1. Exploring the Nature of the Hard X-ray/ Soft Gamma-ray Emission of Cen A
- Author
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Rodi, James, Jourdain, Elisabeth, and Roques, Jean-Pierre
- Abstract
Despite decades of observations, the nature of the hard X-ray/soft gamma-ray emission of Cena, the brightest radio-loud AGN in the hard X-ray sky, is still unclear. The two main competing models are thermal Comptonization and synchrotron self-Compton emission. They predict a spectral cutoff of roughly 300 keV or > 1 MeV, respectively, and require spectral coverage to the MeV region to differentiate. Using archival data and observations from the current INTEGRAL AO, we investigate Cen A's spectrum using both SPI and IBIS/ISGRI to better understand the soft gamma-ray emission and the process at work in that energy range. Also, we search for spectral variability in light of recent results from Swift/BAT. We find that INTEGRAL spectra can be described by either a cutoff power law model with Ecut~550 keV or by a log parabola model.
- Published
- 2022
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