XMM-Newton long-look observation of the narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxy PKS 0558-504

I. Spectral analysis

¹ Physics Department, University of Crete, PO Box 2208, 710 03 Heraklion, Crete, Greece e-mail: jhep@physics.uoc.gr
² IESL, Foundation for Research and Technology, 711 10, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
³ Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstrasse, 85740 Garching, Germany
⁴ George Mason University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, MS 3F3, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
⁵ Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, INAF, Italy
⁶ Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

Received: 14 September 2009
Accepted: 26 November 2009

Abstract

Context. PKS 0558-504 has been observed repeatedly by XMM-Newton as a calibration and performance verification (PV) target. In this work, we present results from the spectral analysis of a long XMM-Newton observation of the radio loud Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxy PKS 0558-504.

Aims. To study the soft excess component in this object, the spectral variations it exhibits in both the hard and soft X-ray bands, and their correlation.

Methods. We used mainly the PN data, and we fitted various spectral models to the time average spectra of the individual orbits as well as the spectra from data segments of shorter duration. We also used the RGS data to search for signs of a warm absorber in the source.

Results. The source is highly variable, on all sampled time scales. We did not observe any absorption features in either the soft or hard band. We found weak evidence for the presence of an iron line at ~6.8 keV, which is indicative of emission from highly ionized iron. The 2–10 keV band spectrum of the source is well fitted by a simple power law model, whose slope steepens with increasing flux, similar to what is observed in other Seyferts as well. The soft excess is variable both in flux and shape, and it can be well described by a low-temperature Comptonisation model, whose slope flattens with increasing flux. Finally, the soft excess flux variations are moderately correlated with the hard band variations, and we found weak evidence that they are leading them by ~20 ks.

Conclusions. Our results rule out a jet origin for the bulk of the X-ray emission in this object. We found no signals of a warm absorber. The observed hard band spectral variations suggest intrinsic continuum slope variations, caused by changes in the “heating/cooling” ratio of the hot corona. The low-temperature Comptonising medium, responsible for the soft excess emission, could be a hot layer in the inner disc of the source, which appears due to the fact that the source is accreting at a super-Eddington rate. The soft excess flux and spectral variations could be caused by random variations of the accretion rate.