Multi-epoch X-ray spectral analysis of Centaurus A: Revealing new constraints on iron emission line origins

We conduct X-ray reverberation mapping and spectral analysis of the radio galaxy Centaurus A to uncover its central structure. We compare the light curve of the hard X-ray continuum from Swift Burst Alert Telescope observations with that of the Fe Kα fluorescence line, derived from the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), Suzaku, XMM–Newton, and Swift X-ray Telescope observations. The analysis of the light curves suggests that a top-hat transfer function, commonly employed in reverberation mapping studies, is improbable. Instead, the relation between these light curves can be described by a transfer function featuring two components: one with a lag of 0.19- 0.02+ 0.10 \,\, pc/c, and another originating at r \> 1.7 \,\, pc that produces an almost constant light curve. Further, we analyze the four-epoch NuSTAR and six-epoch Suzaku spectra, considering the time lag of the reflection component relative to the primary continuum. This spectral analysis supports that the reflecting material is Compton-thin, with NH = 3.14-0.74+0.44 × 10²³ \,\, cm⁻². These results suggest that the Fe Kα emission may originate from Compton-thin circumnuclear material located at a sub-parsec scale, likely a dust torus, and materials at a greater distance.