Suzaku observation of the Phoenix galaxy

Abstract

Context. In recent years, several Seyfert 2 galaxies have beendiscovered that change state when observed in X-rays a few years apart,switching from Compton-thin to reflection-dominated or viceversa.Aims. We observed a member of this class of "Changing-look" sources,the Phoenix galaxy, with Suzaku, with the aim of better understandingthe nature of the variations.Methods. The Suzaku spectrum was analyzed, and the results comparedwith previous ASCA and XMM-Newton observations.Results. The source was caught in a Compton-thin state, as inXMM-Newton, but differently from ASCA. Comparing the Suzaku andXMM-Newton observations, a variation in the column density of theabsorber on a time scale of years is discovered. A similar change, buton much shorter time scales (i.e. ks) may also explain the count-ratevariations during the Suzaku observations. A soft excess is alsopresent, likely due to continuum and line emission from photoionizedcircumnuclear matter.