On the Origin of the X-ray Emission in Heavily Obscured Compact Radio Sources

Abstract

X-ray continuum emission of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) may be reflected by circumnuclear dusty tori, producing prominent fluorescence iron lines at X-ray frequencies. Here we discuss the broad-band emission of three radio-loud AGN belonging to the class of compact symmetric objects (CSOs), with detected narrow Fe\,K$α$ lines. CSOs have newly-born radio jets, forming compact radio lobes with projected linear sizes of the order of a few to hundreds of parsecs. We model the radio--to--$γ$-ray spectra of compact lobes in {J1407+2827}, J1511+0518, and {J2022+6137}, which are among the nearest and the youngest CSOs known to date, and are characterized by an intrinsic X-ray absorbing column density of $N_{\rm H} > 10^{23}$\,cm$^{-2}$. In addition to the archival data, we analyze the newly acquired \chandra\ X-ray Observatory and Sub-Millimeter Array (SMA) observations, and also refine the $γ$-ray upper limits from the \fermi\ Large Area Telescope (LAT) monitoring. The new \chandra\ data exclude the presence of the extended X-ray emission components on scales larger than $1.5^{\prime \prime}$. The SMA data unveil a correlation of the spectral index of the electron distribution in the lobes and $N_{\rm H}$, which can explain the $γ$-ray quietness of heavily obscured CSOs. Based on our modeling, we argue that the inverse-Compton emission of compact radio lobes may account for the intrinsic X-ray continuum in all these sources. Furthermore, we propose that the observed iron lines may be produced by a reflection of the lobes' continuum from the surrounding cold dust.