Resonant Absorption in the Active Galactic Nucleus Spectra Emerging from Photoionized Gas: Differences between Steep and Flat Ionizing Continua

We present photoionization models accounting for both photoelectric and resonant absorption. Resonance absorption lines from C, O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, and Fe between 0.1 and 10 keV are treated. In particular we consider the complex of almost 60 strong Fe L absorption lines around 1 keV. We calculate profiles, intensities, and equivalent widths of each line, considering both Doppler and natural broadening mechanisms. Doppler broadening includes a term accounting for turbulence of the gas along the line of sight. We computed spectra transmitted by gas illuminated by drastically different ionizing continua and compared them to spectra observed in flat X-ray spectrum, broad optical emission-line type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and steep X-ray spectrum, narrow optical emission-line type 1 AGNs. We show that the ~1 keV absorption feature observed in moderate-resolution X-ray spectra of several narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies can be explained by photoionization models, taking into account resonance absorption, without requiring relativistic outflowing velocities of the gas, if the physical properties of these absorbers are close to those found in flat X-ray spectrum Seyfert 1 galaxies. We finally present simulations of the spectra emerging from gas illuminated by both steep and flat ionizing continua, as seen by the AXAF high-energy transmission gratings and the baseline Constellation-X calorimeter. We discuss briefly the relevant physics that can be investigated with these instruments.