X-Ray Spectra of PG Quasars. II. The X-Ray--Ultraviolet Excess of PG 1211+143

Abstract

Observations of the quasar PG 1211 + 143 are presented and its continuum is modelled in terms of an accretion disk and an underlying power law. The X-ray spectrum in the Einstein imaging proportional counter band is well described by a power law with the very steep spectral index 2.2 + or - 0.4. The overall continuum spectral energy distribution can be described as a power law with alpha roughly 1.2 from the infrared to about 1 keV, with the optical, ultraviolet, and soft X-rays forming a large excess above this power law. If the soft X-ray excess is attributed to emission from a physically thin, optically thick accretion disk, then the implied accretion rate is super-Eddington, from which it is concluded that the application of this simple model is not valid. The observed broad-line ratios in PG 1211 + 143 imply broad-line cloud densities that are somewhat higher than those usually derived for quasars.