Contribution

Centaurus A at hard X-rays and γ-rays

Presenter: Helmut Steinle (Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik)

Abstract: Centaurus A, at a distance of less than 4 Mpc, is the closest radio-loud AGN and considered a prototype FR I radio galaxy. Its emission is detected from radio to γ-rays. Despite the fact that Centaurus A is one of the best studied extragalactic objects the origin of its hard X-ray and soft γ-ray emission is still poorly understood. Observations with high spatial resolution in the X-ray and γ-ray regimes that have been made in recent years suggest that several distinct components such as a Seyfert-like nucleus, a relativistic jet, and even luminous X-ray binaries within Centaurus A may contribute to the total emission at these energies that had been detected in the past with low spatial resolution. A review of hard X-ray and γ-ray emission will be given (keV up to GeV) and the contribution of this observations to models of the Centaurus A emission wil be discssed. (If no other talk addresses the newly reported emission > 250 GeV, this will be included.)

« go back