Abstract

We present a study of X-ray ionization of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) accretion-disk winds in an effort to constrain the physics underlying the highly-ionized ultra-fast outflows (UFOs) inferred by X-ray absorbers often detected in various sub-classes of Seyfert active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Our primary focus is to show that magnetically-driven outflows are indeed physically plausible candidates for the observed outflows accounting for the AGN absorption properties of the present X-ray spectroscopic observations. Employing a stratified MHD wind launched across the entire AGN accretion disk, we calculate its X-ray ionization and the ensuing X-ray absorption line spectra. Assuming an appropriate ionizing AGN spectrum, we apply our MHD winds to model the absorption features in an {\it XMM-Newton}/EPIC spectrum of the narrow-line Seyfert, \pg. We find, through identifying the detected features with Fe Kαα transitions, that the absorber has a characteristic ionization parameter of log⁡(ξc[erg cm s\log (ξ_c [erg~cm~s^{-1}])≃5−6]) \simeq 5-6 and a column density on the order of NH≃1023N_H \simeq 10^{23} cm−2^{-2}, outflowing at a characteristic velocity of vc/c≃0.1−0.2v_c/c \simeq 0.1-0.2 (where cc is the speed of light). The best-fit model favors its radial location at rc≃200Ror_c \simeq 200 R_o (RoR_o is the black hole innermost stable circular orbit), with an inner wind truncation radius at Rt≃30RoR_{\rm t} \simeq 30 R_o. The overall K-shell feature in the data is suggested to be dominated by \fexxv\ with very little contribution from \fexxvi\ and weakly-ionized iron, which is in a good agreement with a series of earlier analysis of the UFOs in various AGNs including \pg.

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