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R. R. Gibson, C. R. Canizares, H. L. Marshall, A. J. Young (MIT Kavli Institute), J. C. Lee (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)
High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy allows us to search for line variability in the spectra of bright, absorbed sources. We test the recent 520 ks Chandra HETG spectrum of the Seyfert 1 AGN MCG -6-30-15 for variability in 1s-2p absorption lines of H- and He-like Ne, Mg, and Si. We find significant variation in lines on intra-observation (< days) time scales. This variation cannot be fully explained by changing ionization due to luminosity variation. We test other explanations for the variation and find that they require complex scenarios. We consider the possibility that the continuum emitter could be shining through different regions of a structurally complex absorber at different times and test this hypothesis with a simple model.
This work was supported in part by NASA through the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) contract SV3-73016 for the Chandra X-Ray Center. JCL thanks and acknowledges support from the Chandra fellowship grant PF2-30023 issued by the Chandra X-ray Observatory Center, which is operated by SAO for and on behalf of NASA under contract NAS8-39073.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: rgibson@mit.edu
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #4
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.