X-ray Variability Study of Polar Scattered Seyfert I Galaxies

Presentation duration: 30 minutes

Presenter: Tobias Beuchert

Scattered optically polarized nuclear radiation allows to state different lines of sight towards radio quiet Active Galactic Nuclei (Seyfert galaxies), assuming the Unified Model to be valid. In particular a sample of 12 sources can be stated suggesting a line of sight towards the nucleus striking through the outer layer of the torus. Nuclear X-ray radiation following a path aligned to the line of sight can be used to directly probe this geometrical assumption. Literature suggest the outer torus layer to consist of structural variable gas evaporated by the nuclear irradiation. Thus nuclear X-ray radiation striking through this outer layer would be strongly variable in absorption, if the assumed geometrical picture was true. We have analyzed all available data from Swift and XMM-Newton to search for all time-scales of variability in absorption. Our results do not only allow us to strengthen the guesswork in terms of the yet unresolved geometry of those systems, but also allow to state upper limits to the distance of obscuring matter moving on Keplerian orbits around the black hole. Tobias Beuchert Joern Wilms Matthias Kadler Anna-Lia Longinotti Matteo Guainazzi Giovanni Miniutti Ignacio De La Calle