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# Probing the Complex and Variable X-ray Absorption of Markarian 6 with XMM-Newton

## 1 Introduction

Markarian 6 (Mrk 6, IC 0450; $`z=0.0188`$; 77 Mpc distant for $`H_0=75\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1\mathrm{Mpc}^1`$) is one of a handful of intermediate Seyferts of type 1.5, including NGC 4151 and Mrk 766, showing evidence for an ‘ionization cone’ rather than the ‘ionization halo’ expected for a type 1 viewing geometry (Meaburn, Whitehead, & Pedlar 1989; Kukula et al. 1996). A torus ‘atmosphere’ along the line of sight has been suggested to explain the presence of the ionization cone (e.g., Evans et al. 1993). The torus atmosphere is thought to be optically thick for ionizing radiation between the Lyman edge and soft X-rays, but it allows radiation outside of this spectral range (e.g., broad optical line emission from the Broad Line Region) to pass through with only moderate obscuration. Mrk 6 shows significant optical line profile variations on time-scales of months to years, suggesting that at least some of the gaseous material creating the lines can undergo coherent variations (e.g., Rosenblatt et al. 1992; Eracleous & Halpern 1993).

X-ray investigations of Seyfert galaxies are well suited to probing matter along the line of sight toward their central black hole regions. Prominent examples of intermediate Seyferts that have been well studied in X-rays include the ‘cousins’ of Mrk 6, NGC 4151 (e.g., Weaver et al. 1994; Ogle et al. 2000; Yang, Wilson, & Ferruit 2001; Schurch & Warwick 2002) and Mrk 766 (e.g., Leighly et al. 1996; Page et al. 1999, 2001; Matt et al. 2000; Branduardi-Raymont et al. 2001). In contrast, the only published X-ray study of Mrk 6 is that of Feldmeier et al. (1999; hereafter F99) using 0.6–9.5 keV ASCA data. These data revealed heavy and complex X-ray absorption that was best fit by a double partial-covering model with large column densities \[$`(3`$$`20)\times 10^{22}\mathrm{cm}^2`$\], likely due to the torus atmosphere. However, detailed X-ray spectral modeling was limited by modest photon statistics and the fact that the absorption in Mrk 6 dominates the X-ray spectrum throughout most of the ASCA bandpass.

We capitalized on the superior throughput (about an order of magnitude higher than ASCA) and good spectral resolution of the instruments onboard XMM-Newton to investigate further the X-ray emission and absorption properties of Mrk 6. We also used the XMM-Newton data to perform sensitive searches for temporal and spectral variability during the observation and in comparison with earlier ASCA and BeppoSAX observations.

## 2 X-ray Observations and Data Reduction

### 2.1 XMM-Newton

Mrk 6 was observed with the European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) onboard XMM-Newton (Jansen et al. 2001) with on-source exposure times of 31.8 ks (EPIC p-n) and 30.8 ks (EPIC MOS 1 and MOS 2). It was also observed with the Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) for 46.4 ks (RGS 1) and 37.9 ks (RGS 2). The EPIC data allow sensitive 0.2–12 keV imaging spectroscopy with moderate spectral ($`E/\mathrm{\Delta }E20`$$`50`$) and angular ($`6^{\prime \prime }`$ FWHM) resolution. The parameters of the individual observations are listed in Tab. 1.

Both the p-n and MOS data were acquired in ‘full-frame mode’ using the medium filter. The data were reduced using the Science Analysis System (SAS) v5.3.3 with the latest calibration products. Due to background flares at the end of the observation period, 7% of the p-n and 31% of the MOS 1 and MOS 2 data were rejected. After inspection of a source-free background spectrum extracted from CCD 1 on the p-n and MOS detectors, we selected data only in the 0.3–12 keV energy range due to enhanced background at low photon energies (up to a factor of $`5`$). We furthermore excluded bad and hot pixels from the data. Since the cleaned RGS data did not yield enough photon statistics for spectral analysis, they were not used further.

Source counts were extracted for the p-n and MOS detectors within $`30^{\prime \prime }`$-radius circular regions (the 85% encircled-energy radius at 7.5 keV). The background was extracted locally from source-free regions. For the p-n we used a rectangular region of size $`2\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}4\times 3\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}8`$ close to Mrk 6 on the same p-n chip, and for the MOS we used an annulus with inner and outer radii of $`2\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}5`$ and $`4\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}3`$. Given the observed count rates of $`1.2`$ and $`0.4\mathrm{cts}\mathrm{s}^1`$ for the p-n and MOS detectors, the pile-up fractions and dead times are estimated to be $`\begin{array}{c}<\\ \end{array}2`$%. The source counts were binned with a minimum of $`50`$ counts per bin to allow $`\chi ^2`$ spectral fitting. We also constructed background-corrected light curves of Mrk 6 in the soft (0.3–2 keV), hard (2–12 keV), and broad (0.3–12 keV) bands by binning the events into 250 s intervals and excluding telemetry dropouts.

### 2.2 BeppoSAX

Archival BeppoSAX MECS 2+3 (Medium Energy Concentrator Spectrometer) and LECS (Low Energy Concentrator Spectrometer) data are also used in the analyses below (see Tab. 1); these data cover the 1.3–10 keV (MECS) and 0.5–4.5 keV (LECS) energy bands. To extend the spectral range of our analyses to higher photon energies, which is useful to constrain the underlying power-law continuum, we furthermore used the BeppoSAX PDS (Phoswich Detection System) data in the energy range 18–120 keV.

We checked for contamination of the PDS data due to other X-ray sources within its field of view ($`1\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}3`$ FWHM). No strong X-ray source other than Mrk 6 is found within the $`30^{}`$-diameter EPIC field of view in high-energy ($`>5`$ keV) images. The ROSAT All-Sky Survey broad-band source catalog shows only two other X-ray sources (NGC 2256 and NGC 2258) located within the PDS field of view at large off-axis angles ($`23\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}2`$ and $`18\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}1`$). Both of these sources have 2–10 keV MECS fluxes much lower (only $`2`$$`3\%`$) than that of Mrk 6. Since the PDS effective area decreases sharply with increasing off-axis angle, their contamination to the Mrk 6 PDS spectrum is negligible.

## 3 Results

### 3.1 Spectral Analysis

Spectral analysis was performed using XSPEC v11.2 (Arnaud 1996). All errors are quoted at the $`90\%`$ level of confidence for one parameter of interest ($`\mathrm{\Delta }\chi ^2=2.71`$; Avni 1976) and Galactic absorption ($`N_\mathrm{H}=6.4\times 10^{20}\mathrm{cm}^2`$; Stark et al. 1992) is always implicitly included. The previous ASCA observation has shown that Mrk 6 is an intrinsically absorbed system ($`\begin{array}{c}>\\ \end{array}10^{22}`$$`10^{23}\mathrm{cm}^2`$; F99). We therefore used the 18–120 keV BeppoSAX PDS data, which should be much less affected by absorption, to determine the shape of the underlying X-ray continuum. Fitting a power-law model to the PDS data (model 1 in Tab. 2) gives a best-fit photon index of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=1.81_{0.20}^{+0.22}`$ and an unabsorbed 20–100 keV flux of $`5.0\times 10^{11}\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1`$.

We then fitted the XMM-Newton and BeppoSAX PDS spectra simultaneously. Due to uncertainties in the cross-calibration of the instruments (p-n and MOS: $`\begin{array}{c}<\\ \end{array}7\%`$; Snowden 2002) as well as possible variability between the XMM-Newton and BeppoSAX observations, we left all normalizations for the spectral components free. All other spectral parameters were tied together. We first tried fitting a power-law model with simple (fully covering) intrinsic absorption. Such absorption could arise in the host galaxy, perhaps in gas associated with the irregularly distributed dust seen in the HST image of Malkan, Gorjian, & Tam (1998). It could also arise on smaller scales in the nuclear region. This model is statistically rejected ($`\chi _\nu ^2=3.24`$; $`\mathrm{d}.\mathrm{o}.\mathrm{f}.=867`$). It also gives a photon index ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }0.9`$) well below that derived from our BeppoSAX PDS analysis and expected intrinsically for a Seyfert galaxy ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }1.6`$$`2.2`$; e.g., Nandra et al. 1997; Risaliti 2002).

We next tried fitting a power-law model with a single partial-covering absorption component. Partially covering absorption could arise from electron scattering of X-rays in the nucleus of Mrk 6 (see F99), and such absorption has been used successfully to explain the X-ray spectra of other intermediate Seyferts. This model also includes the simple intrinsic absorption used in the previous model, since again there could be absorption in the host galaxy after the X-rays have escaped the nucleus (this simple intrinsic absorption will be implicitly included in all of the following spectral fits). Finally, we added a Gaussian emission line to model Fe K$`\alpha `$ emission visible in the spectrum. This model is marginally acceptable ($`\chi _\nu ^2=1.08`$; $`\mathrm{d}.\mathrm{o}.\mathrm{f}.=859`$) although it leaves clear systematic residuals below $`2`$ keV and above $`40`$ keV. Furthermore, like the previous model, it requires an implausibly low photon index of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }1.3`$. If we constrain the photon index to lie in the range 1.6–2.2, the fit is statistically unacceptable.

Given the failures of the two previous spectral models, we tried a model consisting of a power law and two partially covering absorbers (model 2 in Tab. 2). This model was successfully used by F99 to describe the ASCA data, and double partial covering could arise if electron scattering of X-rays provides several lines of sight into the nucleus. The photon index was fixed to the best-fit value derived from the BeppoSAX PDS data ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }=1.81`$; our results are not changed materially if the photon index is left as a free parameter), and we also included a Gaussian Fe K$`\alpha `$ emission line. Despite some small systematic residuals below $`2`$ keV, a good overall fit to the XMM-Newton and BeppoSAX data is found ($`\chi _\nu ^2=0.96`$; $`\mathrm{d}.\mathrm{o}.\mathrm{f}.=858`$; see Fig. 1). The absorption includes a high column density ($`10.96_{0.42}^{+0.58}\times 10^{22}\mathrm{cm}^2`$) component covering $`(57\pm 1)\%`$ of the emitting region, as well as a lower column density ($`2.46_{0.05}^{+0.07}\times 10^{22}\mathrm{cm}^2`$) component with a higher covering percentage of ($`93\pm 1)\%`$. The best-fit rest-frame energy of the Fe K$`\alpha `$ line is $`6.45_{0.04}^{+0.03}`$ keV with an equivalent width of $`93_{20}^{+26}`$ eV. There is no clear evidence for a broad Fe K$`\alpha `$ line, and the fitted line properties are consistent with those from ASCA. Given its properties, the observed line could originate via reprocessing in the outer part of the accretion disk (e.g., George & Fabian 1991) or perhaps in Broad Line Region clouds (see equation 5 in Eracleous, Halpern, & Livio 1996).

The Fe K$`\alpha `$ line is fairly weak for a Seyfert galaxy, suggesting that Compton reflection is unlikely to make a dominant contribution to the X-ray spectrum. To examine any effects of Compton reflection further, we replaced the simple power law in the previous fit with a power law plus neutral reflection (the ‘PEXRAV’ model in XSPEC assuming solar abundances). All other aspects of the model were unchanged. We obtain a relative reflection fraction (defined as $`r=\mathrm{\Omega }/2\pi `$, where $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is the angle subtended by the reflector) of $`r=1.21_{0.16}^{+0.14}`$, an inclination angle of cos $`i=0.94_{0.25}^{+0.01}`$, and a cut-off energy of $`238`$ keV (model 3 in Tab. 2). The fit quality is slightly improved compared to the previous fit ($`\chi _\nu ^2=0.95`$; $`\mathrm{d}.\mathrm{o}.\mathrm{f}.=855`$), but there is no material change in the nature of the partially covering absorption. Due to both statistical and systematic uncertainties associated with this model, we do not consider the derived inclination angle to have clear physical significance.

We also tested a model which assumes that the nuclear X-ray emission is attenuated by both partially ionized and neutral material, dispersed along the line of sight. This model was proposed by Schurch & Warwick (2002) to characterize the complex X-ray absorption of NGC 4151, a Seyfert with many similarities to Mrk 6 (see §1). Although the model gives a relatively good fit to the 2–120 keV data, large residuals are visible below $`2`$ keV ($`\chi _\nu ^2=1.14`$; $`\mathrm{d}.\mathrm{o}.\mathrm{f}.=866`$; see Fig. 1). We obtain an ionization parameter of $`\mathrm{log}\xi =\mathrm{log}(L_{\mathrm{ion}}/nr^2)=2.42\pm 0.01`$ (with $`L_{\mathrm{ion}}`$ the source ionizing luminosity in the 0.0136–13.6 keV band, $`n`$ the number of hydrogen atoms/ions per $`\mathrm{cm}^3`$, and $`r`$ the distance from the central source to the photoionized region), an ionized column density of $`1.33_{0.02}^{+0.01}\times 10^{23}\mathrm{cm}^2`$, and a neutral column density of $`3.35_{0.11}^{+0.17}\times 10^{21}\mathrm{cm}^2`$.

A slightly better fit ($`\chi _\nu ^2=1.09`$; $`\mathrm{d}.\mathrm{o}.\mathrm{f}.=863`$) is obtained if the simple power law in the previous fit is replaced with a power law plus neutral reflection (model 4 in Tab. 2). As for the double partial-covering model, the reflection is not a dominant spectral component and the best-fit absorption parameters do not change materially.

We performed several additional fits to check the general robustness of our results. Models with no intrinsic absorption and Compton reflection cannot provide acceptable fits. Models with fully covering intrinsic absorption and Compton reflection can at best provide marginally acceptable fits. These models also suffer from physical consistency problems since the energy region near the Fe K$`\alpha `$ line is dominated by the reflection component. An Fe K$`\alpha `$ line with a large equivalent width of $`1`$$`2`$ keV is then expected (e.g., Matt, Brandt, & Fabian 1996) but not observed.

Using the double partial-covering model (model 2 in Tab. 2), we derive observed 0.3–2 keV and 2–10 keV XMM-Newton fluxes of $`5.3\times 10^{13}\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1`$ and $`1.2\times 10^{11}\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1`$, respectively. These values are consistent with those in §2.3.5 of F99, given statistical and systematic uncertainties. The absorption-corrected 2–10 keV flux and luminosity are $`2.0\times 10^{11}\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1`$ and $`1.4\times 10^{43}\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{s}^1`$, respectively. The absorption-corrected 0.3–2 keV flux and luminosity are less certain due to the large required absorption correction; likely values are $`1.5\times 10^{11}\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1`$ and $`1.1\times 10^{43}\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{s}^1`$, respectively. Using the partially ionized and neutral absorption model (model 4 in Tab. 2), we derive an absorption-corrected 2–10 keV flux and luminosity $`36\%`$ lower than from the double partial-covering model.

### 3.2 Temporal and Spectral Variability

After fitting constant models to light curves and inspecting the residuals, we do not find any rapid, large-amplitude X-ray variability during the XMM-Newton or BeppoSAX observations. While constant-model fits are statistically inconsistent with the XMM-Newton p-n, BeppoSAX MECS, and BeppoSAX LECS light curves, there are no strong, systematic variations about these fits (the poor fit quality appears to be due to stochastic small-amplitude variability only slightly larger than the statistical noise). We can constrain the amplitude of any systematic variability to be $`\begin{array}{c}<\\ \end{array}15\%`$ for the XMM-Newton p-n, $`\begin{array}{c}<\\ \end{array}17\%`$ for the BeppoSAX MECS, and $`\begin{array}{c}<\\ \end{array}29\%`$ for the BeppoSAX LECS. Within the individual observations, no evidence for spectral variability is found upon analysis of hardness ratios (e.g., 2–12 keV to 0.3–2 keV) computed as a function of time. No variability was seen in the ASCA data (F99), consistent with our results here.

We have checked for inter-observation spectral variations via joint spectral fitting. A joint spectral analysis of the XMM-Newton and ASCA data gives a fit with $`\chi _\nu ^2=1.04`$ ($`\mathrm{d}.\mathrm{o}.\mathrm{f}.=1595`$).111The ASCA spectra used in this analysis were the same as those presented in F99 (see Tab. 1). This joint fit is statistically acceptable, indicating that we cannot prove spectral variability between the ASCA and XMM-Newton observations. If we use the XMM-Newton and BeppoSAX data, however, we obtain $`\chi _\nu ^2=1.20`$ ($`\mathrm{d}.\mathrm{o}.\mathrm{f}.=1410`$). This joint fit can be rejected with $`>99.9`$% confidence, indicating spectral variability. Simultaneous XMM-Newton and BeppoSAX observations of the Seyfert 1 galaxies NGC 5548 (Pounds et al. 2003) and IC 4329A (Gondoin et al. 2001) have shown that excellent fits can be found in joint spectral analyses, ruling out major cross-calibration errors. The spectral differences between the XMM-Newton and BeppoSAX data of Mrk 6 are largest below $`3`$ keV where absorption dominates the spectral shape (see Fig. 2), so absorption variability seems a likely explanation. We therefore analyzed the BeppoSAX data (MECS, LECS and PDS) individually, which gives best-fit column densities a factor of $`2`$ smaller compared to XMM-Newton ($`N_\mathrm{H}^1=4.76_{0.25}^{+0.27}\times 10^{22}\mathrm{cm}^2`$; $`N_\mathrm{H}^2=1.37_{0.07}^{+0.08}\times 10^{22}\mathrm{cm}^2`$) and covering fractions which are consistent with our XMM-Newton results \[$`f_\mathrm{c}^1=(54\pm 1)\%`$; $`f_\mathrm{c}^2=(95\pm 1)\%`$\]. The observed 0.3–2 keV and 2–10 keV BeppoSAX fluxes are $`1.1\times 10^{12}\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1`$ and $`2.4\times 10^{11}\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1`$, respectively. These values are significantly higher than during the XMM-Newton observation. The absorption-corrected 2–10 keV flux and luminosity are $`3.2\times 10^{11}\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1`$ and $`2.1\times 10^{43}\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{s}^1`$, respectively. The 2–10 keV luminosity of Mrk 6 during the BeppoSAX observation was $`60`$% higher than during the XMM-Newton observation.

## 4 Discussion and Summary

The analyses above have substantially tightened the constraints upon the X-ray absorption and emission properties of Mrk 6. The XMM-Newton spectrum has $`7`$ times as many counts and a wider bandpass than the earlier ASCA spectrum, and the 18–120 keV BeppoSAX PDS data have provided the first reliable determination of the underlying X-ray continuum shape (a critical quantity for modeling of the X-ray absorption). The absorption measured in the new data can be fit acceptably with the same basic double partial-covering model used to fit the ASCA data (F99), providing substantially improved support for the applicability of this model to Mrk 6. The measured column densities are large with $`N_\mathrm{H}`$ up to $`10^{23}`$ cm-2, so absorption controls the shape of the X-ray spectrum up to $`6`$ keV. As discussed in §4.2.1 of F99, the absorption seen in X-rays is substantially larger than expected from the optical reddening; the X-ray absorbing material may be dust poor. The small 0.3–1 keV residuals left by the double partial-covering model may be due to $`5\times 10^{40}`$ ergs s-1 emission from ionized gas in the nucleus or host galaxy. These residuals are consistent with X-ray emission from the Narrow Line Region, similar to that observed in NGC 4151 (Ogle et al. 2000) and the Seyfert 2 galaxies NGC 1068 (Ogle et al. 2003) and Mrk 3 (Sako et al. 2000). The residuals around 0.8–0.9 keV could be Fe L emission, but this spectral complexity is difficult to model due to the limited low-energy photon statistics of the EPIC instruments and the insufficient signal-to-noise ratio of the RGS spectra.

Motivated by recent studies of NGC 4151 (Schurch & Warwick 2002), we also tried fitting the measured X-ray absorption with another physically plausible model consisting of both ionized and neutral columns of gas. This model provides an acceptable fit to the X-ray spectrum above 2 keV, but it leaves substantially larger residuals at lower energies than does the double partial-covering model (visible in the lower panel of Fig. 1). Again these residuals may be plausibly explained by emission from ionized gas in the nucleus or host galaxy.

Three pieces of evidence suggest that, at least at high energies, our X-ray observations have penetrated all the way to the black hole region of Mrk 6: (1) the 18–120 keV continuum shape measured by the BeppoSAX PDS is consistent with those of Seyfert 1 galaxies (compare with §3.2 of Malaguti et al. 1999), (2) the relatively small equivalent width of the Fe K$`\alpha `$ line ($`EW=93_{20}^{+26}`$ eV) indicates significant dilution of the reflection continuum at 6.4 keV by direct power-law emission from the black hole region, and (3) the relative 2–10 keV, \[O iii\], and far-infrared luminosities are consistent with those of Seyfert 1 galaxies (see §4.1 of F99). Given these results, we can have confidence that the 2–10 keV ($`L_{210}=1.4\times 10^{43}\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{s}^1`$ from XMM-Newton) and 20–100 keV ($`L_{20100}=3.5\times 10^{43}\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{s}^1`$ from BeppoSAX) luminosities we have found for Mrk 6 represent those of the intrinsic X-ray continuum (rather than just scattered X-ray emission, for example). The X-ray luminosity of Mrk 6 is $`5`$ times the average X-ray luminosity of NGC 4151 ($`L_{210}3\times 10^{42}\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{s}^1`$; $`L_{20100}1\times 10^{43}\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{s}^1`$; Yang et al. 2001; Schurch & Warwick 2002; Schurch 2002). Its lower X-ray flux arises only because it is $`5.8`$ times more distant.

Our analyses have also revealed significant X-ray absorption variability during the 1.5 yr between the BeppoSAX and XMM-Newton observations. In the double partial-covering model, the column densities of both partial covering components drop by a factor of $`2`$ while the covering fractions do not change significantly. If the fitted partial covering in fact indicates that we have both direct, absorbed as well as electron-scattered, unabsorbed views of the nucleus, the observed changes seem physically plausible. The column densities along the direct line of sight could change due to gas motions in the torus atmosphere, while the scattered fraction would not change if scattering occurs on large spatial scales. The mechanism of absorption variability must allow the column density to undergo large fractional changes; such changes could perhaps arise due to bulk rotation of a torus or Poisson fluctuations in a relatively small number of obscuring ‘clouds’ along the line of sight. Our discovery of X-ray absorption variability from Mrk 6 (as well as the observed variability amplitude and timescale) is generally consistent with the absorption variability seen from other absorbed Seyferts (e.g., Risaliti, Elvis, & Nicastro 2002; Schurch & Warwick 2002).

Based on our results, further monitoring of the X-ray absorption variability of Mrk 6 is merited to refine understanding of its amplitude and timescale. Such monitoring could be significantly complemented by coordinated optical spectroscopy, given the known optical line profile variability (see §1). High-quality ultraviolet spectroscopy of Mrk 6 would allow connections to be made between the X-ray absorption and any ultraviolet absorption. The archival IUE data on Mrk 6 suggest intrinsic Mg ii absorption, but higher quality data are required for a proper study.

We thank L.A. Antonelli, M.C. Eracleous, and N.J. Schurch for helpful discussions. The project was supported by NASA grants NAG5-9940 and LTSA NAG5-8107 and NAG5-13035.


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# A second glance at SN 2002ap and the M 74 field with XMM-Newton

## 1 Introduction

To date, only about 20 supernovae (SNe) have been detected in the X-ray band (see Schlegel 1995; Immler et al. 1998; Schlegel 1999; Pian et al. 2000; Immler et al. 2001; Pooley et al. 2002; Schlegel 2001; Immler et al. 2002; and the recent review by Immler & Lewin 2002). Most studies have been conducted in the soft X-ray band by ROSAT and more recently by Chandra and XMM-Newton (Fox et al. 2000; Kulkarni & Fox 2003; Pooley & Lewin 2002; Schlegel 2002; Zimmermann & Aschenbach 2003). Information at harder energies is much more limited: only SNe 1987A, 1993J and 1998bw have been investigated at energies higher than 13 keV, and only the first two have been detected (Sunyaev et al. 1987; Inoue et al. 1991; Leising et al. 1994).

SN 2002ap in M 74 (NGC 628) is one of only four Type Ic SNe detected in the X-rays, the others being the low-mass, normally energetic SN 1994I (Immler et al. 1998; Immler et al. 2002), the massive and energetic ”hypernova” SN 1998bw (Galama et al. 1998; Iwamoto et al. 1998; Pian et al. 2000), and the normal SN 2003L (Boles et al. 2003; Kulkarni & Fox 2003; Matheson et al. 2003). From its broad optical spectral features and its high kinetic energy, Mazzali et al. (2002) argued that SN 2002ap can be classified as a hypernova, a class of SNe characterised by an energetic, probably asymmetric explosion and by a large mass of the collapsing star (Paczyński 1998; MacFadyen & Woosley 1999). These physical circumstances make hypernovae strong candidates to explain the origin of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Indeed, SN 1998bw was observed in the BeppoSAX error box of GRB980425 and showed a good temporal agreement with it. Hypernovae are also thought to be progenitors of stellar-mass and possibly intermediate-mass black holes (BHs). Studying a Type Ic event at all wavelengths, and especially at high energies, is therefore crucial to understand the possible link between GRBs and SNe, and to test the identification of hypernovae as Type Ic SNe.

The host galaxy of SN 2002ap is itself an interesting target for an X-ray study: it is a face-on (inclination angle $`<7^{}`$, Shostak & van der Kruit 1984), late-type spiral (morphological type Sc), with star formation along well-defined arms (eg, Kennicutt & Hodge 1980). Its distance remains uncertain: recent photometric measurements put it at $`7.3`$ Mpc (Sharina et al. 1996; Sohn & Davidge 1996). Previous estimates, however, ranged from 2 to 20 Mpc (eg, Bottinelli et al. 1984; Sandage & Tammann 1974). A distance of 8.8 Mpc was recently adopted by Huchra et al. (1999) based on its redshift. In this paper we shall assume a distance of 7.3 Mpc for all flux-to-luminosity conversions.

## 2 Data analysis and Results

### 2.1 Log of the observations

The field of SN 2002ap and its host galaxy M 74 were observed by all instruments on board XMM-Newton with two Target-of-Opportunity observations: the first on 2002 February 2.03–2.42 UT (revolution 394, less than 5 days after the SN event); the second on 2003 January 7.53–7.83 UT (revolution 564). Both were taken in full frame, thin filter mode. After rejecting intervals characterised by highly fluctuating background, we kept a good time interval of 21.5 ks for the 2002 pn observation, and 20.9 ks for the 2003 one. For the MOS, the good-time intervals were 23.7 ks in 2002 and 24.4 ks in 2003. We processed both datasets, and extracted spectra and lightcurves using version 5.4 of the XMM-Science Analysis Software (SAS); we considered only ”pattern-0” events in both pn and MOS. We then used standard tools such as XSPEC (Arnaud 1996) for further data analysis.

In addition to the 2002 and 2003 XMM-Newton observations, M 74 was observed twice by Chandra ACIS-S: on 2001 June 19 (46.4 ks), and on 2001 October 19 (46.2 ks). On both occasions, the back-illuminated S3 chip was used. We obtained the Chandra dataset from the public archive and analysed it with the standard CIAO software. We inspected the background count rates during the two exposures, and chose to retain both intervals in full (See also Krauss et al. (2003)). We used standard source-finding routines (wavdetect and celldetect, which give similar results) to identify the point sources. To increase the signal-to-noise ratio of faint sources, we also built a merged event file from the two Chandra observations, and used it to compile a source list and their average count rates in the full energy band ($`0.3`$$`8`$ keV) and in three narrower bands (Table A.1).

### 2.2 Count rates for SN 2002ap

SN 2002ap is not detected in the 2003 January observation: neither in the single pn and MOS images, nor in a combined EPIC image. By comparison with the detection limit of the faintest sources in the combined image, we estimate a 3 sigma upper limit to the EPIC pn count rate of $`4\times 10^4`$ cts s-1 in the $`0.3`$$`12`$ keV band.111All the count rates listed here and hereafter have already been corrected for the enclosed energy fraction and the vignetting.

Instead, SN 2002ap is detected as an X-ray source in the 2002 February observation, both in the EPIC pn and in the EPIC MOS images. A preliminary estimate (Sutaria et al. 2002) yielded an observed flux of $`1.07_{0.31}^{+0.63}\times 10^{14}`$ erg cm-2 s-1 in the $`0.3`$$`10.0`$ keV band. Sutaria et al. (2002) obtained this value by extracting the events from a 40″ circle centred on the optical position of SN 2002ap, then subtracting the contribution from the background and from an unrelated source (CXOU J013623.5+154458) located $`15`$″ from the SN. The contribution from CXOU J013623.5+154458 was estimated from the archival Chandra ACIS observation of M 74 taken on 2001 October 19. However, this method may lead to an inaccurate estimate, given the large uncertainty in the spectrum of CXOU J013623.5+154458 (ACIS-S count rate of $`5.7\times 10^4`$ cts s-1, ie, only 26 counts in the 46.2-ks Chandra observation). Moreover, a 40″ extraction radius includes a significant contribution from at least one other Chandra source (CXOU J013626.6+154458), located 38″ from the SN (ACIS-S count rate of $`1.9\times 10^4`$ cts s-1).

We obtained an improved estimate of the X-ray flux of SN 2002ap in two different ways. Firstly, we used a much smaller extraction region (12″ radius), to reduce the contamination from CXOU J013623.5+154458 and CXOU J013626.6+154458. We used the latest SAS calibration files, to correct for the smaller energy fraction enclosed in this region ($`60`$% of the total, for channel energies $`<2`$ keV). We used the SAS tasks rmfgen and arfgen to construct accurate response matrices at the position of the source. The background was extracted from the same pn chip, in a region that did not contain any detected sources.

Alternatively, we used the 2003 image as a background to be subtracted from the 2002 dataset. To make sure we could do that, we compared the background contribution in the good-time-intervals of the 2002 and 2003 EPIC datasets. The (low) background count rate in the $`0.3`$$`12`$ keV range is consistent with being the same in both observations (differences are $`<2`$% for the pn, and $`<5`$% for the MOS). The pointing of the spacecraft was also approximately the same in 2002 and 2003, hence SN 2002ap is located in the same chip, nearly on-axis on both occasions. Comparing the XMM-Newton and Chandra datasets, we could verify that the brighter (and closer) of the two Chandra sources, CXOU J013623.5+154458, does not show significant flux variations from 2001 to 2003. Therefore, we assumed that its state in 2002 was similar to that displayed in 2001 and 2003. If we assume that other possible faint sources in the region around SN 2002ap did not vary between 2002 and 2003, we can subtract the flux detected at the position of SN 2002ap in the 2003 observation from the value measured in 2002. This gives us at least a lower limit on the luminosity of SN 2002ap in 2002.

Applying the first method (ie, using the 2002 dataset only, for source and background), we obtain a pn count rate of $`(2.75\pm 0.57)\times 10^3`$ cts s-1 in the $`0.3`$$`12`$ keV band. By comparing the count rates in three separate narrow bands (0.3–1 keV, 1–2 keV, 2–12 keV) we notice that the source has a soft spectrum. In fact, the count rate in the $`2`$$`12`$ keV band is affected by some residual contamination from the nearby hard spectrum source CXOU J013623.5+154458, and should be considered an upper limit to the hard X-ray emission from SN 2002ap. For MOS1, the corrected count rate on 2002 February 2 was $`(7.0\pm 2.7)\times 10^4`$ cts s-1; for MOS2, $`(7.8\pm 2.9)\times 10^4`$ cts s-1. The low number of source counts ($`10`$ counts in each of the two detectors) does not allow a significant colour determination from the MOS’s.

We then applied the second method, analysing the difference in the emission at the position of SN 2002ap between 2002 and 2003. We used two different source extraction radii: for a 12″ radius, we obtain that the pn count rate in 2002 was higher than in 2003 by $`(2.6\pm 0.5)\times 10^3`$ cts s-1 in the $`0.3`$$`12`$ keV band. When a 30″ circle is used, the differential pn count rate is $`(3.0\pm 0.7)\times 10^3`$ cts s-1 in the same energy band. Applying the same method to the MOS1 dataset, we obtain a differential count rate of $`(8.6\pm 2.8)\times 10^4`$ cts s-1 in the $`0.3`$$`12`$ keV band when we use a 12″ extraction region, and $`(6.9\pm 3.8)\times 10^4`$ cts s-1 for a 30″ circle. For MOS2, the count rates are $`(7.5\pm 2.9)\times 10^4`$ cts s-1 and $`(7.5\pm 3.8)\times 10^4`$ cts s-1, respectively. These values are consistent with the respective pn and MOS count rates determined from the 2002 dataset alone with the previous method, confirming that the contribution of SN 2002ap in 2003 is negligible.

Taking the average of the three measurements for each detector, we obtain the pn, MOS1 and MOS2 count rates listed in Table 1. In the same table we have also reported the count rates in separate energy bands. The errors quoted in Table 1 are the errors in the mean from the three measurements (Gaussian propagation).

We point out that the analysis presented in this section supersedes the preliminary report on the X-ray colors and luminosity of SN 2002ap published in Sect. 4.2 of Soria & Kong (2002). In that paper, we said that the source was very hard: in fact, this was caused by contamination from the nearby hard source CXOU J013623.5+154458, which has been properly subtracted here with the help of the Chandra datasets.

### 2.3 Flux and luminosity of SN 2002ap

The low signal-to-noise ratio of the pn spectrum does not allow a meaningful model fitting in XSPEC. However, we can at least constrain the spectrum of SN 2002ap by comparing its soft and hard X-ray colours with the colours expected for some simple spectral models. The count rates inferred for the three pn narrow bands on 2002 February 2 (Table 1) are indicative of a soft spectrum. The conversion from count rates to emitted fluxes is strongly dependent on the absorbing column density. The foreground Galactic H I column density in the direction of M 74 has been estimated as $`4.8\times 10^{20}`$ cm-2 (Dickey & Lockman 1990). From the interstellar dust maps of Schlegel et al. (1998), a reddening $`E(BV)=0.072\pm 0.012`$ is obtained at the position of SN 2002ap. Using the empirical relation $`n_\mathrm{H}=1.79\times 10^{21}A_V=5.73\times 10^{21}E(BV)`$ cm-2 (Predehl & Schmitt 1995), where $`A_V`$ is the extinction in the $`V`$ band, a Galactic column density $`n_\mathrm{H}=4.2_{0.7}^{+0.6}\times 10^{20}`$ cm-2 is derived. To this value, we need to add the intrinsic absorption due to the circumstellar material. For this component, optical spectroscopic analysis of the Na I D lines shows that $`n_\mathrm{H}=(1.15\pm 0.05)\times 10^{20}`$ cm-2 (Takada-Hidai et al. 2002). Hence, we can take $`5\times 10^{20}`$ cm-2 as a lower limit on the total absorbing column density. However, the X-ray spectrum may be more absorbed than the optical emission, hence we cannot obtain an upper limit for $`n_\mathrm{H}`$ from the optical observations. We shall discuss this issue in Section 3.1.

We then assumed that the spectrum could be approximated by one or two optically-thin thermal-plasma components (Raymond-Smith models in XSPEC, with solar abundance), and we investigated the range of temperatures and column densities consistent with the observed colours. We found (Fig. 1) that the spectrum is inconsistent with single-temperature models at $`kT>1`$ keV. The observed X-ray colours are consistent for example with a single-temperature model with $`kT0.5`$ keV and $`n_\mathrm{H}5\times 10^{21}`$ cm-2; or with $`kT0.75`$ keV and $`n_\mathrm{H}3\times 10^{21}`$ cm-2. If we take the lowest allowed value of $`n_\mathrm{H}5\times 10^{20}`$ cm-2, the observed colours imply $`kT0.85`$ keV. We cannot rule out two-temperature models, for example, with $`kT_10.5`$ keV, $`kT_22`$ keV, $`n_\mathrm{H}1\times 10^{21}`$ cm-2, where we have normalized the two components so that each contributes half of the emitted flux in the $`0.3`$$`12`$ keV band. However, two-temperature models including a hot component with $`kT>5`$ keV are inconsistent with the soft colours observed for this source.

We calculated the fluxes for some representative single-temperature models consistent with the observed colours (Table 2). As noted earlier, most of the X-ray flux is detected below 2 keV. We estimate an emitted luminosity in the $`0.3`$$`2`$ keV band ranging from a few times $`10^{37}`$ to $`10^{38}`$ erg s-1 (depending on the spectral model), and an emitted luminosity in the $`2`$$`12`$ keV band of $`1.2\times 10^{36}`$ erg s-1 for all spectral models. However, given the large uncertainties in the background subtraction, we can take $`1\times 10^{37}`$ erg s-1 as a safe upper limit for the emitted luminosity in the hard band. A distance of 7.3 Mpc has been assumed.

### 2.4 Two “ultra-luminous” sources?

Two variable X-ray sources were detected by XMM-Newton with peak emitted luminosities $`>10^{39}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$. One of them, XMMU J013636.5$`+`$155036, was detected only in the 2002 February EPIC observation (Soria & Kong 2002). It was not found in the 2003 January co-added EPIC image, from which we estimate that it was at least 30 times fainter than 11 months before, in the $`0.3`$$`12`$ keV band. It was also undetected in both Chandra images from 2001. We refined the spectral analysis presented in Soria & Kong (2002) by co-adding the pn and MOS data (thus increasing the significance of possible line features), with a program written by M. Page, and by using updated response matrices and more recent calibration files in the SAS. The combined EPIC spectrum from 2002 February is well fitted ($`\chi _\nu ^2=30.9/36`$) by a simple power law with $`\mathrm{\Gamma }1.9`$, and total (Galactic plus intrinsic) absorption $`n_\mathrm{H}1.8\times 10^{21}`$ cm-2 (Table 3). This corresponds to an emitted luminosity $`1.6\times 10^{39}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$ in the $`0.3`$$`12`$ keV band. Adding a blackbody or multicolor disk-blackbody component at $`kT0.15`$ keV does not improve the fit significantly ($`\chi _\nu ^2=27.8/34`$). An absorbed multicolor disk-blackbody model does not provide a good fit (best-fit $`kT_{\mathrm{in}}=1.2\pm 0.2`$ keV, but $`\chi _\nu ^2=47.9/36`$). We also analysed the lightcurve but found no periodicity in the 1–10,000 s range. The count rate is consistent with the source being constant over the duration of the 2002 XMM-Newton observation. Its emitted luminosity in 2003 must be $`<5\times 10^{37}`$ erg s-1 in the $`0.3`$$`12`$ keV band. The upper limit, at the 3-$`\sigma `$ significance level, was estimated with the assumption of a $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=1.9`$ power-law spectrum and total $`n_\mathrm{H}=1.8\times 10^{21}`$ cm-2.

The other bright source in the M 74 field, CXOU J13651.1$`+`$154547, is detected in both Chandra and both XMM-Newton observations222This source was not discussed in Soria & Kong (2002) because in that paper we focussed only on transient sources newly detected by XMM. In the first three observations it exhibited strong variability over timescales of a few thousand seconds, with flux changes as large as an order of magnitude (Krauss et al. 2003). If we assume that this source belongs to M 74 and is not a background AGN333Two candidate “ultra-luminous” sources in the field of nearby galaxies have recently been recognised as background AGN (Masetti et al. 2003; Foschini et al. 2002). The possibility that CXOU J13651.1$`+`$154547 is a background object was discussed by Krauss et al. (2003), but considered unlikely in the absence of any radio or optical counterpart., typical luminosities inferred from the 2001–2002 data were $`5\times 10^{38}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$ in the faint state, with peaks of up to $`8\times 10^{39}`$ during the flares. Variability over shorter timescales ($`100`$ s) was also observed. Spectral analysis showed that the X-ray emission was harder when the source was brighter (Krauss et al. 2003).

Data analysis for the 2003 XMM-Newton observation is complicated by the location of the source on a CCD gap in the pn. We eliminated the contamination of spurious events along the chip edge by extracting only ”flag-0” & ”pattern-0” events. Fortunately, the source is located sufficiently far away from any chip gaps in the MOS. Taking into account vignetting (the source is 5′ off-axis) and the fraction of pn events lost in the chip gap, we obtained the combined EPIC lightcurve shown in Fig. 2. The observed count rate appears to be much less variable than in 2001 and 2002, with no signs of strong flares. We carried out Fourier analysis of the data but found no significant periodicity in the 1–10,000 s range.

The co-added pn and MOS spectrum can be fitted in the $`0.3`$$`12`$ keV band with a simple power-law with $`\mathrm{\Gamma }2.5\pm 0.5`$, absorbed by a total column density $`n_\mathrm{H}1.7\times 10^{21}`$ cm-2 ($`\chi _\nu ^2=1.16`$ for 18 d.o.f; Fig. 3 and Table 4). Adding a multicolour black-body component or using comptonized black-body models (eg, comptt, bmc or thcompds in XSPEC) does not significantly improve the fit. When the Comptonization model bmc444The bmc model (Shrader & Titarchuk 1999) describes the thermal or bulk motion Comptonization of a blackbody seed-photon component. is used, the temperature of the seed thermal component is constrained to be $`<0.26`$ keV (90% confidence level). Using the Comptonization model comptt555comptt (Titarchuk 1994) approximates the seed-photon input spectrum with the Wien tail of the blackbody spectrum. Thus, it is simpler but less accurate than the bmc model., the seed photon temperature is $`<0.23`$ keV. Finally, we checked that the observed spectrum is not consistent with an absorbed multicolor disk-blackbody ($`\chi _\nu ^2=1.56`$ for 18 d.o.f). Using the power-law spectral model, we obtain an emitted flux $`1.3\times 10^{13}`$ erg cm-2 s-1 in the $`0.3`$$`12`$ keV band; for the bmc model, the flux is $`1.2\times 10^{13}`$ erg cm-2 s-1. At the assumed distance of M 74, the emitted luminosity is $`8\times 10^{38}`$ erg s-1 for both spectral models.

As an aside, we note that XMMU J013627.2$`+`$155005 is another bright transient source seen in 2002 (when it had a hard power-law spectrum and a luminosity $`3\times 10^{38}`$ erg s-1, Soria & Kong 2002) but not in 2003, nor in the previous Chandra observations.

### 2.5 Colour and luminosity distribution of the other X-ray sources

In addition to an individual study of SN 2002ap, XMMU J013636.5$`+`$155036 and CXOU J013651.1$`+`$154547, we investigated the color and luminosity distribution of the discrete source population in M 74, to distinguish different physical classes of sources and estimate the relative fraction of X-ray binaries (XRBs) and supernova remnants (SNRs). The spatial resolution of the XMM-Newton EPIC cameras is not sufficient to resolve many faint sources in the inner disk; therefore, we used the co-added 2001 June $`+`$ October Chandra ACIS-S observations for this study, achieving a detection limit of $`10^4`$ ACIS-S cts s-1.

Seventy-four X-ray sources (not including two obvious foreground stars) are detected with wavdetect at $`>3.5\sigma `$ significance inside the $`D_{25}`$ ellipse of M 74, in the Chandra ACIS-S image (Appendix A.1). The cumulative count rate distribution (Fig. 4) is fitted by a simple power-law of index $`\alpha 1.0`$, for the 46 sources detected with an ACIS count rate $`>3\times 10^4`$ cts s-1, which we take as the completeness limit. Assuming $`n_\mathrm{H}=1\times 10^{21}`$ cm-2, and a power-law spectrum with $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=1.7`$, this corresponds to an emitted luminosity $`2\times 10^{37}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$. Using the results of the Chandra 1Ms Deep Field South exposure (Rosati et al. 2002), we estimate that as many as 20 of these 46 sources may be background AGN. We also estimate that 3 to 5 of the 11 sources detected with an ACIS count rate $`>10^3`$, and at most 1 of the 5 brightest sources (count rate $`>3\times 10^3`$) may be from the background. After removing the estimated fraction of AGN at various fluxes, we obtain that the true slope of the cumulative count rate distribution is $`\alpha 0.9`$ ($`\alpha 0.8`$ for sources more luminous than $`10^{38}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$; this is in agreement with the slope found by Soria & Kong (2002)).

A power-law luminosity function is consistent with the distribution observed in disks of other spiral galaxies with moderately active star formation (eg, $`\alpha 0.8`$ in M 101, see Pence et al. 2001; $`\alpha 1.1`$– $`0.9`$ in the disk of M 31, see Kong et al. 2003). A steeper power-law index ($`\alpha 1.7`$) is generally observed in spiral bulges, which are dominated by old stellar populations, while flatter slopes ($`\alpha 0.5`$) are typical of starburst galaxies (eg, the Antennae and M 82; see Zezas & Fabbiano 2002 and references therein).

Colour-colour plots (Figs. 4 and 5) are an effective way of separating the discrete sources into separate physical groups: soft and hard XRBs, SNRs and supersoft sources. We chose the colour indices \[$`(HM)/(H+M+S)`$, $`(MS)/(H+M+S)`$\], following Prestwich et al. (2003). The spectral models overplotted in the diagrams are: power-laws with photon indices $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=1.3`$, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=1.7`$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=2.0`$ (characteristic of XRBs in the hard state); disk-blackbody with inner-disk temperatures $`kT_{\mathrm{in}}=0.5`$ keV and $`kT_{\mathrm{in}}=1.0`$ keV (typical of XRBs in the soft state); optically-thin, single-temperature thermal plasma at $`kT_{\mathrm{rs}}=0.5`$ keV (typical of SNRs); blackbody at $`kT_{\mathrm{bb}}=0.1`$ keV (typical of supersoft sources). Along each model line, the column density increases from the bottom to the top (models 1 and 2) or clockwise (models 3–7): from $`n_\mathrm{H}=5\times 10^{20}`$ cm-2 (line-of-sight foreground absorption for M 74) to $`n_\mathrm{H}=5\times 10^{21}`$ cm-2 for the blackbody model, to $`n_\mathrm{H}=7.5\times 10^{21}`$ cm-2 for the optically-thin thermal plasma model, to $`n_\mathrm{H}=2\times 10^{22}`$ cm-2 for the disk-blackbody models, and to $`n_\mathrm{H}=5\times 10^{22}`$ cm-2 for the power-law models. In calculating the expected colours for each of those spectral models, we took into account the time-dependent degradation of the ACIS detector at soft channel energies.

We also plotted in Figs. 5 and 6 the approximate colours that SN 2002ap would have had if it had been observed with the ACIS-S detector666The conversion between the XMM-Newton and Chandra count rates in the three bands depends of course on the assumed spectral model and absorption, but these variations are small for the range of column densities and temperatures considered in Table 2. We converted the colours using the correct response matrices generated by the CIAO and SAS software, rather than the default (pre-launch) responses from PIMMS.. The source colours fall in the region of the diagam which in star-forming galaxies is usually populated by thermal SNRs (eg, Prestwich et al. 2003; Soria & Wu 2003; Soria & Kong 2003).

## 3 Discussion

### 3.1 The X-ray behaviour of SN 2002ap

Type Ib/c SNe are rare occurrences in nearby galaxies, and they are only rarely observed in the X-rays. It is not clear whether there is a “typical” X-ray behaviour. In fact, the two best-monitored previous cases of Type Ic X-ray SNe, 1994I and 1998bw, have substantially different X-ray light curves at early times (Fig. 7). SN 1998bw exhibited early X-ray emission (detected by BeppoSAX) in the $`0.1`$$`10`$ keV range, starting 10 hours after the explosion (Pian et al. 2000). The initial decline was slow: only a factor $`2.5`$ over the first 6 months. An XMM-Newton measurement nearly 4 years later shows that the X-ray decline must have been faster at later epochs (Fig. 7; Pian et al. 2003). In contrast, SN 1994I was not detected by ROSAT until day 82 after the explosion (Immler et al. 1998). However, its late-epoch temporal behaviour (i.e. after day 82), sampled by Chandra (Immler et al. 2002), is consistent with that of SN 1998bw (Fig. 7).

The temporal behaviour of SN 2002ap is overall more similar to that of SN 1998bw, in the sense that both SNe showed prompt X-ray emission. The 2003 upper limit on the X-ray flux of SN 2002ap is at least 7 times fainter than the 2002 detection: this is roughly consistent with the decay rate of SN 1998bw (Fig. 7). The early X-ray detection of SN 1998bw may suggest the presence of a jet, in which prompt, non-thermal radiation can be efficiently produced, similar to GRB afterglow radiation (see Pian et al. 2003). However, the absence of hard X-ray emission in SN 2002ap (the upper limit on the $`2`$$`12`$ keV flux implies a luminosity at least a factor $``$1000 lower than in SN 1998bw) argues against the presence of highly relativistic conditions at the forward (circumstellar) shock. This SN was also less radio-luminous than SN 1998bw (Berger et al. 2002). The lower energy emitted in the X-ray and radio bands is consistent with the estimate of the total energy of SN 2002ap ($`5\times 10^{51}`$ erg s-1), which is an order of magnitude smaller than in SN 1998bw (Mazzali et al. 2002). While the consistency of the temporal X-ray behaviour of SN 2002ap with that of SN 1998bw could support its classification as a hypernova, suggested on the basis of optical observations (Mazzali et al. 2002; Foley et al. 2003), the lower total energy may be insufficient for the development of a strongly asymmetric explosion, as required for the formation of a GRB. Indeed, a search for gamma-ray signal during the week prior to the SN 2002ap explosion resulted in no detection (Hurley et al. 2002).

X-ray emission from a SN may originate either from the forward shock or from the reverse shock (eg, Immler & Lewin 2002 and Chevalier & Fransson 2002 for reviews). Following the self-similar analytical approximation of Fransson et al. (1996), and of Chevalier & Fransson (1994), one can parameterise the radial density profile $`\rho `$ of the ejecta as a function of time $`t`$, as $`\rho =Kt^3(r/t)^n`$, where: $`r`$ is the radial distance from the centre of the progenitor; the proportionality constant $`K`$ depends on the velocity $`V`$ of the ejecta at the reverse shock (maximum velocity of the ejecta at any given time); the choice of the power-law index $`n`$ depends on the type of progenitor star. The circumstellar wind density $`\rho _\mathrm{w}`$ can be parameterised as:

$$\rho _\mathrm{w}=\frac{\dot{M}}{4\pi v_\mathrm{w}r_0^2}\left(\frac{r_0}{r}\right)^s$$
(1)
where $`r_0`$ is a reference radius corresponding to the mass-loss rate $`\dot{M}/v_\mathrm{w}`$ ($`r_0=10^{15}`$ cm in Fransson et al. 1996), and $`1.5<s<2`$ (Fransson et al. 1996). The mass-loss rate $`\dot{M}5\times 10^7M_{}`$ yr-1 for the progenitor of SN 2002ap (Berger et al. 2002). The stellar-wind velocity $`v_\mathrm{w}`$ is generally of the same order as the escape velocity from the progenitor star, that is $`10^3`$ km s-1 in the case of Type Ic SN progenitors. As noted earlier, the low radio and hard X-ray luminosities of SN 2002ap seem to rule out a relativistic speed for the ejecta: it is more likely that $`V(1`$$`3)\times 10^4`$ km s-1, as is the case in most core-collapse SNe (eg, Matzner & McKee 1999).

In the thin shell approximation, and assuming electron-ion equipartition, the forward shock has a temperature

$$kT_\mathrm{f}196\mu _\mathrm{s}\left(\frac{n3}{ns}\right)^2V_4^2\mathrm{keV}150V_4^2\mathrm{keV},$$
(2)
where $`V_4V/(10^4\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1)`$, and $`\mu _\mathrm{s}`$ is the mean mass per particle. $`\mu _\mathrm{s}`$ is a function of chemical abundance: $`\mu _\mathrm{s}=0.61`$ for solar abundance, and, more generally, $`0.5<\mu _\mathrm{s}<1`$. We have also assumed $`n3`$, $`ns`$ (Fransson et al. 1996). The temperature of the reverse shock is (Fransson et al. 1996):

$$kT_\mathrm{r}=\left(\frac{3s}{n3}\right)^2kT_\mathrm{f}=196\mu _\mathrm{s}\left(\frac{3s}{ns}\right)^2V_4^2\mathrm{keV}.$$
(3)
The observed colours of SN 2002ap imply temperatures $`0.5<kT<0.9`$ keV, suggesting that the emission comes from the reverse shock, and that the density gradient of the ejecta is very steep, with $`n>20`$, from Eq.(3).

The cooling timescale $`t_{\mathrm{cool}}`$ of the reverse shock, at each time $`t`$ after the SN event, depends on $`n`$, $`s`$, $`V`$, $`\dot{M}`$ and $`v_\mathrm{w}`$ (Equation (3.14) in Fransson et al. 1996). Taking $`s=2`$, and $`t=5`$ d (time of the XMM-Newton observation), one obtains:

$$t_{\mathrm{cool}}=1.5\times 10^7\frac{V_4^{5.34}}{(n3)(n4)(n2)^{3.34}}\frac{v_{\mathrm{w},3}}{\dot{M}_6}\mathrm{d},$$
(4)
where $`\dot{M}_6`$ is the mass-loss rate in units of $`10^6M_{}`$ yr-1, and $`v_{\mathrm{w},3}`$ the wind speed in units of $`10^3`$ km s-1. For $`n>20`$, and $`v_{\mathrm{w},3}/\dot{M}_61`$, $`t_{\mathrm{cool}}10^7(V_4/n)^{5.34}`$ d, i.e., only a few days or weeks. We would not expect the reverse shock to remain radiative after a year.

The total luminosity emitted by the reverse shock is (for $`s=2`$):

$$L_\mathrm{r}=1.6\times 10^{38}V_4^3\frac{(n3)(n4)}{(n2)^3}\frac{\dot{M}_6}{v_{\mathrm{w},3}}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1.$$
(5)
This simple approximation gives an emitted luminosity $`10^{37}`$ erg s-1, in agreement with the observations (Table 2) if the absorbing column density is $`<10^{21}`$ cm-2. On the other hand, the same model predicts an X-ray luminosity from the forward shock $`10^{31}`$$`10^{32}`$ erg s-1, entirely negligible (Fransson et al. 1996). As the reverse shock cools down radiatively, a cold shell is formed between the reverse shock and the contact discontinuity, with a column density that scales $`(n4)(Vt)^1(\dot{M}/v_\mathrm{w})`$ (Fransson et al. 1996). At $`t=5`$ d after the event, and for values of the physical parameters suitable to SN 2002ap, this implies an intrinsic column density $`(1`$$`2)\times 10^{20}`$ cm-2.

In conclusion, we argue that the low temperature ($`kT0.8`$ keV) of the X-ray emission observed from SN 2002ap on 2002 February 2 points to a radiatively-cooling reverse shock as the origin of the X-rays. If so, the fact that it was already detected 5 d after the event implies that the cool shell between the reverse shock and the contact discontinuity was already optically thin. The ratio of mass-loss rate over stellar-wind velocity is the crucial factor determining the column density across the cool shell (scaling as $`(\dot{M}/v_\mathrm{w})`$) and the luminosity of the forward shock (scaling as $`(\dot{M}/v_\mathrm{w})^2`$). For Type Ic SNe, which originate from a massive but more compact progenitor, this factor may be $`10^3`$ times smaller than for Type II SNe (eg, SN 1993J; SN 1999em). Hence, in the latter cases the cool shell is generally optically thick to the soft X-ray emission until a few weeks or months after the event (Fransson et al. 1996; Immler & Lewin 2002), and only hard X-ray emission from the forward shock may be detected in the initial phases. In this scenario, the late X-ray detection of SN 1994I suggests a higher $`\dot{M}/v_\mathrm{w}`$ ratio for this object (Immler et al. 2002), than for SN 1998bw and SN 2002ap, despite all three being classified as Type Ic events.

The limited S/N and the scarce temporal information do not allow us to measure the X-ray flux decline timescale in SN 2002ap, and therefore we are unable to investigate in more detail the density of the circumstellar medium as a function of radial distance from the SN, and the cooling timescale of the shocked ejecta. More cases of Type Ic SNe must be followed with XMM-Newton, to understand the emission processes, constrain the parameters of the circumstellar medium and detect possible deviations from isotropy in the geometry of the explosion.

### 3.2 Nature of the brightest X-ray sources

Accreting X-ray sources are usually classified as “ultra-luminous” (ULXs) when they are persistently brighter than the ”classical” Eddington limit of a $`7M_{}`$ BH (eg, Colbert & Mushotzky 1999; Roberts & Warwick 2000; Makishima et al. 2000). In 2002 February, XMMU J013636.5$`+`$155036 was the brightest source in M 74 with a luminosity $`1.6\times 10^{39}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$, approximately constant over the 25-ks observation, and a featureless power-law X-ray spectrum. Its location in a star-forming region suggested that the source was a high-mass X-ray binary. However, the source was no longer detected in 2003, its flux having declined by at least 30 times, and we cannot determine how long the high state may have lasted. Repeated observations in the future will be necessary to determine its duty cycle.

The other candidate ULX in M 74, CXOU J013651.1$`+`$154547, showed little variability in the 2003 January observation, at a luminosity of $`8\times 10^{38}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$. The persistent component of the X-ray emission was $`5\times 10^{38}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$ in 2001 October and 2002 February (Krauss et al. 2003). Hence, the “steady” X-ray luminosity appears to be always less than the Eddington limit for a ”canonical” $`7M_{}`$ BH. (This is still the case even for the larger distance to M 74 assumed by Krauss et al. 2003). The new observation suggests that the X-ray spectrum in the non-flaring state is marginally softer than during flares, and that it is dominated by the non-thermal (power-law) component, usually interpreted as Compton-scattered emission. Any additional blackbody or disk-blackbody components (required to provide the soft seed photons) are constrained to have temperatures $`<0.25`$ keV. If confirmed, such a low temperature is consistent with a standard geometrically-thin accretion disk around an intermediate-mass BH (Makishima et al. 2000). Alternatively, it would also be consistent with thermal emission from Compton-thick outflows (King & Pounds 2003) which may occur for super-Eddington accretion rates ($`\dot{M}>\dot{M}_{\mathrm{Edd}}`$).

In the first three observations, hard X-ray flares were detected on top of the persistent component, on timescales of a few thousand seconds. During the flares, the source exceeded the $`7M_{}`$ Eddington limit by up to a factor of 10, but only for short periods of time: none of the flares lasted longer than $`1`$ h. The rapid variability was interpreted (Krauss et al. 2003) as evidence of a beamed emission component, possibly associated with a jet. It may not be necessary to invoke a micro-quasar scenario to explain the flares: short episodes of super-Eddington emission are sometimes also found in neutron-star XRBs. For example, the high-mass XRB LMC X-4 shows a persistent luminosity $`2\times 10^{38}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$ $`L_{\mathrm{Edd}}`$ for a neutron star, with repeated bursts/flares (typical duration $`100`$ s) reaching peak luminosities $`2\times 10^{39}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$ (Moon et al. 2003). The “Rapid Burster” MXB 1730$``$335 and GRO J1744$``$28 are two other examples of rapid, repeated flaring (Lewin et al. 1996). The X-ray bursts in these systems are generally thought to be caused by the spasmodic release of gravitational potential energy (“Type-II” bursts, as opposed to the thermo-nuclear “Type-I” bursts; eg, Lewin 1995). However, the exact mechanism is still unclear and may differ from source to source. Thermal-viscous instabilities in the inner disk region have been invoked to explain the inhomogeneous accretion (Cannizzo 1996, 1997). Alternatively, the flares have been attributed to the accumulation and subsequent sudden release of accreting matter at a centrifugal barrier; in the case of a neutron star, the barrier can be created by the magnetosphere of the rapidly rotating compact object (Bann 1977, 1979). Mass transfer instabilities or inhomogeneous winds from the companion star have also been suggested (Vogt & Penrod 1983). Further X-ray studies of CXOU J013651.1$`+`$154547 will be required to ascertain whether its flaring behaviour could be an example of Type-II bursts in a stellar-mass BH XRB, and to determine what physical mechanism is responsible for the intermittent accretion, or for the intermittent ejections in the micro-quasar scenario.

### 3.3 X-ray colours of the point sources

The discrete X-ray sources are roughly clustered into three main groups in the colour-colour plots (Figs. 5 and 6). Firstly, “classical” supersoft sources have detectable emission only in the soft band and are therefore located at $`(HM)/(S+M+H)0`$, $`(MS)/(S+M+H)<0.7`$. Secondly, a group of soft sources with detectable emission in the soft and medium band is located at $`0.7<(MS)/(S+M+H)<0.2`$. It has been suggested (Prestwich et al. 2003) that thermal SNRs dominate this class of sources. Thirdly, most XRBs have $`0.2<(MS)/(S+M+H)<0.5`$, with a broad spread in $`(HM)/(S+M+H)`$. (See also Soria & Wu (2003) and Soria & Kong (2003) for a discussion of colour-colour plots in other nearby spiral galaxies, and Di Stefano & Kong (2003) for a classification of soft and supersoft sources.) A preliminary comparison between the two Chandra and two XMM-Newton observations shows that at least three bright ($`10^{38}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$) candidate XRBs exhibit spectral transitions between a harder and a softer state. This is beyond the scope of this paper and is left to further work.

Above our detection limit of $`10^4`$ ACIS-S cts s-1 ($`L_\mathrm{x}6\times 10^{36}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$ for the spectral model assumed in Sect. 2.5), 7 out of the 74 point sources are supersoft ($`kT<100`$ eV), another 7 are in the soft subgroup. Of the remaining 60 sources, about half are XRBs and the other half are likely to be background AGN. Hence, supersoft sources represent about 15% of the true galactic sources brighter than our detection limit, and soft sources another 15%. Among the sources brighter than $`3\times 10^4`$ ACIS-S cts s-1, none are supersoft, 2 are soft and 44 are consistent with XRB colours (20 of them may be AGN). Hence, the fraction of soft sources is less than 8%, much lower than in more actively star-forming late-type spiral galaxies. For example, we can compare M 74 with M 83 (Soria & Wu 2003), taking into account that the distance to M 83 is $`1/2`$ of the distance to M 74 (de Vaucouleurs et al. 1991; Thim et al. 2003). In M 83, soft sources represent more than 40% of the X-ray point sources brighter than what would be the detection limit in our M 74 study, and 25% of the sources in the brighter subgroup. This is consistent with the interpretation of the soft sources as candidate X-ray SNRs: the number of detected SNRs at a given luminosity is related to the recent star-formation rate in a galaxy, as well as to other factors such as the density of the interstellar medium. A more comprehensive study of these issues is left to further work.

## 4 Conclusion

We investigated the X-ray source population in the late-type spiral M 74. We took a new XMM-Newton observation in 2003 January to study the evolution of the rare Type Ic SN 2002ap a year after the event, and monitor the variability of two bright BH candidates. In addition, we used archival Chandra ACIS observations from 2001 June and October to determine the luminosity and colour distribution of all the other discrete sources.

We have more accurately determined the X-ray colours and luminosity of SN 2002ap five days after the event, and put an upper limit to its luminosity a year later. Unlike other well-studied core-collapse SNe (eg, SN 1999em: Pooley et al. 2002), SN 2002ap was not dominated by hard X-ray emission in its early stages. The X-ray colours observed in 2002 February were soft, suggesting that the dominant component was optically-thin thermal emission at $`kT<1`$ keV. Assuming an absorbing column density $`<10^{21}`$ cm-2, we estimate an emitted luminosity of $`5\times 10^{37}`$ erg s-1 in the $`0.3`$$`12`$ keV band, on 2002 February 2. The emitted luminosity in the $`2`$$`12`$ keV band is at least an order of magnitude lower. After 11 months, the source was no longer detected, implying that its luminosity had decreased by at least a factor of seven. We argue that the prompt soft X-ray emission was coming from the reverse shock, and that this is consistent with a low mass-loss rate and high stellar-wind velocity from the progenitor, as expected in Type Ic events. Unlike for other Type Ic events such as SN 1998bw, there is no evidence of relativistic ejecta.

Seventy-four discrete X-ray sources (not including two obvious foreground stars) were detected inside the $`D_{25}`$ ellipse in the combined Chandra observations, with a detection limit of $`6\times 10^{36}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$ (completeness limit $`2\times 10^{37}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$). After subtracting the estimated background AGN contribution, the luminosity distribution of the discrete sources is well modelled by a simple power-law of slope $`0.9`$, similar to the value inferred for other moderately active star-forming spiral disks. About 15% of the true M 74 sources have soft colors consistent with thermal SNRs: they are all fainter than a Chandra ACIS-S count rate of $`5\times 10^4`$ cts s-1, corresponding to emitted luminosities $`2\times 10^{37}`$ erg s-1 (for a $`kT=0.6`$ keV thermal plasma model and $`n_\mathrm{H}=10^{21}`$ cm-2). All brighter sources are likely XRBs.

We have studied the temporal and spectral behaviour of the two brightest X-ray sources previously found in M 74. XMMU J013636.5$`+`$155036 (emitted luminosity $`1.6\times 10^{39}`$ erg s-1 in 2002) is no longer detected in 2003 and must now be fainter than $`5\times 10^{37}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$. The flaring source CXOU J013651.1$`+`$154547 has settled into a soft state: its power-law spectrum has photon index $`\mathrm{\Gamma }2.5`$; any additional thermal component is constrained to temperatures $`<0.25`$ keV. Its luminosity shows only little variations around an average value $`8\times 10^{38}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$. In the 21 ks of our 2003 January observation we did not find any of the hard flares (peak luminosity $`10^{40}`$$`\text{erg}\text{s}^1`$) detected in 2001–2002 (Krauss et al. 2003). The nature of the super-Eddington bursts remains unclear: we argue that they could either be due to beamed emission in a microquasar/jet scenario (as proposed by Krauss et al. 2003), or be analogous to Type-II bursts in neutron star XRBs, ie due to episodes of spasmodic/intermittent accretion in addition to a steady sub-Eddington component.

###### Acknowledgements.

We thank Norbert Schartel for his assistance in the XMM-Newton ToO observation, Miriam Krauss for sending us her latest preprint, Mat Page and Kinwah Wu for useful discussions, and an anonymous referee for his/her suggestions.

## Appendix A Chandra source list and count rates


text:
# Study of the Process 𝑒⁺𝑒⁻→𝜔𝜋⁰→𝜋⁰𝜋⁰𝛾 in c.m. Energy Range 920–1380 MeV at CMD-2

## 1 Introduction

The process $`e^+e^{}\omega \pi ^0`$ is one of the dominant hadronic processes contributing to the total hadronic cross section at the c.m. energy between 1 and 2 GeV. The precise measurement of its cross section will help to improve the accuracy of the calculation of the hadronic contribution to the muon anomalous magnetic moment  as well as check the relations between the values of the cross section of the process $`e^+e^{}\omega \pi ^0`$ and the differential rate of the $`\tau ^{}\omega \pi ^{}\nu _\tau `$ decay following from the conservation of the vector current and isospin symmetry . As one of the important decay modes of the isovector vector states, it can provide information on the properties of the $`\rho `$ excitations as well as clarify the existence of light exotic states (hybrids) between 1 and 2 GeV .

The dominant decay mode of the $`\omega `$ meson is that to $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}\pi ^0`$ and it is this mode that has been used for the observation of the process $`e^+e^{}\omega \pi ^0`$ with the complete event reconstruction by the DM2 , CMD-2  and SND  detectors. However, a less probable decay mode $`\omega \pi ^0\gamma `$ is also convenient for the study of the $`\omega \pi ^0`$ final state since it is easier to select than the process $`e^+e^{}\pi ^+\pi ^{}\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ because of the single contributing intermediate mechanism. The purely neutral decay mode of this process has been first studied by ND  and recently with much higher statistics by SND .

In this work we report on the measurement of the cross section of the process $`e^+e^{}\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ in the c.m. energy range 920–1380 MeV using the CMD-2 detector at the VEPP-2M $`e^+e^{}`$ collider. The preliminary results of this work were published in . We also perform the first search for the direct processes $`e^+e^{}\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ and $`e^+e^{}\eta \pi ^0\gamma `$ and set upper limits for the corresponding cross sections.

## 2 Experiment

The general purpose detector CMD-2 has been described in detail elsewhere . Its tracking system consists of a cylindrical drift chamber (DC) and double-layer multiwire proportional Z-chamber, both also used for the trigger, and both inside a thin (0.38 X0) superconducting solenoid with a field of 1 T. The barrel CsI calorimeter with a thickness of 8.1 X0 placed outside the solenoid has energy resolution for photons of about 9% in the energy range from 100 to 700 MeV. The angular resolution is of the order of 0.02 radians. The end-cap BGO calorimeter with a thickness of 13.4 X0 placed inside the solenoid has energy and angular resolution varying from 9% to 4% and from 0.03 to 0.02 radians respectively for the photon energy in the range 100 to 700 MeV. The barrel and end-cap calorimeter systems cover a solid angle of $`0.92\times 4\pi `$ radians.

The experiment was performed in the c.m. energy range 360–1380 MeV. This analysis is based on the data sample corresponding to integrated luminosity of 10.7 pb-1 collected in 1997–2000 in the energy range above the $`\omega \pi ^0`$ threshold, in c.m. energy steps of about 5 MeV. The beam energy spread is about 400 keV at 1000 MeV. The luminosity is measured using events of Bhabha scattering at large angles .

## 3 Data analysis

Since the decay mode $`\omega \pi ^0\gamma `$ has been chosen for analysis, at the initial stage events are selected which have no tracks in the DC, five or six photons, the total energy deposition $`E_{tot}>1.5E_{beam}`$, the total momentum $`P_{tot}<0.4E_{beam}`$ and at least three photons detected in the CsI calorimeter. The minimum photon energy is 30 MeV for the CsI and 40 MeV for the BGO calorimeter. We select 3045 events after these requirements.

Then a kinematic fit requiring energy-momentum conservation is performed with the additional reconstruction of two $`\pi ^0`$. The reconstruction procedure assumes five photons, i.e. if more than five photons are found in the event, a combination of five photons with the minimum $`\chi ^2`$ is chosen. We require good reconstruction quality ($`\chi ^2<6`$) and the ratio of the reconstructed to measured energy to be $`0.7<\omega _i/E_i<1.9`$ for each photon. 2598 events remain at this stage.

Since the background from the $`\varphi `$ meson decays is large in the energy range $`1010<\sqrt{s}<1028`$ MeV, we exclude this energy range from our analysis. At other energies there are no sources of multiphoton events with a significant cross section. The background from QED processes ($`e^+e^{}3\gamma ,4\gamma `$ is efficiently suppressed by the cut on the minimum number of photons. Another possible source of background is the process $`e^+e^{}K_S^0K_L^0`$, $`K_S^0\pi ^0\pi ^0`$. However, except for the $`\varphi `$ meson energy range its cross section is small  and is efficiently rejected by the total energy deposition and momentum cuts. The processes $`e^+e^{}\eta \gamma `$, $`\eta \pi ^0\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ and $`e^+e^{}\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0`$, $`\omega \pi ^0\gamma `$, can contribute to the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ final state if the two soft photons are not reconstructed. For both of them the values of the cross section beyond the $`\varphi `$ meson energy range are also small . From the Monte Carlo (MC) study we expect that all above listed processes give negligible background to the final state studied ($`1\%`$).

All events meeting the selection criteria are considered to be from the process $`e^+e^{}\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$. They are subdivided into two classes: those from the $`\omega \pi ^0`$ intermediate state are selected with a cut $`|M(\pi ^0\gamma )M_\omega |<80`$ MeV$`/c^2`$ (2382 events) and those from the non-$`\omega \pi ^0`$ are obtained by inverting the cut above (216 events). The $`\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ final state can also arise from the process $`e^+e^{}\rho ^0\pi ^0`$ followed by the $`\rho ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ decay. This contribution estimated from the measured cross section of the process $`e^+e^{}\rho \pi \pi ^+\pi ^{}\pi ^0`$  and $`(\rho ^0\pi ^0\gamma )`$  appears to be about $`10^3`$ of the total one and can be neglected.

Figure 1 shows the $`\chi ^2`$ distribution for the events with $`|M(\pi ^0\gamma )M_\omega |<80`$ MeV$`/c^2`$ and the $`\pi ^0\gamma `$ invariant mass distribution for the events with $`\chi ^2<6`$.

For a search of events of the process $`e^+e^{}\eta \pi ^0\gamma `$ we first apply the same criteria as for the process $`e^+e^{}\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ at the initial stage. After that a kinematic fit requiring energy-momentum conservation is performed with the additional reconstruction of one soft $`\pi ^0`$. We require good reconstruction quality, $`\chi ^2<6`$. To reject the dominant background from the process $`e^+e^{}\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$, we perform an additional kinematic fit with the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ hypothesis and reject events that are consistent with it, $`\chi _{\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma }^2<6`$. Then we look for a possible $`\eta `$ signal in the invariant mass of any two photons of the remaining three, $`M_{\gamma \gamma }`$. The $`M_{\gamma \gamma }`$ distribution is approximated with a Gaussian for the signal and polynomial function for the background. The Gaussian mean value and width are fixed from the MC simulation of the signal events. The background shape is obtained using the $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ MC. In all energy ranges the resulting $`\eta \pi ^0\gamma `$ signal is consistent with zero. Figure 2 shows the $`M_{\gamma \gamma }`$ distribution for all the selected events.

## 4 Results

### 4.1 Approximation of the cross sections

At each energy point the cross section of the process $`\sigma `$ is calculated from the observed number of events $`N_{\omega \pi ^0}`$ by using the following formula:

$$\sigma (\sqrt{s})=\frac{N_{\omega \pi ^0}(\sqrt{s})}{L(\sqrt{s})\epsilon (\sqrt{s})(1+\delta (\sqrt{s}))}$$
(1)
where $`L`$ is the integrated luminosity at the c.m. energy $`\sqrt{s}=2E_{beam}`$, $`\epsilon `$ is the detection efficiency and $`(1+\delta )`$ is the radiative correction at the corresponding energy.

To calculate the detection efficiency we use Monte Carlo simulation taking into account the neutral trigger (NT) efficiency. NT is based on the information from the CsI calorimeter and its efficiency depends on the number of clusters and total energy deposition. The NT efficiency is estimated using events of the processes $`e^+e^{}\pi ^+\pi ^{}\pi ^0`$ and $`e^+e^{}\pi ^+\pi ^{}\pi ^0\pi ^0`$. We require the charged trigger signal and three or more clusters in the CsI calorimeter, and study the NT efficiency as a function of the energy deposition in CsI. The NT efficiency varies from 92% at 920 MeV to about 98% at 1380 MeV .

The obtained Born cross section of the process $`e^+e^{}\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ is shown in Fig. 3 while Table 1 lists detailed information on the analysis of this reaction. It is this cross section (the “dressed” one from the column VI) that should be used in the approximation of the energy dependence with resonances. For applications to various dispersion integrals like that for the leading order hadronic contribution to the muon anomalous magnetic moment, one should use the “bare” cross section. Following the procedure in Ref. , the latter is obtained from the “dressed” one by multiplying it by the vacuum polarization correction $`|1\mathrm{\Pi }(s)|^2`$, where $`\mathrm{\Pi }(s)`$ is the photon polarization operator calculated taking into account the effects of both leptonic and hadronic vacuum polarization. The value of the correction and the “bare” cross section $`\widehat{\sigma }`$ are presented in two last columns of Table 1.

The maximum likelihood method is applied to fit the experimental data to the relation (1) with the parameterization of the cross section described below. The radiative corrections are calculated during the fit according to . The dependence of the detection efficiency on the energy of the emitted photon is determined from simulation.

The Born cross section of the process can be written as:

$$\sigma _0(s)=\frac{4\pi \alpha ^2}{s^{3/2}}\left(\frac{g_{\rho \omega \pi }}{f_\rho }\right)^2\left|\frac{m_\rho ^2}{D_\rho }+A_1\frac{m_\rho ^2}{D_\rho }+A_2\frac{m_\rho ^2}{D_\rho }\right|^2P_f(s).$$
(2)
Here $`g_{\rho \omega \pi }`$ is the coupling constant of the transition $`\rho \omega \pi `$; the coupling constant $`f_\rho `$ is calculated from the $`\rho e^+e^{}`$ decay width: $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\rho ee}=4\pi m_\rho \alpha ^2/(3f_\rho ^2)`$; $`m_V`$ is the mass and $`D_V`$ is the propagator of the vector meson $`V`$ given by $`D_V(s)=sm_V^2+i\sqrt{s}\mathrm{\Gamma }_V(s)`$, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_V`$ is the corresponding width. The real parameter $`A_1=g_{\rho \omega \pi }/g_{\rho \omega \pi }f_\rho /f_\rho `$ is the ratio of the coupling constants for the $`\rho `$ and $`\rho `$ mesons while $`A_2`$ is similarly defined for the $`\rho `$ meson. The factor $`P_f(s)`$ describes the energy dependence of the decay width into the $`\omega \pi ^0`$ final state. For the infinitely narrow $`\omega `$ resonance $`P_f(s)=1/3p_\omega ^3_{\omega \pi ^0\gamma }`$, where $`p_\omega `$ is the $`\omega `$ meson momentum. However, this expression is not valid in the narrow region near the $`\omega \pi ^0`$ threshold where we take into account the finite width of the $`\omega `$ meson.

### 4.2 Results of the fits

In all the following fits $`g_{\rho \omega \pi }`$ and $`A_1`$ are free parameters. We perform three main fits: to CMD-2 data only (Fit I) and two combined fits to our data and those of the DM2 measurement . A free correction factor for the DM2 data has been included in the combined fits to take into account systematic uncertainties of both DM2 and our measurements.

For the $`\rho `$ resonance the energy dependence of the total width is described by the $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ and $`\omega \pi ^0`$ decay modes:

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_\rho (s)=\mathrm{\Gamma }_\rho (m_\rho ^2)\frac{m_\rho ^2}{s}\left(\frac{p_\pi (s)}{p_\pi (m_\rho ^2)}\right)^3+\frac{g_{\rho \omega \pi }^2}{12\pi }p_\omega ^3(s).$$

In the first fit we fix the $`\rho `$ meson mass and width at their world average values  since our data cover the energy range below 1380 MeV or the left slope of the $`\rho `$ only. We also neglect the contribution of the $`\rho `$ so that the corresponding coupling constant $`A_2=0`$. In the second fit the DM2 data above 1400 MeV allow a determination of the $`\rho `$ parameters directly from the fit. For the $`\rho `$ resonance $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(s)`$ is also described by two decay channels: $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ and $`\omega \pi ^0`$. We checked that possible contributions of the $`K\overline{K}`$, $`\eta \pi \pi `$ and $`a_1(1260)\pi `$ channels to the $`\rho `$ width only slightly affect the results of the fits. That is clear since the contribution of the two former is numerically small whereas the latter has energy dependence proportional to the first power of momentum and produces no effect compared to the fast growing term corresponding to the $`\omega \pi ^0`$ state. In contrast to the previous case, the relative probabilities of the $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ and $`\omega \pi ^0`$ modes are unknown so that the expression for the width is written as

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_\rho (s)=\mathrm{\Gamma }_\rho (m_\rho ^2)\left[_{\rho \omega \pi ^0}\left(\frac{p_\omega (s)}{p_\omega (m_\rho ^2)}\right)^3+(1_{\rho \omega \pi ^0})\frac{m_\rho ^2}{s}\left(\frac{p_\pi (s)}{p_\pi (m_\rho ^2)}\right)^3\right]$$

where $`_{\rho \omega \pi ^0}`$ is the branching ratio of the $`\rho \omega \pi ^0`$ decay. Its value was varied from zero to unity to estimate the model uncertainty. As in the Fit I, $`A_2=0`$. In the third fit both $`\rho `$ and $`\rho `$ can decay into $`\omega \pi ^0`$ with the $`\rho `$ parameters free and the $`\rho `$ mass and width fixed .

Results of the fits are shown in Table 2 and in Fig. 3 by the curves. All the fits describe data of CMD-2 well. A large increase of $`\chi ^2/`$n.d.f. for the Fits II and III comes from two DM2 points at 1.84 and 1.94 GeV only. Without these points $`\chi ^2/`$n.d.f. = 43/38 for the second fit and 42/37 for the third one. The values of the correction factor for the DM2 data obtained from the fits agree with their estimated systematic uncertainty of 15%.

The value of $`g_{\rho \omega \pi }`$ is consistent within errors with the experimental values from 12 to 17 GeV-1 following from the $`\omega \pi ^0\gamma `$, $`\rho \pi ^0\gamma `$ and $`\omega \rho \pi \pi ^+\pi ^{}\pi ^0`$ decays. It is also consistent with the theoretical estimates based on the QCD sum rules predicting the broad range from 9 to 16 GeV-2 . The measured cross section agrees with the previous measurement of the SND group .

It is interesting to note that the value of $`A_1`$, the relative weight of the $`\rho `$ amplitude, within the errors is consistent with the corresponding value obtained in the CMD-2 analysis of the reaction $`e^+e^{}\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ in the vicinity of the $`\rho `$ meson . This is a natural consequence of the fact that the isovector component of the electromagnetic current is the same in all reactions independently of the specific final state.

From Fig. 3 it is clear that the DM2 data above 1600 MeV do not require another ($`\rho (1700)`$) resonance. As follows from the Fit III, an attempt to add such a state to the cross section parameterization does not improve the fit and its contribution is compatible with zero. This is consistent with the conclusion of the DM2 group .

### 4.3 Search for direct processes

To estimate a possible contribution to the cross section of the process $`\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ from the non $`\omega \pi ^0`$ intermediate state, we used the following procedure. We compare the observed number of the non $`\omega \pi ^0`$ events ($`|M(\pi ^0\gamma )M_\omega |>80`$ MeV$`/c^2`$) with the MC expectation for the $`\omega \pi ^0`$ final state. The results of this analysis are shown in Table 3. The observed number of events somewhat exceeds the expectation, but doesn’t contradict it within errors. All distributions for these events are compatible with those expected for the $`\omega \pi ^0`$, so the observed excess of events can be due to the imperfect Monte Carlo simulation. From the difference between the observed and expected number of events we set the 90% CL upper limits for the non $`\omega \pi ^0`$ cross section in various energy ranges. To calculate the detection efficiency, an $`f_0(600)\gamma `$ intermediate mechanism interfering with the $`\omega \pi ^0`$ was assumed. The contribution of the non $`\omega \pi ^0`$ process to the $`\omega `$ selection criteria averaged over the whole energy range is estimated to be less than 3% of the $`e^+e^{}\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ cross section.

As noted earlier, we do not observe an $`\eta \pi ^0\gamma `$ signal and assuming an $`a_0(980)\gamma `$ intermediate mechanism can set upper limits for the cross section of the process $`e^+e^{}\eta \pi ^0\gamma `$. Table 4 shows results of this study. The listed efficiencies include the $`\eta \gamma \gamma `$ branching fraction .

### 4.4 Systematic errors

The main sources of systematic uncertainties in the cross section determination are listed in Table 5. The systematic error due to selection criteria is obtained by varying the photon energy threshold, total energy deposition, total momentum, $`\chi ^2`$ and $`M(\pi ^0\gamma )`$ cuts. The uncertainty in the determination of the integrated luminosity comes from the selection criteria of Bhabha events, radiative corrections and calibrations of DC and CsI. The error of the NT efficiency was estimated by trying various fitting functions of the energy dependence and variations of the cluster threshold. The uncertainty of the radiative corrections comes from the dependence on the emitted photon energy and the accuracy of the theoretical formulae. The resulting systematic uncertainty of the cross section quoted in Table 5 is 6.6%.

## 5 Discussion

As can be seen from Fig. 3, the cross section of the process $`e^+e^{}\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ grows fast with energy in the whole energy range covered by the CMD-2 and reaches its maximum at 1.35–1.40 GeV. If we divide the value of the cross section by the branching ratio $`\omega \pi ^0\gamma `$, the resulting cross section is consistent with that from the $`\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\pi ^0`$ channel within the experimental uncertainties . At higher energy, the cross section starts falling rapidly as the DM2 results show. The whole pattern of the energy dependence is well described by the interference of the $`\rho `$ and $`\rho `$ resonances and, as noted above, hardly requires a third resonance, $`\rho `$.

We do not perform here a detailed CVC test by comparing our results on the cross section with the values of the spectral functions of the $`\omega \pi `$ final state in $`\tau `$ lepton decays measured by ALEPH  and CLEO . As noted recently , significant disagreement between the spectral functions of the $`4\pi `$ final state observed now requires a serious analysis of both data sets as well as of the necessary SU(2) breaking corrections. However, from various mass distributions in $`e^+e^{}4\pi `$ and $`\tau ^{}4\pi \nu _\tau `$ it is clear that qualitatively the mechanisms of the $`4\pi `$ decay of the $`\tau `$ lepton and corresponding process in $`e^+e^{}`$ annihilation are very close . Therefore, it is interesting to note that high statistics analysis of the $`\omega \pi `$ component in $`\tau `$ decays performed by CLEO confirms our conclusion that only one $`\rho `$-like resonance is needed for an acceptable description of the data. Its mass ranging between 1520 and 1630 MeV and large width of 400–650 MeV strongly depend on the parameterization of the energy dependence of the width and are consistent with our results in Table 2. Recently CLEO observed a strong $`\omega \pi `$ component in the $`4\pi `$ state produced together with $`D^{()}`$ in $`B`$ decays . Its spin parity analysis shows a preference for a wide $`1^{}`$ resonance with a mass of $`1349\pm 27`$ MeV and width of $`547\pm 98`$ MeV identified as the $`\rho (1450)`$. Their data do not require a higher, $`\rho (1700)`$ resonance decaying into the $`\omega \pi ^0`$ final state.

It is well known that the energy range under study can not be described now from the first principles and one has to use the predictions of specific models. In the popular relativized quark model with chromodynamics it is predicted that if the $`\rho (1450)`$ and $`\rho (1700)`$ are the $`2^3S_1`$ and $`1^3D_1`$ $`q\overline{q}`$ states respectively, only the former has large probability of decay into $`\omega \pi ^0`$ . This is consistent with our observation as well as with the data of CLEO on $`\tau `$ and $`B`$ decays described above. However, the mentioned above model also predicts strong suppression of the $`a_1(1260)\pi `$ mode and dominance of the $`h_1\pi `$ mode for the $`4\pi `$ decays of the $`2^3S_1`$ quarkonium. This is in strong contrast with the observations of CMD-2  and CLEO  that support the $`a_1(1260)\pi `$ dominance222An $`a_1(1260)\pi `$ component of the 4$`\pi `$ final state, although not as significant, has also been observed by Crystal Barrel in $`\overline{\mathrm{p}}\mathrm{n}`$ annihilation at rest .. Therefore, it was argued in Ref.  that to reconcile the data, a hybrid component is needed. The model calculations of various decay modes of the hybrids show that the $`a_1(1260)\pi `$ is the dominant mode, and the $`\omega \pi `$ is also significant . Thus, one can not exclude that the observed picture is in fact more complicated and one or several vector hybrids exist in the energy range between 1 and 2 GeV in addition to the $`\rho ^{},\omega ^{},\varphi ^{}`$. If masses of the hybrid states are close to those of quarkonia and they have common decay channels, their interference could produce a peculiar energy dependence of the cross sections.

Our results can be also used to set upper limits for various radiative decays of the higher vector mesons to scalar and tensor mesons predicted in some models . In Table 6 we present the upper limits for the corresponding cross section in the highest energy range accessible to our experiment — from 1300 to 1380 MeV. The choice of this energy range is clear if one takes into account that the masses of the majority of the considered scalar and tensor mesons are rather high so that the available phase space is limited. To obtain the quoted limits we used the results from Tables 3 and 4 corrected for the branching ratio to the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0(\eta \pi ^0)`$ and the width of the meson. Interference with the $`\omega \pi ^0`$ intermediate mechanism was taken into account while calculating the detection efficiency.

Finally, we can use our results on the search for the $`\eta \pi ^0\gamma `$ events to look for the $`\omega (1650)\omega \eta `$ decay that was observed before in $`\pi ^{}p`$ collisions . In our case the decay $`\omega \pi ^0\gamma `$ leads to the $`\eta \pi ^0\gamma `$ final state. The fit of the observed events between 1300 and 1380 MeV to the expected energy dependence gives:

$$(\omega (1650)e^+e^{})(\omega (1650)\omega \eta )<6\times 10^6$$

at 90% confidence level.

One can expect further significant improvements in our understanding of the light quark resonance spectroscopy in the vector meson sector when experiments at the upgraded collider VEPP-2000 begin in Novosibirsk .

From the obtained upper limits for the cross section of the radiative processes $`e^+e^{}X\gamma `$, $`X\pi ^0\pi ^0,\eta \pi ^0`$ one can estimate a possible contribution of the previously unstudied radiative processes to the leading order hadronic correction to the muon anomalous magnetic moment. Taking into account that a possible contribution from the process $`e^+e^{}\pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma `$ is twice that of $`e^+e^{}\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$, one obtains

$$\mathrm{a}_\mu ^{LO,rad}<0.4510^{10}\mathrm{at}90\%\mathrm{CL}.$$

This limit is negligible (less than 7%) compared to the current uncertainty of $`\mathrm{a}_\mu ^{LO,had}`$ .

## 6 Conclusions

The following results are obtained in this work:

* Using a data sample corresponding to integrated luminosity of 10.7 pb-1, the cross section of the process $`e^+e^{}\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ has been measured in the c.m. energy range 920–1380 MeV. The values of the cross section are consistent with those obtained by the SND detector .
* The combined fit of the CMD-2 data and those from DM2 at higher energies confirms the existence of the $`\rho (1450)\omega \pi ^0`$ decay mode while a significant $`\rho (1700)\omega \pi ^0`$ decay is not needed to describe the data.
* The 90% CL upper limits for the cross sections of the direct $`e^+e^{}\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma ,\eta \pi ^0\gamma `$ processes have been set for the studied energy range. It is shown that a possible contribution of such processes to $`\mathrm{a}_\mu ^{LO,had}`$ is negligible.

The authors are grateful to the staff of VEPP-2M for the excellent performance of the collider, and to all engineers and technicians who participated in the design, commissioning and operation of CMD-2. We acknowledge useful and stimulating discussions with Yu.S. Kalashnikova and E.S. Swanson. This work is supported in part by the US Department of Energy, US National Science Foundation and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.