SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL 81717

DR JAMES NOEL REEVES
JNR@STAR.LE.AC.UK

UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER
UNIVERSITY ROAD
LEICESTER
LEICESTERSHIRE UK LE1 7RH
Tel: +44 116 252 3510 Fax: +44 116 252 3311
Medium: CD ROM
Subject: AGN

EMISSION FROM CLOSE TO THE BLACK HOLE IN THE QUASAR PDS 456.


ABSTRACT

The radio-quiet quasar PDS456 is the most luminous object in the local (z<0.3) Universe, more luminous than the well known radio-loud quasar 3C 273. We plan to follow up our earlier X-ray observations (with ASCA and RXTE) of PDS456, which showed a complex X-ray spectrum, with strong iron K shell features and rapid variability of the X-ray continuum. In fact the continuum flux doubled in only 17 ksec, implying emission from within just 2 Schwarzschild radii of the putative massive black hole. Therefore the aims of this ASCA proposal are to study the fast X-ray variability and the iron K shell line profile in PDS 456, which could provide the clearest evidence yet to support the accretion disk paradigm in Active Galactic Nuclei.

CO-INVESTIGATORS
CO-I NAME INSTITUTE COUNTRY
CHRIS SIMPSONSUBARU TELESCOPEJAPAN
PAUL O'BRIENLEICESTER UNIVERSITYUK
MARTIN TURNERLEICESTER UNIVERSITYUK

TARGETS

TARGET NAMEPRIRADECTIMETCOFFGISSIS CNTOBS
1)PDS 456
B
262.0825-14.2656
300 ks
N
N
P
0.35000
1