XMM-EPIC observation of MCG-6-30-15: Evidence for the
extraction of energy from a spinning black hole?
Chris Reynolds, University of Maryland, College Park
I will discuss XMM-Newton European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC)
observations of the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy MCG-6-30-15, focusing on
the broad Fe K-alpha line at ~6keV and the associated reflection
continuum, which is believed to originate from the inner accretion
disk. It is found that these reflection features are extremely broad
and red-shifted, indicating an origin from the very most central
regions of the accretion disk. It seems likely that we have caught
this source in the ``deep minimum'' state first observed by Iwasawa et
al. (1996). The implied central concentration of X-ray illumination
is difficult to understand in any pure accretion disk model. We
suggest that we are witnessing the extraction and dissipation of
rotational energy from a spinning black hole by magnetic fields
connecting the black hole or plunging region to the disk.