Compton-thick X-ray absorption in the Seyfert galaxies Tololo 0109-383 and ESO 138-G1

We present analyses of the ASCA X-ray spectra of two Seyfert galaxies, Tololo 0109– 383 and ESO 138–G1. In both cases, spectral fitting reveals two statistically acceptable continuum models: Compton reflection and partial covering. Both spectra have strong iron K α lines, with equivalent widths greater than 1.5 keV. These large equivalent widths are suggestive of heavier obscuration than that directly indicated by the partial-covering models ( ≈ 2 × 10 23 cm − 2 ), with the actual column densities being ‘Compton-thick’ (i.e. N H > ∼ 1 . 5 × 10 24 cm − 2 ). We use the hard X-ray/[O iii ] flux correlation for Seyferts and data from the literature to provide additional support for this hypothesis. Since Tololo 0109–383 is known to have optical type 1 characteristics such as broad Balmer line components and Fe ii emission, this result marks it as a notable object.