Constraining the complexities in Seyfert X-ray spectra – an analysis of simultaneous observations with Ginga and ROSAT

Abstract

Absorption and reprocessing of X-ray photons in the nuclei of active galaxies have recently been found to alter significantly the appearance of the emergent spectrum. The limited bandwidth and resolution of most contemporary X-ray spectral data often leave open differing interpretations of the nature and magnitude of these effects and, consequently, the precise form of the underlying continuum spectrum. A unique opportunity to examine, over some two decades in energy, the X-ray spectra of five bright Seyfert galaxies, based on simultaneous observations with the Ginga and ROSAT satellites, has now provided data to clarify the form of this reprocessing