A UV to X-Ray View of Soft Excess in Type 1 Active Galactic Nuclei. I. Sample Selection and Spectral Profile
A core sample of 59 unobscured type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with simultaneous XMM-Newton X-ray and UV observations is compiled from the archives to probe the nature of soft X-ray excess (SE). In the first paper of this series, our focus centers on scrutinizing the spectral profile of the sof...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada035 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832575662851883008 |
|---|---|
| author | Shi-Jiang Chen Jun-Xian Wang Jia-Lai Kang Wen-Yong Kang Hao Sou Teng Liu Zhen-Yi Cai Zhen-Bo Su |
| author_facet | Shi-Jiang Chen Jun-Xian Wang Jia-Lai Kang Wen-Yong Kang Hao Sou Teng Liu Zhen-Yi Cai Zhen-Bo Su |
| author_sort | Shi-Jiang Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A core sample of 59 unobscured type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with simultaneous XMM-Newton X-ray and UV observations is compiled from the archives to probe the nature of soft X-ray excess (SE). In the first paper of this series, our focus centers on scrutinizing the spectral profile of the soft excess. Of the sources, ≈71% (42/59) exhibit power-law-like (po-like) soft excess, while ≈29% (17/59) exhibit blackbody-like (bb-like) soft excess. We show that a cutoff power law could uniformly characterize both types of soft excesses, with a median E _cut of 1.40 keV for po-like and 0.14 keV for bb-like. For the first time, we report a robust and quantitative correlation between the SE profile and SE strength (the ratio of SE luminosity to that of the primary power-law continuum in 0.5–2.0 keV), indicating that stronger soft excess is more likely to be po-like, or effectively has a higher E _cut . This correlation cannot be explained by ionized disk reflection alone, which produces mostly bb-like soft excess ( E _cut ~ 0.1 keV) as revealed by relxilllp simulation. Remarkably, we show with simulations that a toy hybrid scenario, where both ionized disk reflection ( relxilllp , with all reflection parameters fixed at default values except for ionization of the disk) and warm corona ( compTT , with temperature fixed at 1 keV) contribute to the observed soft excess, can successfully reproduce the observed correlation. This highlights the ubiquitous hybrid nature of the SE in AGNs, and underscores the importance of considering both components while fitting the spectra of soft excess. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-759ceea184304c6ebab23fd8ce1f758b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-759ceea184304c6ebab23fd8ce1f758b2025-01-31T17:34:54ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0198012310.3847/1538-4357/ada035A UV to X-Ray View of Soft Excess in Type 1 Active Galactic Nuclei. I. Sample Selection and Spectral ProfileShi-Jiang Chen0https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9950-9807Jun-Xian Wang1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4419-6434Jia-Lai Kang2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2280-2904Wen-Yong Kang3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2573-8100Hao Sou4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9265-2772Teng Liu5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2941-6734Zhen-Yi Cai6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4223-2198Zhen-Bo Su7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8515-7338Department of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; JohnnyCsj666@gmail.com, jxw@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; JohnnyCsj666@gmail.com, jxw@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; JohnnyCsj666@gmail.com, jxw@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; JohnnyCsj666@gmail.com, jxw@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; JohnnyCsj666@gmail.com, jxw@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; JohnnyCsj666@gmail.com, jxw@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; JohnnyCsj666@gmail.com, jxw@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; JohnnyCsj666@gmail.com, jxw@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaA core sample of 59 unobscured type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with simultaneous XMM-Newton X-ray and UV observations is compiled from the archives to probe the nature of soft X-ray excess (SE). In the first paper of this series, our focus centers on scrutinizing the spectral profile of the soft excess. Of the sources, ≈71% (42/59) exhibit power-law-like (po-like) soft excess, while ≈29% (17/59) exhibit blackbody-like (bb-like) soft excess. We show that a cutoff power law could uniformly characterize both types of soft excesses, with a median E _cut of 1.40 keV for po-like and 0.14 keV for bb-like. For the first time, we report a robust and quantitative correlation between the SE profile and SE strength (the ratio of SE luminosity to that of the primary power-law continuum in 0.5–2.0 keV), indicating that stronger soft excess is more likely to be po-like, or effectively has a higher E _cut . This correlation cannot be explained by ionized disk reflection alone, which produces mostly bb-like soft excess ( E _cut ~ 0.1 keV) as revealed by relxilllp simulation. Remarkably, we show with simulations that a toy hybrid scenario, where both ionized disk reflection ( relxilllp , with all reflection parameters fixed at default values except for ionization of the disk) and warm corona ( compTT , with temperature fixed at 1 keV) contribute to the observed soft excess, can successfully reproduce the observed correlation. This highlights the ubiquitous hybrid nature of the SE in AGNs, and underscores the importance of considering both components while fitting the spectra of soft excess.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada035Active galactic nucleiX-ray active galactic nuclei |
| spellingShingle | Shi-Jiang Chen Jun-Xian Wang Jia-Lai Kang Wen-Yong Kang Hao Sou Teng Liu Zhen-Yi Cai Zhen-Bo Su A UV to X-Ray View of Soft Excess in Type 1 Active Galactic Nuclei. I. Sample Selection and Spectral Profile The Astrophysical Journal Active galactic nuclei X-ray active galactic nuclei |
| title | A UV to X-Ray View of Soft Excess in Type 1 Active Galactic Nuclei. I. Sample Selection and Spectral Profile |
| title_full | A UV to X-Ray View of Soft Excess in Type 1 Active Galactic Nuclei. I. Sample Selection and Spectral Profile |
| title_fullStr | A UV to X-Ray View of Soft Excess in Type 1 Active Galactic Nuclei. I. Sample Selection and Spectral Profile |
| title_full_unstemmed | A UV to X-Ray View of Soft Excess in Type 1 Active Galactic Nuclei. I. Sample Selection and Spectral Profile |
| title_short | A UV to X-Ray View of Soft Excess in Type 1 Active Galactic Nuclei. I. Sample Selection and Spectral Profile |
| title_sort | uv to x ray view of soft excess in type 1 active galactic nuclei i sample selection and spectral profile |
| topic | Active galactic nuclei X-ray active galactic nuclei |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada035 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shijiangchen auvtoxrayviewofsoftexcessintype1activegalacticnucleiisampleselectionandspectralprofile AT junxianwang auvtoxrayviewofsoftexcessintype1activegalacticnucleiisampleselectionandspectralprofile AT jialaikang auvtoxrayviewofsoftexcessintype1activegalacticnucleiisampleselectionandspectralprofile AT wenyongkang auvtoxrayviewofsoftexcessintype1activegalacticnucleiisampleselectionandspectralprofile AT haosou auvtoxrayviewofsoftexcessintype1activegalacticnucleiisampleselectionandspectralprofile AT tengliu auvtoxrayviewofsoftexcessintype1activegalacticnucleiisampleselectionandspectralprofile AT zhenyicai auvtoxrayviewofsoftexcessintype1activegalacticnucleiisampleselectionandspectralprofile AT zhenbosu auvtoxrayviewofsoftexcessintype1activegalacticnucleiisampleselectionandspectralprofile AT shijiangchen uvtoxrayviewofsoftexcessintype1activegalacticnucleiisampleselectionandspectralprofile AT junxianwang uvtoxrayviewofsoftexcessintype1activegalacticnucleiisampleselectionandspectralprofile AT jialaikang uvtoxrayviewofsoftexcessintype1activegalacticnucleiisampleselectionandspectralprofile AT wenyongkang uvtoxrayviewofsoftexcessintype1activegalacticnucleiisampleselectionandspectralprofile AT haosou uvtoxrayviewofsoftexcessintype1activegalacticnucleiisampleselectionandspectralprofile AT tengliu uvtoxrayviewofsoftexcessintype1activegalacticnucleiisampleselectionandspectralprofile AT zhenyicai uvtoxrayviewofsoftexcessintype1activegalacticnucleiisampleselectionandspectralprofile AT zhenbosu uvtoxrayviewofsoftexcessintype1activegalacticnucleiisampleselectionandspectralprofile |