X-RAY OBSERVATIONS OF CYGNUS A USING THE GINGA SATELLITE

X-ray observations of Cypus A with the Ginga satellite require at least two components: (1) a power law with low energy absorption and (2) a thermal bremsstrahlung component with K-shell transition lines from highly ionized iron. The power law probably originates from the active galactic nucleus of Cypus A, as seen through a high column of gas. The photon index and hydrogen-equivalent column density are 1.98(+0.18/-0.20) and 3.75(+0.75/-0.71) X 10(23) H atoms cm-2, respectively. The luminosity corrected for this absorption column is about 10(45) ergs s-1 in the 2-10 keV band, which is within the range typical of ''quasars.'' This evidence strongly supports the idea that an obscured quasar resides at the center of Cygnus A. The thermal component can be attributed to emission from the hot intracluster gas. We have determined the X-ray luminosity and electron temperature of the intracluster gas to be 10(45) ergs s-1 and 7.3 keV, respectively. These X-ray properties are typical of those found for a rich cluster, although the environment suggests a poor cluster.