Nuclear obscuration in the high-ionization Seyfert 2 galaxy Tol 0109-383

We report on the BeppoSAX detection of a hard X-ray excess in the X-ray spectrum of the classical high-ionization Seyfert 2 galaxy Tot 0109-383. The X-ray emission of this source observed below 7 keV is dominated by reflection from both cold and ionized gas, as seen in the ASCA data. The excess hard X-ray emission is presumably caused by the central source absorbed by an optically thick obscuring torus with N-H similar to 2 x 10(24) cm(-2). The strong cold X-ray reflection, if it is produced at the inner surface of the torus, is consistent with the picture where much of the inner nucleus of Tot 0109-383 is exposed to direct view, as indicated by optical and infrared properties. However, the X-ray absorption must occur at small radii in order to hide the central X-ray source but leave the optical high-ionization emission-line region unobscured. This may also be the case for objects such as the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk231.