Hard X-ray emission in radio-quiet active galactic nuclei ( AGNs ) is believed to be produced via inverse Compton scattering by hot and compact coronae near the super massive black hole .
However the origin and physical properties of the coronae , including geometry , kinematics and dynamics , yet remain poorly known .
In this work , taking [ O IV ] 25.89 \micron emission line as an isotropic indicator of AGN ’ s intrinsic luminosity , we compare the intrinsic corona X-ray emission between Seyfert 1 and Compton-thin Seyfert 2 galaxies , which are viewed at different inclinations according to the unification scheme .
We compile a sample of 130 Compton-thin Seyfert galaxies with both [ O IV ] 25.89 \micron line luminosities measured with Spitzer -IRS and X-ray spectra observed by XMM-Newton , Chandra , Suzaku or Swift .
Known radio-loud sources are excluded .
We fit the X-ray spectra to obtain the absorption-corrected 2 – 10 keV continuum luminosities .
We find that Seyfert 1 galaxies are intrinsically brighter in intrinsic 2 – 10 keV emission by a factor of 2.8 ^ { +0.5 } _ { -0.4 } ( 2.2 ^ { +0.9 } _ { -0.3 } in Swift -BAT 14 – 195 keV emission ) , comparing with Compton-thin Seyfert 2 galaxies .
The Seyfert 1 and Compton-thin Seyfert 2 galaxies follow a statistically identical correlation between the absorption-corrected 2 – 10 keV luminosity and the 14 – 195 keV luminosity , indicating that our absorption correction to the 2 – 10 keV flux is sufficient .
The difference in X-ray emission between the two populations is thus unlikely due to X-ray absorption , and instead implies an intrinsic anisotropy in the corona X-ray emission .
This striking anisotropy of X-ray emission can be explained by a bipolar outflowing corona with a bulk velocity of \sim 0.3 - 0.5 c .
This would provide a natural link between the so-called coronae and weak jets in these systems .
Other consequences of outflowing coronae are also discussed .