We present results from Chandra X-ray and Spitzer mid-infrared observations of the interacting galaxy pair NGC 6872/IC 4970 in the Pavo galaxy group and show that the smaller companion galaxy IC 4970 hosts a highly obscured active galactic nucleus ( AGN ) .
The 0.5 - 10 keV X-ray luminosity of the nucleus is variable , increasing by a factor 2.9 to 1.7 \times 10 ^ { 42 } erg s ^ { -1 } ( bright state ) on \sim 100 ks timescales .
The X-ray spectrum of the bright state is heavily absorbed ( N _ { H } = 3 \times 10 ^ { 23 } cm ^ { -2 } for power law models with \Gamma = 1.5 - 2.0 ) and shows a clear 6.4 keV Fe K \alpha line with equivalent width of 144 - 195 eV .
Limits on the diffuse emission in IC 4970 from Chandra X-ray data suggest that the available power from Bondi accretion of hot interstellar gas may be an order of magnitude too small to power the AGN . Spitzer images show that 8 \micron nonstellar emission is concentrated in the central 1 kpc of IC 4970 , consistent with high obscuration in this region .
The mid-infrared colors of the nucleus are consistent with those expected for a highly obscured AGN .
Taken together these data suggest that the nucleus of IC 4970 is a Seyfert 2 , triggered and fueled by cold material supplied to the central supermassive black hole as a result of the off-axis collision of IC 4970 with the cold-gas rich spiral galaxy NGC 6872 .