Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph Echelle Observations of NGC 4151: Variable Ionization of the Intrinsic UV Absorbers

Abstract

We present echelle observations of the intrinsic UV absorption lines in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151; these observations were obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope on 1999 July 19. The UV-continuum flux at 1450 Å decreased by factor of about 4 over the previous 2 years, and there was a corresponding dramatic increase in the column densities of the low-ionization absorption lines (e.g., Si II, Fe II, and Al II), presumably as a result of a decrease in the ionizing continuum. In addition to the absorption lines seen in previous low states, we identify a large number of Fe II absorption lines that arise from metastable levels as high as 4.1 eV above the ground state, indicating high densities (>10⁶ cm^-3). We find that the transient absorption feature in the blue wing of the broad C IV emission, seen in a Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph spectrum and thought to be a high-velocity C IV component, is actually a Si II fine-structure absorption line at a radial velocity of -560 km s^-1 (relative to systemic). We also demonstrate that the ``satellite'' emission lines of C IV found in IUE spectra are actually regions of unabsorbed continuum plus broad emission that become prominent when the UV continuum of NGC 4151 is in a low state. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555.