Mapping the circumnuclear regions of the Circinus galaxy with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer
Date Issued
2023
Author(s)
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Marinucci, A.
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Matt, G.
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BIANCHI, Simone
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Marin, F.
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Marshall, H. L.
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Middei, R.
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Poutanen, J.
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Rogantini, D.
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Di Gesu, L.
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García, J. A.
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Ingram, A.
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Kim, D. E.
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Krawczynski, H.
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Puccetti, S.
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Svoboda, J.
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Weisskopf, M. C.
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Barnouin, T.
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Podgorny, J.
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Ratheesh, A.
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Zaino, A.
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Agudo, I.
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Baldini, L.
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Baumgartner, W. H.
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Bellazzini, R.
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Bongiorno, S. D.
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Bonino, R.
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Brez, A.
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Castellano, S.
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Cavazzuti, E.
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Ciprini, S.
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Di Lalla, N.
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Di Marco, A.
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Donnarumma, I.
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Doroshenko, V.
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Dovciak, M.
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Ehlert, S. R.
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Enoto, T.
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Ferrazzoli, R.
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Gunji, S.
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Heyl, J.
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Iwakiri, W.
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Jorstad, S. G.
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Karas, V.
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Kitaguchi, T.
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Kolodziejczak, J. J.
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Latronico, L.
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Liodakis, I.
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Maldera, S.
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Manfreda, A.
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Marscher, A. P.
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Mitsuishi, I.
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Mizuno, T.
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Ng, C. Y.
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O'Dell, S. L.
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Omodei, N.
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Oppedisano, C.
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Pavlov, G. G.
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Peirson, A. L.
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Pesce-Rollins, M.
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Petrucci, P. -O.
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Ramsey, B. D.
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Rankin, J.
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Romani, R. W.
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Sgrò, C.
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Slane, P.
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Spandre, G.
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Tamagawa, T.
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Taverna, R.
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Tawara, Y.
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Tennant, A. F.
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Thomas, N. E.
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Tsygankov, S. S.
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Turolla, R.
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Vink, J.
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Wu, K.
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Zane, S.
Abstract
We report on the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) observation of the closest and X-ray brightest Compton-thick active galactic nucleus (AGN), the Circinus galaxy. We find the source to be significantly polarized in the 2-6 keV band. From previous studies, the X-ray spectrum is known to be dominated by reflection components, both neutral (torus) and ionized (ionization cones). Our analysis indicates that the polarization degree is 28 ± 7 per cent (at 68 per cent confidence level) for the neutral reflector, with a polarization angle of 18° ± 5°, roughly perpendicular to the radio jet. The polarization of the ionized reflection is unconstrained. A comparison with Monte Carlo simulations of the polarization expected from the torus shows that the neutral reflector is consistent with being an equatorial torus with a half-opening angle of 45°-55°. This is the first X-ray polarization detection in a Seyfert galaxy, demonstrating the power of X-ray polarimetry in probing the geometry of the circumnuclear regions of AGNs, and confirming the basic predictions of standard Unification Models....
Volume
519
Issue
1
Start page
50
Issn Identifier
0035-8711
Rights
open.access
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