The XMM-Newton/HST View of the Obscuring Outflow in the Seyfert Galaxy Mrk 335 Observed at Extremely Low X-Ray Flux

Abstract

The Seyfert galaxy Mrk 335 is known for its frequent changes of flux and spectral shape in the X-ray band that occurred during recent years. These variations may be explained by the onset of a wind that previous, noncontemporaneous high-resolution spectroscopy in X-ray and UV bands located at accretion disk scale. A simultaneous new campaign by XMM-Newton and the Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) caught the source at a historically low flux in the X-ray band. The soft X-ray spectrum is dominated by prominent emission features and by the effect of a strong ionized absorber with an outflow velocity of (5–6) × 10 3  km s −1 . The broadband spectrum obtained by the EPIC-pn camera reveals the presence of an additional layer of absorption by gas at moderate ionization covering ∼80% of the central source, as well as tantalizing evidence for absorption in the Fe  K band outflowing at the same velocity of the soft X-ray absorber. The HST Cosmic Origins Spectrograph spectra confirm the simultaneous presence of broad absorption troughs in C iv , Ly α , Ly β , and O vi , with velocities of the order of 5000 km s −1 and covering factors in the range of 20%–30%. Comparison of the ionic column densities and of other outflow parameters in the two bands shows that the X-ray and UV absorbers are likely originated by the same gas. The resulting picture from this latest multiwavelength campaign confirms that Mrk 335 undergoes the effect of a patchy, medium-velocity outflowing gas in a wide range of ionization states that seem to be persistently obscuring the nuclear continuum.