a combination of photoionized and collisionally ionized components in most regions. The spectral parameters exhibit systematic radial variations, with nuclear regions typically hosting higher-column and higher-ionization components, while extended regions span similarly broad but overlapping ranges without a simple monotonic radial progression. Hard (>3 keV) X-ray emission in excess of nuclear point-spread function spillover is detected in 19/20 sources, while extended Fe K α emission is observed in 12/20 systems. These results establish a uniform baseline for the X-ray properties of heavily obscured AGN and provide constraints on the geometry and physical conditions of AGN-driven feedback in the local Universe.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{middei2026local,
  title = {{Local Heavily Obscured Active Galaxies Observed with Chandra. I. Spectral Properties of the Nuclear and Extended X-Ray Emission}},
  author = {R. Middei and G. Fabbiano and A. Trindade Falcão and D. Ł. Król and W. P. Maksym and M. Elvis},
  journal = {The Astrophysical Journal},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/ae9eb9},
  url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae9eb9},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Local Heavily Obscured Active Galaxies Observed with Chandra. I. Spectral Properties of the Nuclear and Extended X-Ray Emission
AU  - R. Middei
AU  - G. Fabbiano
AU  - A. Trindade Falcão
AU  - D. Ł. Król
AU  - W. P. Maksym
AU  - M. Elvis
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/07
JO  - The Astrophysical Journal
DO  - 10.3847/1538-4357/ae9eb9
UR  - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae9eb9
AB  - The Chandra X-ray Observatory has revealed that kiloparsec-scale extended X-ray emission is commonly associated with heavily absorbed ( log ( N H /cm ⁻² ) > 23) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the local Universe. We present a homogeneous spatially resolved spectral analysis of a sample of nearby obscured AGN observed with deep (>100 ks) Chandra/ACIS exposures and all associated with extranuclear extended emission. Exploiting the subarcsecond resolution of Chandra, we separate unresolved nuclear emission from physically distinct extended regions and model their spectra using photoionized and thermal plasma components. The extended emission is spectrally complex, requiring a combination of photoionized and collisionally ionized components in most regions. The spectral parameters exhibit systematic radial variations, with nuclear regions typically hosting higher-column and higher-ionization components, while extended regions span similarly broad but overlapping ranges without a simple monotonic radial progression. Hard (>3 keV) X-ray emission in excess of nuclear point-spread function spillover is detected in 19/20 sources, while extended Fe K α emission is observed in 12/20 systems. These results establish a uniform baseline for the X-ray properties of heavily obscured AGN and provide constraints on the geometry and physical conditions of AGN-driven feedback in the local Universe.
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
ER  -