Are Seyfert 2 Galaxies without Polarized Broad Emission Lines More Obscured

Abstract

New XMM-Newton data of seven Seyfert 2 galaxies with optical spectropolarimetric observations are presented. An analysis of the 0.5–10 keV spectra shows that four Seyfert 2 galaxies with polarized broad lines (PBLs) are absorbed by NH<1024 cm−2, while two of three Seyfert 2 galaxies without PBLs show evidence of Compton-thick obscuration, supporting the conclusion that Seyfert 2 galaxies without PBLs are more obscured than those with PBLs. Adding the measured obscuration indicators (NH, T ratio, and Fe Kα line EW) of six luminous AGNs to our previous sample improves the significance level of the difference in absorption from 92.3% to 96.3% for NH, 99.1% to 99.4% for T ratio, and 95.3% to 97.4% for Fe Kα line EW. The present results support and enhance the suggestions that the absence of PBLs in Seyfert 2 galaxies can be explained by larger viewing angles of the line of sight to the putative dusty torus, which leads to the obscuration of the broad-line scattering screen, as expected in the unification model.