We present a deep Chandra spectral and spatial study of the kpc-scale diffuse X-ray emission of the Compton thick (CT) AGN ESO428-G014. The entire spectrum is best fit with composite photoionization + thermal models. The diffuse emission is more extended at the lower energies (<3 keV). The smaller extent of the hard continuum and Fe Kα profiles imply that the optically thicker clouds responsible for this scattering may be relatively more prevalent closer to the nucleus. These clouds must not prevent soft ionizing X-rays from the AGN escaping to larger radii, in order to have photoionized ISM at larger radii. This suggests that at smaller radii there may be a larger population of molecular clouds to scatter the hard X-rays, as in the Milky Way. The diffuse emission is also significantly extended in the cross-cone direction, where the AGN emission would be mostly obscured by the torus in the standard AGN model. Our results suggest that the transmission of the obscuring region in the cross-cone direction is ~10% than in the conedirection. In the 0.3-1.5 keV band, the ratio of cross-cone to cone photons increases to ~84%, suggesting an additional soft diffuse emission component, disjoint from the AGN. This could be due to hot ISM trapped in the potential of the galaxy. The luminosity of this component ~5×10 38 erg s -1 is roughly consistent with the thermal component suggested by the spectral fits in the 170-900 pc annulus.

We report the discovery of kpc-scale diffuse emission in both the hard continuum (3-6 keV) and in the Fe Kα line in the Compton thick (CT) Seyfert galaxy ESO428-G014. This extended hard component contains at least ~24% of the observed 3-8 keV emission, and follows the direction of the extended optical line emission (ionization cone) and radio jet. The extended hard component has ~0.5% of the intrinsic 2-10 keV luminosity within the bi-cones. A uniform scattering medium of density 1 cm -3 would produce this luminosity in a 1kpc path length in the bi-cones. Alternatively, higher column density molecular clouds in the disk of ESO428-G014 may be responsible for these components. The continuum may also be enhanced by the acceleration of charged particles in the radio jet. The steeper spectrum (Γ ~ 1.7±0.4) of the hard continuum outside of the central 1.5'' radius nuclear region suggests a contribution of scattered/fluorescent intrinsic Seyfert emission. Ultrafast nuclear outflows cannot explain the extended Fe Kα emission. This discovery suggests that we may need to revise the picture at the base of our interpretation of CT AGN spectra.

We propose a compact binary model for the fast radio burst (FRB) repeaters, where the system consists of a magnetic white dwarf (WD) and a neutron star (NS) with strong bipolar magnetic fields. When the WD fills its Roche lobe, mass transfer will occur from the WD to the NS through the inner Lagrange point. The accreted magnetized materials may trigger magnetic reconnection when they approach the NS surface, and therefore the electrons can be accelerated to an ultra-relativistic speed. In this scenario, the curvature radiation of the electrons moving along the NS magnetic field lines can account for the characteristic frequency and the timescale of an FRB. Owing to the conservation of angular momentum, the WD may be kicked away after a burst, and the next burst may appear when the system becomes semi-detached again through the gravitational radiation. By comparing our analyses with the observations, we show that such an intermittent Roche lobe overflow mechanism can be responsible for the observed repeating behavior of FRB 121102.