A HIGH RESOLUTION VIEW OF THE WARM ABSORBER IN THE QUASAR MR 2251-178

High resolution X-ray spectroscopy of the warm absorber in a nearby quasar, MR 2251-178 (z = 0.06398), is presented. The observations were carried out in 2011 using the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating (HETG) and the XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer, with net exposure times of approximately 400 ks each. A multitude of absorption lines from C to Fe are detected, revealing at least three warm absorbing components ranging in ionization parameter from log (ξ/erg cm s–1) = 1-3 with outflow velocities 500 km s–1. The lowest ionization absorber appears to vary between the Chandra and XMM-Newton observations, which implies a radial distance of between 9 and 17 pc from the black hole. Several broad soft X-ray emission lines are strongly detected, most notably from He-like oxygen, with FWHM velocity widths of up to 10,000 km s–1, consistent with an origin from broad-line region (BLR) clouds. In addition to the warm absorber, gas partially covering the line of sight to the quasar appears to be present, with a typical column density of N H = 1023 cm–2. We suggest that the partial covering absorber may arise from the same BLR clouds responsible for the broad soft X-ray emission lines. Finally, the presence of a highly ionized outflow in the iron K band from both the 2002 and 2011 Chandra HETG observations appears to be confirmed, which has an outflow velocity of –15600 ± 2400 km s–1. However, a partial covering origin for the iron K absorption cannot be excluded, resulting from low ionization material with little or no outflow velocity.