Abstract

Abstract We report spatial distributions of the Fe–Kα line at 6.4 keV and the CO(J = 2–1) line at 230.538 GHz in NGC 2110, which are, respectively, revealed by Chandra and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) at ≈0.″5. A Chandra 6.2–6.5 keV to 3.0–6.0 keV image suggests that the Fe–Kα emission extends preferentially in a northwest to southeast direction out to ≈3″, or ∼500 pc, on each side. Spatially resolved spectral analyses support this by finding significant Fe–Kα emission lines only in the northwest and southeast regions. Moreover, their equivalent widths are found to be ∼1.5 keV, indicative for the fluorescence by nuclear X-ray irradiation as the physical origin. By contrast, CO(J = 2–1) emission is weak therein. For quantitative discussion, we derive ionization parameters by following an X-ray dominated region (XDR) model. We then find them high enough to interpret the weakness as the result of X-ray dissociation of CO and/or H2. Another possibility also remains that CO molecules follow a superthermal distribution, resulting in brighter emission in higher-J lines. Further follow-up observations are encouraged to draw a conclusion on what predominantly changes the interstellar matter properties and whether the X-ray irradiation eventually affects the surrounding star formation as active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback.

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