An Enshrouded Active Galactic Nucleus in the Merging Starburst System Arp 299 Revealed by BeppoSAX
Maraschi, L.; Cappi, M.; Franceschini, A.; Ballo, L.; Tavecchio, F.; Dadina, M.; Malaguti, G.; Bassani, L.; Petrucci, P. O.; Della Ceca, R.; Persic, M.; Palumbo, G. G. C.
Italy, France
Abstract
Using a long (~=150 ks) broadband (0.1-40 keV) BeppoSAX observation of the merging starburst system Arp 299 (=IC 694+NGC 3690), we found the first unambiguous evidence of the presence of a deeply buried (NH~=2.5×1024 cm-2) active galactic nucleus (AGN) having  an intrinsic luminosity of L0.5-100keV~=1.9×1043 ergs s-1. The X-ray spectral properties of this AGN are discussed in detail, as well as the thermal component detected at soft X-ray energies, which, most likely, is associated with the starburst.