Warm absorber outflows in radio-loud active galactic nucleus 3C 59

¹ School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University 163 Xianlin Avenue Nanjing 210023, PR China
² Key Laboratory of Modern Astronomy and Astrophysics, Nanjing University, Ministry of Education 163 Xianlin Avenue Nanjing 210023, PR China
³ Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University Haidian DS 100084 Beijing, PR China
⁴ Institute of Space Sciences (ICE, CSIC), Campus UAB Carrer de Can Magrans s/n 08193 Barcelona, Spain
⁵ Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Esteve Terradas 1, RDIT Building Of. 212 Mediterranean Technology Park (PMT) 08860 Castelldefels, Spain
⁶ CAS Key Laboratory for Research in Galaxies and Cosmology, Department of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026, PR China
⁷ School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026, PR China
⁸ Department of Astronomy, Xiamen University, Xiamen Fujian 361005, PR China
⁹ Leiden Observatory, Leiden University PO Box 9513 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
¹⁰ SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research Niels Bohrweg 4 2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands
¹¹ Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Science No. 80 Nandan Road Shanghai, PR China
¹² Space Telescope Science Institute 3700 San Martin Drive Baltimore MD 21218, USA
¹³ Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan 1085 South University Avenue Ann Arbor MI 48109, USA

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Received: 29 January 2025
Accepted: 6 October 2025

Abstract

Context. Both jets and ionized outflows in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are thought to play important roles in affecting the star formation and evolution of host galaxies, but their relationship is still unclear.

Aims. As a pilot study, we performed a detailed spectral analysis of a radio-loud (RL) AGN 3C 59 (z = 0.1096) by systematically considering various factors that may affect the fitting results, thereby establishing a general spectral fitting strategy for subsequent research with a larger sample. AGN 3C 59 is a rare target for simultaneously studying jets and warm absorbers, which are one type of ionized outflow.

Methods. Based on the multiwavelength data from near-infrared (NIR) to hard X-ray bands detected by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, Galaxy Evolution Explorer, and XMM-Newton, we used the spex code to build broadband continuum models and perform photoionization modeling with the pion code to constrain the physical parameters of warm absorbers in 3C 59.

Results. We found two warm absorbers with ionization parameters of log[ξ / (erg cm s⁻¹) ] = 2.65_−0.09^+0.10 and 1.65 ± 0.11; their outflowing velocities are v_out = −528₋₂₂₂⁺¹⁶³ km s⁻¹ and −228₋₁₂₂⁺¹²¹ km s⁻¹, respectively. These warm absorbers are located between the outer torus and the narrow (emission-)line region, and their positive v_out − ξ relation can be explained by the radiation pressure-driven mechanism. We found that the estimations of these physical properties are affected by the different spectral fitting strategies, such as the inclusion of NIR to ultraviolet data, the choice of energy range of spectrum, or the composition of the spectral energy distribution.

Conclusions. Based on the same fitting strategy, this work presents a comparative study of the outflow-driven mechanism between a RL AGN (3C 59) and a radio-quiet AGN (NGC 3227), which suggests a similar driven mechanism of their warm absorber outflows and a negligible role of jets in this process.