Jet and Accretion-Disk Emission Untangled in 3C 273
Paola Grandi1* and
Giorgio G. C. Palumbo2
A long-term spectral variability study of 3C 273 on data obtained
by BeppoSAX allows us to decouple the beamed nonthermal (jet)
and unbeamed thermal (accretion flow) radiation produced in
the inner region of a radio-loud active galactic nucleus. Jet
power, when compared with unbeamed radiation, increases with
energy. The thermal component is generally overwhelmed by the
nonthermal radiation, by a factor of 1.2 to 3 in the 2- to 10-keV
range and up to a factor of 7 above 20 keV. In only one case,
the accretion flow overcomes the jet, allowing the
K
iron line
to emerge clearly over the continuum.
2 Universita' degli Studi di Bologna, Dipartimento di Astronomia, Via Ranzani 1, I-40127, Bologna, Italy.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: grandi{at}bo.iasf.cnr.it
