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Issue A&A
Volume 387, Number 1, May III 2002
Page(s) 63 - 75
Section Extragalactic astronomy
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20020368



A&A 387, 63-75 (2002)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20020368

Reprocessing of X-rays in AGN

I. Plane parallel geometry - test of pressure equilibrium
A.-M. Dumont1, B. Czerny2, S. Collin1 and P. T. Zycki2

1  Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, DAEC, Meudon, France
2  Copernicus Astronomical Center, Bartycka 18, 00-716 Warsaw, Poland

(Received 23 January 2002 / Accepted 5 March 2002 )

Abstract
We present a model of the vertical stratification and the spectra of an irradiated medium under the assumption of constant pressure. Such a solution has properties intermediate between constant density models and hydrostatic equilibrium models, and it may represent a flattened configuration of gas clumps accreting onto the central black hole. Such a medium develops a hot skin, thicker than hydrostatic models, but thinner than constant density models, under comparable irradiation. The range of theoretical values of the $\alpha_{\rm ox}$ index is comparable to those from hydrostatic models and both are close to the observed values for Seyfert galaxies but lower than in quasars. The amount of X-ray Compton reflection is consistent with the observed range. The characteristic property of the model is a frequently multicomponent iron K $_{\alpha}$ line.


Key words: radiative transfer -- accretion disks -- galaxies: active -- galaxies: Seyfert -- X-rays: stars -- X-rays: galaxies

Offprint request: A.-M. Dumont, bcz@camk.edu.pl

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