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R. P. Kraft (Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), M. J. Hardcastle, D. M. Worrall (University of Bristol), S. S. Murray (Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
We present preliminary results from a 49.4 ks {\em Chandra}/ACIS-S observation of the nearby (z=0.059) X-shaped FRII radio galaxy 3C 403. This is the first {\em Chandra} observation of an X-shaped radio galaxy, and one of the goals of this pioneering study is to determine the relationship between the X-ray emitting gas and the X-shaped radio morphology. We find that the X-ray isophotes of the hot gas within ~7'' of the central galaxy are elliptical and are co-aligned with the highly elliptical optical isophotes. This supports the hypothesis that X-shaped radio sources are created by propagation of jets through asymmetric density distributions. We have detected X-ray emission from several of the radio knots to the E of the active nucleus, and diffuse emission from the radio lobe to the W. The X-ray emission from the eastern knots cannot be explained by an IC model unless they are far from equipartition. Using archival HST data, optical emission is detected from at least one knot, and the radio/optical/X-ray spectra are well fitted by simple synchrotron models. The nuclear spectrum is well described by a multi-component model that includes a heavily absorbed power law (NH~3\times1023 cm-2) with multiple bright (EW>200 eV) Fe emission features in the 6-7 keV range and a neutral Fe absorption edge. A second less absorbed power law, perhaps representing unresolved emission from a jet, and a thermal component representing the hot ISM of the host galaxy, are also required. This work was supported by NASA contract NAS8-38248.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35#5
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.