X-ray polarization of the Compton-thin Seyfert galaxy NGC 5506 with IXPE
Abstract
We report on the observation of the Compton-thin Seyfert galaxy NGC~5506 performed with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). The observation, with a net observing time of 975~ks, was partly simultaneous with \textit{NuSTAR} (52~ks) and \textit{XMM-Newton} (37~ks). Using a simple baseline model with IXPE data only, we find an upper limit on the 2--8~keV polarization fraction at the 99% confidence level: Π<3.1%. We then performed a spectropolarimetric analysis combining data from the three X-ray observatories. While pure spectral modeling confirms the presence of both relativistic and cold distant reflection, in addition to the primary continuum power law, their contributions lead to somewhat different constraints on the coronal Π, depending on the specific assumptions. We also performed Monte Carlo simulations with the radiative transfer code \texttt{MONK}, exploring various coronal geometries. Comparing these results with the IXPE data, and assuming a radially extended corona, as suggested by previous observations of similar sources, the corresponding polarization upper limits require inclination angles below 40°.
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BibTeX
@misc{tagliacozzo2026xray,
title = {{X-ray polarization of the Compton-thin Seyfert galaxy NGC 5506 with IXPE}},
author = {Daniele Tagliacozzo and Alessandro Leonardo Lai and Andrea Gnarini and Giorgio Matt and Stefano Bianchi and Francesco Ursini and Andrea Marinucci and Alessia Tortosa and Sudip Chakraborty and Federico Ferretti and Vittoria Elvezia Gianolli and Elias Kammoun and Frédéric Marin and Herman Marshall and Riccardo Middei and Romana Mikusincova and Dawoon Kim},
howpublished = {HAL},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.21711},
eprint = {2609.21711},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05830189v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-SA 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - X-ray polarization of the Compton-thin Seyfert galaxy NGC 5506 with IXPE
AU - Daniele Tagliacozzo
AU - Alessandro Leonardo Lai
AU - Andrea Gnarini
AU - Giorgio Matt
AU - Stefano Bianchi
AU - Francesco Ursini
AU - Andrea Marinucci
AU - Alessia Tortosa
AU - Sudip Chakraborty
AU - Federico Ferretti
AU - Vittoria Elvezia Gianolli
AU - Elias Kammoun
AU - Frédéric Marin
AU - Herman Marshall
AU - Riccardo Middei
AU - Romana Mikusincova
AU - Dawoon Kim
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/18
PB - HAL
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.21711
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05830189v1
AB - We report on the observation of the Compton-thin Seyfert galaxy NGC~5506 performed with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). The observation, with a net observing time of 975~ks, was partly simultaneous with \textit{NuSTAR} (52~ks) and \textit{XMM-Newton} (37~ks). Using a simple baseline model with IXPE data only, we find an upper limit on the 2--8~keV polarization fraction at the 99% confidence level: Π<3.1%. We then performed a spectropolarimetric analysis combining data from the three X-ray observatories. While pure spectral modeling confirms the presence of both relativistic and cold distant reflection, in addition to the primary continuum power law, their contributions lead to somewhat different constraints on the coronal Π, depending on the specific assumptions. We also performed Monte Carlo simulations with the radiative transfer code \texttt{MONK}, exploring various coronal geometries. Comparing these results with the IXPE data, and assuming a radially extended corona, as suggested by previous observations of similar sources, the corresponding polarization upper limits require inclination angles below 40°.
ER -