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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.11446 |
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| _version_ | 1866914556914171904 |
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| author | Xu, Haichao |
| author_facet | Xu, Haichao |
| contents | The thermal state of active galactic nucleus (AGN) coronae is commonly characterized by the electron temperature $kT_{\rm e}$, the Thomson optical depth $τ$, and the geometry of the Comptonizing medium. We compile a literature sample of Seyfert galaxies with broadband X-ray constraints obtained under slab geometry and with directly reported $kT_{\rm e}$ and $τ$. To interpret these data, we develop a Monte Carlo radiative transfer calculation for bottom-illuminated slab coronae and show that the appropriate effective Compton parameter for slab geometry is $y=(4θ+16θ^2)τ$, where $θ= kT_{\rm e}/m_{\rm e}c^2$. We find that the cleaned AGN sample lies along a narrow anti-correlated ridge in the $kT_{\rm e}-τ$ plane, corresponding to a nearly constant $y$ with mean $\langle y \rangle=0.414$ and logarithmic dispersion of only 0.10 dex. Radiative-equilibrium boundaries computed for slab disk-corona systems further show that reproducing this ridge requires a predominantly coronal dissipation fraction $f$. We therefore suggest that luminous AGN slab coronae occupy a stable Comptonization branch broadly governed by slab radiative balance, and that the observed $kT_{\rm e}-τ$ locus provides a new constraint on how accretion power is partitioned between the disk and the corona. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_11446 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A Nearly Constant Compton y-parameter for Mildly Relativistic Slab Coronae in AGN Xu, Haichao High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena The thermal state of active galactic nucleus (AGN) coronae is commonly characterized by the electron temperature $kT_{\rm e}$, the Thomson optical depth $τ$, and the geometry of the Comptonizing medium. We compile a literature sample of Seyfert galaxies with broadband X-ray constraints obtained under slab geometry and with directly reported $kT_{\rm e}$ and $τ$. To interpret these data, we develop a Monte Carlo radiative transfer calculation for bottom-illuminated slab coronae and show that the appropriate effective Compton parameter for slab geometry is $y=(4θ+16θ^2)τ$, where $θ= kT_{\rm e}/m_{\rm e}c^2$. We find that the cleaned AGN sample lies along a narrow anti-correlated ridge in the $kT_{\rm e}-τ$ plane, corresponding to a nearly constant $y$ with mean $\langle y \rangle=0.414$ and logarithmic dispersion of only 0.10 dex. Radiative-equilibrium boundaries computed for slab disk-corona systems further show that reproducing this ridge requires a predominantly coronal dissipation fraction $f$. We therefore suggest that luminous AGN slab coronae occupy a stable Comptonization branch broadly governed by slab radiative balance, and that the observed $kT_{\rm e}-τ$ locus provides a new constraint on how accretion power is partitioned between the disk and the corona. |
| title | A Nearly Constant Compton y-parameter for Mildly Relativistic Slab Coronae in AGN |
| topic | High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.11446 |