The hard x-ray view of reflection, absorption and the disk-jet connection in the radio-loud AGN 3C 33

Abstract

We present results from Suzaku and Swift observations of the nearby radio galaxy 3C 33, and investigate the nature of absorption, reflection, and jet production in this source. We model the 0.5-100 keV nuclear continuum with a power law that is transmitted either through one or more layers of pc-scale neutral material, or through a modestly ionized pc-scale obscurer. The standard signatures of reflection from a neutral accretion disk are absent in 3C 33: there is no evidence of a relativistically blurred Fe Kα emission line, and no Compton reflection hump above 10 keV. We find the upper limit to the neutral reflection fraction is R < 0.41 for an e-folding energy of 1 GeV. We observe a narrow, neutral Fe Kα line, which is likely to originate at least 2000 R s from the black hole. We show that the weakness of reflection features in 3C 33 is consistent with two interpretations: either the inner accretion flow is highly ionized, or the black-hole spin configuration is retrograde with respect to the accreting material.