The hard X-ray view of the low-luminosity blazar in the radio galaxy NGC 6251

We present results from a BeppoSAX (July 2001) observation of the FR I radio galaxy NGC 6251, together with a re-analysis of archival ASCA (October 1994) and Chandra (September 2000) data. The weak detection above 10 keV and the lack of iron fluorescent Kalpha emission lines in the BeppoSAX spectrum rule out that the bulk of the X-ray emission is due to an obscured Seyfert nucleus. The study of the multiwavelength spectral energy distribution suggests instead that X-rays probably originate as inverse-Compton of synchrotron seed photons in a relativistic jet, indicating that NGC 6251 hosts a low radio luminosity (L5 GHz ~ 1040 erg s-1) blazar. The BeppoSAX spectrum is flatter than in the earlier ASCA observation. This might be due to the emergence of a different spectral component during phases of lower X-ray flux. In this context, we discuss some possible explanations for the intense and mildly-ionized fluorescent iron line measured by ASCA.