| Dr Graziella Branduardi-Raymont (MSSL) |
| 5th February 2003 |
| "High resolution X-ray spectroscopy of Active Galactic Nuclei" |
|
Abstract:
X-ray spectroscopy of astrophysical sources has been limited in resolving power and sensitivity (except for the case of solar studies) until very recently, because of instrumental constraints. Non-dispersive spectrometers provide only relatively crude resolution, insufficient to derive a quantitative measure of the physical properties of the sources. High resolution X-ray spectroscopy of all kind of cosmic sources became a reality just over three years ago, thanks to the spectrometers on-board Chandra and XMM-Newton. The talk will start with an introduction to basic spectroscopic concepts, illustrated by XMM-Newton RGS data; then it will focus on the details of high resolution spectra of AGN, displaying both absorption and emission features, and the great diagnostic power they offer in establishing the physical conditions at the cores of active galaxies. |
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