Abstract
X-ray polarimetry is a powerful tool to probe the geometry of the hot X-ray corona in active galactic nuclei (AGN). Here, we present our results on the characterization of the X-ray polarization of the radio-quiet Seyfert-type AGN IC 4329A at a redshift of \(z = 0.016\). This is based on observations carried out by the Imaging X-ray Polarimeter (IXPE). IXPE observed IC 4329A during 5–15 January 2023, for a total observing time of 458 ks. From the model-independent analysis, we found a polarization degree (\(\Pi _{X}\)) of \(3.7\pm 1.5\)% and a polarization position angle (\(\Psi _{X}\)) of 61\(^{\circ }\pm 12^{\circ }\) in the 2–8 keV energy range (at 68% confidence). This is also in agreement with the values of \(\Pi _{X}\) and \(\Psi _{X}\) of \(4.7\pm 2.2\)% and \(71^{\circ } \pm 14^{\circ }\), respectively, obtained from spectro-polarimetric analysis of the I, Q and U Stokes spectra in the 2–8 keV energy band (at 90% confidence). The value of \(\Pi _X\) in the 2–8 keV band obtained from the model-independent analysis is lower than the minimum detectable polarization (MDP) value of 4.5%. However, \(\Pi _X\) obtained from spectro-polarimetric analysis in the 2–8 keV band is larger than the MDP value. In the 3–5 keV band, we found \(\Pi _X\) of \(6.5 \pm 1.8\), which is larger than the MDP value of 5.5%. The observed moderate value of \(\Pi _{X}\) obtained from the analysis of the IXPE data in the 3–5 keV band argues against a spherical lamp-post geometry for the X-ray corona in IC 4329A; however, considering simulations, the observed polarization measurements tend to favor a conical shape geometry for the corona. This is the first time measurement of X-ray polarization in IC 4329A. Measurements of the X-ray polarization in many such radio-quiet AGN will help in constraining the geometry of the X-ray corona in AGN.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the anonymous referee for her/his valuable comments and suggestions which improved the quality and clarity of the paper. The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is a joint US and Italian mission. The US contribution is supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and led and managed by its Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), with industry partner Ball Aerospace (contract NNM15AA18C). The Italian contribution is supported by the Italian Space Agency (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, ASI) through contract ASI-OHBI-2017-12-I.0, agreements ASI-INAF-2017-12-H0 and ASI-INFN-2017.13-H0, and its Space Science Data Center (SSDC) with agreements ASI- INAF-2022-14-HH.0 and ASI-INFN 2021-43-HH.0, and by the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) and the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) in Italy. This research used data products provided by the IXPE Team (MSFC, SSDC, INAF and INFN). The High-Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) distributed it with additional software tools. Part of the French contribution is supported by the Scientific Research National Center (CNRS) and the French Space Agency (CNES). We thank the NuSTAR Operations, Software and Calibration teams for the support with the execution and analysis of these observations. This research has used of archival data of XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observatories through the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center Online Service, provided by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
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Pal, I., Stalin, C.S., Chatterjee, R. et al. X-ray polarization observations of IC 4329A with IXPE: Constraining the geometry of X-ray corona. J Astrophys Astron 44, 87 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12036-023-09981-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12036-023-09981-5