G. A. Matzeu, M. Brusa, G. Lanzuisi, M. Dadina, S. Bianchi, G. Kriss, M. Mehdipour, E. Nardini, G. Chartas, R. Middei, E. Piconcelli, V. Gianolli, A. Comastri, A. L. Longinotti, Y. Krongold, F. Ricci, P. O. Petrucci, F. Tombesi, A. Luminari, L. Zappacosta, G. Miniutti, M. Gaspari, E. Behar, M. Bischetti, S. Mathur, M. Perna, M. Giustini, P. Grandi, E. Torresi, C. Vignali, G. Bruni, M. Cappi, E. Costantini, G. Cresci, B. De Marco, A. De Rosa, R. Gilli, M. Guainazzi, J. Kaastra, S. Kraemer, F. La Franca, A. Marconi, F. Panessa, G. Ponti, D. Proga, F. Ursini, F. Fiore, A. R. King, R. Maiolino, G. Matt, A. Merloni
We present a new X-ray spectroscopic study of $22$ luminous ($2\times10^{45}\lesssim L_{\rm bol}\rm /erg\,s^{-1} \lesssim 2\times10^{46}$) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at intermediate-redshift ($0.1 \lesssim z \lesssim 0.4$), as part of the SUpermassive Black hole Winds in the x-rAYS (SUBWAYS) sample, mostly composed of quasars (QSOs) and type\,1 AGN. Here, 17 targets were observed with \textit{XMM-Newton} between 2019--2020 and the remaining 5 are from previous observations. The aim of this large campaign ($1.45\,\rm Ms$ duration) is to characterise the various manifestations of winds in the X-rays driven from supermassive black holes in AGN. In this paper we focus on the search and characterization of ultra-fast outflows (UFOs), which are typically detected through blueshifted absorption troughs in the Fe\,K band ($E>7\,\rm keV$). By following Monte Carlo procedures, we confirm the detection of absorption lines corresponding to highly ionised iron (e.g., Fe\,\textsc{xxv}\,H$α$, Fe\,\textsc{xxvi}\,Ly$α$) in 7/22 sources at the $\gtrsim95\%$ confidence level (for each individual line). The global combined probability of such absorption features in the sample is $>99.9\%$. The SUBWAYS campaign extends at higher luminosity and redshifts than previous local studies on Seyferts, obtained using \xmm and \suzaku observations. We find a UFO detection fraction of $\sim30\%$ on the total sample that is in agreement with the previous findings. This work independently provides further support for the existence of highly-ionised matter propagating at mildly relativistic speed ($\gtrsim0.1c$) in a considerable fraction of AGN over a broad range of luminosities, which is expected to play a key role in the self-regulated AGN feeding-feedback cycle, as also supported by hydrodynamical multiphase simulations.
R. Edelson, J. Gelbord, E. Cackett, B. M. Peterson, K. Horne, A. J. Barth, D. A. Starkey, M. Bentz, W. N. Brandt, M. Goad, M. Joner, K. Korista, H. Netzer, K. Page, P. Uttley, S. Vaughan, A. Breeveld, S. B. Cenko, C. Done, P. Evans, M. Fausnaugh, G. Ferland, D. Gonzalez-Buitrago, J. Gropp, D. Grupe, J. Kaastra, J. Kennea, G. Kriss, S. Mathur, M. Mehdipour, D. Mudd, J. Nousek, T. Schmidt, M. Vestergaard, C. Villforth
Nov 19, 2018·astro-ph.HE·PDF Swift intensive accretion disk reverberation mapping of four AGN yielded light curves sampled $\sim$200-350 times in 0.3-10 keV X-ray and six UV/optical bands. Uniform reduction and cross-correlation analysis of these datasets yields three main results: 1) The X-ray/UV correlations are much weaker than those within the UV/optical, posing severe problems for the lamp-post reprocessing model in which variations in a central X-ray corona drive and power those in the surrounding accretion disk. 2) The UV/optical interband lags are generally consistent with $ τ\propto λ^{4/3} $ as predicted by the centrally illuminated thin accretion disk model. While the average interband lags are somewhat larger than predicted, these results alone are not inconsistent with the thin disk model given the large systematic uncertainties involved. 3) The one exception is the U band lags, which are on average a factor of $\sim$2.2 larger than predicted from the surrounding band data and fits. This excess appears due to diffuse continuum emission from the broad-line region (BLR). The precise mixing of disk and BLR components cannot be determined from these data alone. The lags in different AGN appear to scale with mass or luminosity. We also find that there are systematic differences between the uncertainties derived by javelin vs. more standard lag measurement techniques, with javelin reporting smaller uncertainties by a factor of 2.5 on average. In order to be conservative only standard techniques were used in the analyses reported herein.
G. Kriss, J. Krolik, J. Grimes, Z. Tsvetanov, B. Espey, W. Zheng, A. Davidsen
Jul 29, 1996·astro-ph·PDF We observed a total of 13 low-redshift AGN with the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) during the course of the Astro-1 and Astro-2 missions. Of these, 4 show intrinsic Lyman limit absorption---NGC 1068, NGC 4151, NGC 3516 and NGC 3227. All galaxies with optically thick Lyman limits have extended narrow-line regions with bi-polar morphologies. All AGN with no absorption are Seyfert 1's with compact NLR's. These observations support geometrical shadowing as the means for collimating the ionizing radiation in unified models of AGN, most likely in a photoionized atmosphere above the obscuring torus.
D. Reimers, C. Fechner, G. Kriss, M. Shull, R. Baade, W. Moos, A. Songaila, R. Simcoe
Oct 25, 2004·astro-ph·PDF We present FUSE observations of the HeII Lyman alpha forest in the redshift range 2.3 < z < 2.7 towards HS1700+6416. Between October 2002 and February 2003, the brightness of the QSO increased by a factor 2. Therefore, with an exposure time of 203 ks during orbital night, the quality of the resulting spectrum is comparable to the HE2347-4342 data. This second line of sight with a resolved HeII Lyman alpha forest reveals a similar variation of several orders of magnitude of the column density ratio eta = N(HeII)/N(HI) and confirms the results of previous studies. The well-known metal line spectrum of HS1700+6416 permits to examine the influence of metal line absorption on the HeII column densities.
A. L. Longinotti, Y. Krongold, G. Kriss, J. Ely, L. Gallo, D. Grupe, S. Komossa, S. Mathur, A. Pradhan
Jan 23, 2013·astro-ph.CO·PDF We present the discovery of an outflowing ionized wind in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy Mrk 335. Despite having been extensively observed by most of the largest X-ray observatories in the last decade, this bright source was not known to host warm absorber gas until recent XMM-Newton observations in combination with a long-term Swift monitoring program have shown extreme flux and spectral variability. High resolution spectra obtained by the XMM-Newton RGS detector reveal that the wind consists of three distinct ionization components, all outflowing at a velocity of 5000 km/s. This wind is clearly revealed when the source is observed at an intermediate flux state (2-5e-12 ergs cm^-2 s^-1). The analysis of multi-epoch RGS spectra allowed us to compare the absorber properties at three very different flux states of the source. No correlation between the warm absorber variability and the X-ray flux has been determined. The two higher ionization components of the gas may be consistent with photoionization equilibrium, but we can exclude this for the only ionization component that is consistently present in all flux states (log(xi)~1.8). We have included archival, non-simultaneous UV data from HST (FOS, STIS, COS) with the aim of searching for any signature of absorption in this source that so far was known for being absorption-free in the UV band. In the COS spectra obtained a few months after the X-ray observations we found broad absorption in CIV lines intrinsic to the AGN and blueshifted by a velocity roughly comparable to the X-ray outflow. The global behavior of the gas in both bands can be explained by variation of the covering factor and/or column density, possibly due to transverse motion of absorbing clouds moving out of the line of sight at Broad Line Region scale.
S. Komossa, D. Grupe, L. C. Gallo, P. Poulos, D. Blue, E. Kara, G. Kriss, A. L. Longinotti, M. L. Parker, D. Wilkins
Nov 10, 2020·astro-ph.HE·PDF The narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 335 was one of the X-ray brightest AGN, but it has systematically faded since 2007. Here, we report the discovery with Swift of a sequence of bright and rapid X-ray flare events that reveal the emergence of Mrk 335 from its ultra-deep multiyear low state. Results are based on our dedicated multiyear monitoring with Swift. Unlike other bright AGN, the optical-UV is generally not correlated with the X-rays in Mrk 335 on a timescale of days to months. This fact either implies the absence of a direct link between the two emission components; or else implies that the observed X-rays are significantly affected by (dust-free) absorption along our l.o.s. The UV and optical, however, are closely correlated at the 99.99 percent confidence level. The UV is leading the optical by delta t = 1.5+/-1.5 d. The Swift X-ray spectrum shows strong deviations from a single power law in all brightness states of the outbursts, indicating that significant absorption or reprocessing is taking place. Mrk 335 displays a softer-when-brighter variability pattern at intermediate X-ray levels, which has been seen in our Swift data since 2007 (based on a total of 590 observations). This pattern breaks down at the highest and lowest count rates. We interpret the 2020 brightening of Mrk 335 as a decrease in column density and covering factor of a partial-covering absorber along our line of sight in form of a clumpy accretion-disk wind that reveals an increasing portion of the intrinsic emission of Mrk 335 from the disk and/or corona region, while the optical emission-line regions receive a less variable spectral energy distribution. This then also explains why Mrk 335 was never seen to change its optical Seyfert type (not 'changing look') despite its factor 50 X-ray variability with Swift.
E. Costantini, G. Kriss, J. S. Kaastra, S. Bianchi, G. Branduardi-Raymont, M. Cappi, B. De Marco, J. Ebrero, M. Mehdipour, P. -O. Petrucci, S. Paltani, G. Ponti, K. C. Steenbrugge, N. Arav
Jun 21, 2016·astro-ph.GA·PDF We model the broad emission lines present in the optical, UV and X-ray spectra of Mrk 509, a bright type 1 Seyfert galaxy. The broad lines were simultaneously observed during a large multiwavelength campaign, using the XMM-Newton-OM for the optical lines, HST-COS for the UV lines and XMM-Newton-RGS and Epic for the X-ray lines respectively. We also used FUSE archival data for the broad lines observed in the far-ultra-violet. The goal is to find a physical connection among the lines measured at different wavelengths and determine the size and the distance from the central source of the emitting gas components. We used the "Locally optimally emission Cloud" (LOC) model which interprets the emissivity of the broad line region (BLR) as regulated by powerlaw distributions of both gas density and distances from the central source. We find that one LOC component cannot model all the lines simultaneously. In particular, we find that the X-ray and UV lines likely may originate in the more internal part of the AGN, at radii in the range ~5x10^{14}-3x10^{17} cm, while the optical lines and part of the UV lines may likely be originating further out, at radii ~3x10^{17}-3x^{18} cm. These two gas components are parametrized by a radial distribution of the luminosities with a slope gamma of ~1.15 and ~1.10, respectively, both of them covering at least 60% of the source. This simple parameterization points to a structured broad line region, with the higher ionized emission coming from closer in, while the emission of the low-ionization lines is more concentrated in the outskirts of the broad line region.
S. Tripathi, K. M. McGrath, L. C. Gallo, D. Grupe, S. Komossa, M. Berton, G. Kriss, A. L. Longinotti
Sep 12, 2020·astro-ph.HE·PDF Multi-wavelength monitoring of Mrk 335 with Swift between 2007-2019 are used to construct annual spectral energy distributions and track year-to-year changes. Non-contemporaneous archival data prior to 2007 are used to build a bright state SED. In this work, the changes are examined and quantified to build the foundation for future SED modelling. The yearly SEDs trace a downward trend on the average, with the X-ray portion varying significantly and acquiring further lower values in the past two years when compared to the optical/UV portion of SED. The bolometric Eddington ratios derived using optical/UV to X-ray SEDs and the calculated X-ray luminosities show a gradual decrease over the monitoring period. Changes in the parameters over time are examined. Principal component analysis suggests that the primary variability is in the X-ray properties of Mrk 335. When looking at the broader picture of Mrk 335 and its behaviour, the X-rays, accounting most of the variability in the 13-year data, are possibly driven by physical processes related to the corona or absorption whereas the modest optical-UV variations suggest their origin within the accretion disc. These results are consistent with the previous interpretation of Mrk 335 using the timing analyses on the monitoring data and spectral modelling of deep observations.
T. J. Turner, P. Romano, S. B. Kraemer, I. M. George, T. Yaqoob, D. M. Crenshaw, J. Storm, D. Alloin, D Lazzaro, L. Da Silva, J. D. Pritchard, G. Kriss, W. Zheng, S. Mathur, J. Wang, P. Dobbie, N. R. Collins
Nov 27, 2001·astro-ph·PDF We present spectral results from a multi-satellite, broad-band campaign on the Narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Ton S180 performed at the end of 1999. We discuss the spectral-energy distribution of the source, combining simultaneous Chandra, ASCA and EUVE data with contemporaneous FUSE, HST, and ground-based optical and infra-red data. The resulting SED shows that most of the energy is emitted in the 10 -- 100 eV regime, which must be dominated by the primary energy source. No spectral turnover is evident in the UV regime. This, the strong soft X-ray emission, and the overall shape of the SED indicate that emission from the accretion disk peaks between 15 and 100 eV. High resolution FUSE spectra showing UV absorption due to O VI and the lack of detectable X-ray absorption in the Chandra spectrum demonstrate the presence of a low column density of highly ionized gas along our line-of-sight. The highly-ionized state of the circumnuclear gas is most likely linked to the high luminosity and steep spectrum of the active nucleus. Given the strong ionizing flux in Ton S180, it is possible that the clouds within a few tens of light days of the central source are too highly ionized to produce much line emission. Thus the narrow width of the emission lines in Ton S180 is due to the emission arising from large radii.
S. Peluso, G. Lanzuisi, A. Comastri, M. Brusa, M. Giustini, G. Miniutti, S. Bianchi, V. E. Gianolli, R. Middei, P-O. Petrucci, L. Borrelli, E. Amenta, E. Bertola, B. De Marco, A. De Rosa, S. Kraemer, G. Kriss, Y. Krongold, S. Mathur, A. Merloni, E. Nardini, F. Panessa, E. Piconcelli, G. Ponti, F. Ricci, A. Tortosa, L. Zappacosta, R. Serafinelli
Mar 18, 2026·astro-ph.HE·PDF We present the X-ray analysis of coronal properties in a statistically representative sample of 23 mostly radio-quiet AGN from the SUBWAYS campaign (SUpermassive Black holes Winds in XrAYs), focusing on quasars at redshifts $0.1 < z < 0.4 $ and bolometric luminosities $2 \times 10^{44} <L_{bol}(erg/s) < 2 \times 10^{46}$. The main aim of this work is to investigate the properties of the hot corona through the study of the hard X-ray band emission, including a proper treatment of the soft X-ray band. High-quality X-ray spectra from XMM-Newton, complemented by NuSTAR data extending up to 30-40 keV in the rest frame, are available for this sample. The soft X-ray band (0.3-2 keV) spectrum is best fitted by a warm corona model with a median temperature of 0.40 keV, and an optical depth in the range $τ$=20 - 40, consistent with previous results on lower luminosity sources. The hard X-ray band is well described using a hot corona model, with a median high-energy cut-off of 87 keV, at the lower end of the distribution of typical values found in Seyfert galaxies (100 - 200 keV). The derived median value of the optical depth ($τ$ = 1 - 5) suggests the presence of a moderately optically thick corona. Combining the SUBWAYS results with literature samples at low and high redshift, we assemble the largest sample to date of AGN with E$_{cut}$ and accretion parameter measurements, finding a significant anticorrelation of E$_{cut}$ with both $λ_{Edd}$ and $L_{bol}$ with the median E$_{cut}$ decreasing from 250 - 300 keV at low accretion rates and luminosities to 90 - 100 keV at high accretion rates and luminosities - consistent with enhanced coronal cooling, possibly driven by pair-production. These results favor cooler, optically thicker coronae in luminous AGN compared to those in lower-luminosity Seyfert galaxies.
E. Amenta, M. Brienza, G. Bruni, M. Brusa, R. Morganti, F. Panessa, R. D. Baldi, E. Behar, G. Lanzuisi, T. Shimwell, F. Tombesi, S. Bianchi, G. Chartas, A. Comastri, G. Cresci, B. De Marco, F. Fiore, M. Gaspari, V. E. Gianolli, R. Gilli, S. B. Kraemer, G. Kriss, Y. Krongold, F. La Franca, A. L. Longinotti, M. Mehdipour, E. Nardini, M. Perna, P. Petrucci, E. Piconcelli, G. Ponti, F. Ricci, L. Zappacosta
Apr 23, 2026·astro-ph.GA·PDF Most Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are Radio Quiet, with radio emission that may arise from star-formation activity, AGN-driven winds, weak jets, and coronal activity. Disentangling these mechanisms is challenging and requires detailed multi-wavelength investigation, but it is crucial for quantifying AGN feedback in galaxy evolution. We present a detailed radio investigation of 21 X-ray selected AGN in the Supermassive Black Hole Winds in X-Rays (SUBWAYS) sample (log Lbol = 44.9-46.3 erg/s, z=0.1-0.5), selected to systematically search for Ultra-Fast Outflows (UFOs). UFOs are detected in 30% of the targets, making the sample particularly well-suited for investigating the role and signatures of multi-scale outflows at different frequencies. We build the radio SED of the sources complementing our proprietary data, collected with the JVLA at 1.5 and 6 GHz, with images from LoTSS and other publicly available radio surveys between 150 and 1400 MHz. We investigate the role and occurrence of the aforementioned mechanisms, with particular interest in outflows and their possible relation with UFOs. We combined information on spectral indices, luminosities, and morphologies of the radio emission with properties derived in other wavebands, such as Star Formation Rate, X-ray luminosity, Eddington ratio or the UFO kinetic luminosity. All the sources are detected and are mostly consistent with RQ AGN. For 80% of the sources the data suggest the presence of an outflow (wind or weak jet). Interestingly, our results indicate that AGN with UFOs tend to have larger radio extension and a steep radio spectrum consistent with outflows. Moreover, the radio emission of the 6 UFO hosts is consistent with predictions from wind-driven shock models, possibly indicating a direct connection between the two phases. Alternatively, this may reflect physical conditions favouring the rise of both phenomena.
M. L. Parker, A. L. Longinotti, N. Schartel, D. Grupe, S. Komossa, G. Kriss, A. C. Fabian, L. Gallo, F. A. Harrison, J. Jiang, E. Kara, Y. Krongold, G. A. Matzeu, C. Pinto, M. Santos-Lleó
Sep 11, 2019·astro-ph.HE·PDF We present XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, Swift and Hubble Space Telescope observations of the Narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 335 in a protracted low state in 2018 and 2019. The X-ray flux is at the lowest level so far observed, and the extremely low continuum flux reveals a host of soft X-ray emission lines from photoionised gas. The simultaneous UV flux drop suggests that the variability is intrinsic to the source, and we confirm this with broad-band X-ray spectroscopy. The dominance of the soft X-ray lines at low energies and distant reflection at high energies is therefore due to the respective emission regions being located far enough from the X-ray source that they have not yet seen the flux drop. Between the two XMM-Newton spectra, taken 6 months apart, the emission line ratio in the Ovii triplet changes drastically. We attribute this change to a drop in the ionisation of intervening warm absorption, which means that the absorber must cover a large fraction of the line emitting region, and extend much further from the black hole than previously assumed. The HST spectrum, taken in 2018, shows that new absorption features have appeared on the blue wings of Ciii*, Lyα, Nv, Siiv and Civ, likely due to absorbing gas cooling in response to the low flux state.
T. J. Turner, I. M. George, T. Yaqoob, G. Kriss, D. M. Crenshaw, S. Kraemer, W. Zheng, J. Wang, K. Nandra
This paper presents results from spectral observations of Ton S180 using Chandra and ASCA. The data confirm the presence of the soft excess but the Chandra LETG spectrum reveals it to be broad and smooth, rather than resolved into individual emission lines. This excess may represent either a primary or reprocessed continuum component or a blend of broad lines from an ionized accretion disk. The occurrence of a similar feature in five other NLSy1s leads us to conclude that this soft X-ray component may be a characteristic of sources accreting at a very high rate. The X-ray spectrum shows no evidence for absorption lines, indicating that if gas exists in the line-of-sight then it is in a very high ionization-state or has an extremely broad velocity distribution. The new ASCA data confirm that the narrow component of the Fe Kalpha line peaks close to a rest-energy of 7 keV, indicating the presence of a significant amount of highly-ionized material in the nuclear environs.
V. E. Gianolli, S. Bianchi, P-O Petrucci, M. Brusa, G. Chartas, G. Lanzuisi, G. A. Matzeu, M. Parra, F. Ursini, E. Behar, M. Bischetti, A. Comastri, E. Costantini, G. Cresci, M. Dadina, B. De Marco, A. De Rosa, F. Fiore, M. Gaspari, R. Gilli, M. Giustini, M. Guainazzi, A. R. King, S. Kraemer, G. Kriss, Y. Krongold, F. La Franca, A. L. Longinotti, A. Luminari, R. Maiolino, A. Marconi, S. Mathur, G. Matt, M. Mehdipour, A. Merloni, R. Middei, G. Miniutti, E. Nardini, F. Panessa, M. Perna, E. Piconcelli, G. Ponti, F. Ricci, R. Serafinelli, F. Tombesi, C. Vignali, L. Zappacosta
Mar 14, 2024·astro-ph.GA·PDF The detection of blue-shifted absorption lines likely associated with ionized Iron K-shell transitions in the X-ray spectra of many Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) suggests the presence of a highly ionized gas outflowing with mildly relativistic velocities (0.03c-0.6c), named Ultra-Fast Outflow (UFO). Within the SUBWAYS project we characterized these winds starting from a sample of 22 radio-quiet quasars at 0.1 < z < 0.4, and compared the results with similar studies in the literature on samples of 42 local radio-quiet Seyfert galaxies and 14 high redshift radio-quiet quasars. The scope of our work is a statistical study of UFO parameters and incidence, considering key physical properties of the sources, e.g. supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass, bolometric luminosity, accretion rates and Spectral Energy Distribution, with the aim of gaining new insights into the UFO launching mechanisms. We find indications that highly luminous AGN with steeper X-ray/UV ratio, are more likely to host UFO. The presence of UFO is not significantly related to any other AGN property in our sample. These findings suggest that the UFO phenomenon may be transient. Focusing on AGN with UFO, other important results are: (1) faster UFO have larger ionization parameters and column densities; (2) X-ray radiation plays a more crucial role in driving highly ionized winds compared to UV; (3) the correlation between outflow velocity and luminosity is significantly flatter than what expected for radiatively driven winds; (4) more massive BH experience higher wind mass-losses, suppressing accretion of matter onto the BH; (5) the UFO launching radius is positively correlated with the Eddington ratio. Furthermore, our analysis suggest the involvement of multiple launching mechanisms, including radiation pressure and magneto-hydrodynamic processes, rather than pointing to a single, universally applicable mechanism.
E. Costantini, J. S. Kaastra, K. Korista, J. Ebrero, N. Arav, G. Kriss, K. C. Steenbrugge
Jan 15, 2010·astro-ph.CO·PDF We present the results of a ~160 ks-long XMM-Newton observation of the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 279. The spectrum shows evidence of both broad and narrow emission features. The Fe K alpha line may be equally well explained by a single broad Gaussian (FWHM~10,000 km/s) or by two components: an unresolved core plus a very broad profile (FWHM~14,000 km/s). For the first time we quantified, via the "locally optimally emitting cloud" model, the contribution of the broad line region (BLR) to the absolute luminosity of the broad component of the Fe K alpha at 6.4 keV. We find that the contribution of the BLR is only ~3%. In the two-line component scenario, we also evaluated the contribution of the highly ionized gas component, which produces the FeXXVI line in the iron K region. This contribution to the narrow core of the Fe K alpha line is marginal <0.1%. Most of the luminosity of the unresolved, component of Fe K alpha may come from the obscuring torus, while the very-broad associated component may come from the accretion disk. However, models of reflection by cold gas are difficult to test because of the limited energy band. The FeXXVI line at 6.9 keV is consistent to be produced in a high column density (N_H~10^23 cm^{-2}), extremely ionized (logξ~5.5-7) gas. This gas may be a highly ionized outer layer of the torus.
J. V. Hernández Santisteban, R. Edelson, K. Horne, J. M. Gelbord, A. J. Barth, E. M. Cackett, M. R. Goad, H. Netzer, D. Starkey, P. Uttley, W. N. Brandt, K. Korista, A. M. Lohfink, C. A. Onken, K. L. Page, M. Siegel, M. Vestergaard, S. Bisogni, A. A. Breeveld, S. B. Cenko, E. Dalla Bontà, P. A. Evans, G. Ferland, D. H. Gonzalez-Buitrago, D. Grupe, M. D. Joner, G. Kriss, S. J. LaPorte, S. Mathur, F. Marshall, M. Mehdipour, D. Mudd, B. M. Peterson, T. Schmidt, S. Vaughan, S. Valenti
We present results of time-series analysis of the first year of the Fairall 9 intensive disc-reverberation campaign. We used Swift and the Las Cumbres Observatory global telescope network to continuously monitor Fairall 9 from X-rays to near-infrared at a daily to sub-daily cadence. The cross-correlation function between bands provides evidence for a lag spectrum consistent with the $τ\proptoλ^{4/3}$ scaling expected for an optically thick, geometrically thin blackbody accretion disc. Decomposing the flux into constant and variable components, the variable component's spectral energy distribution is slightly steeper than the standard accretion disc prediction. We find evidence at the Balmer edge in both the lag and flux spectra for an additional bound-free continuum contribution that may arise from reprocessing in the broad-line region. The inferred driving light curve suggests two distinct components, a rapidly variable ($<4$ days) component arising from X-ray reprocessing, and a more slowly varying ($>100$ days) component with an opposite lag to the reverberation signal.
F. Tombesi, M. Cappi, F. Carrera, G. Chartas, K. Fukumura, M. Guainazzi, D. Kazanas, G. Kriss, D. Proga, T. J. Turner, Y. Ueda, S. Veilleux, M. Brusa, M. Gaspari
Mar 18, 2019·astro-ph.HE·PDF Powerful winds driven by supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are likely the main mechanism through which SMBHs regulate their own growth and influence the host galaxy evolution. However, their origin and their capability to impact the large-scale environment are still highly debated. Fundamental results will come from high-energy and spatial resolution X-ray observatories.
R. Edelson, J. Gelbord, E. Cackett, S. Connolly, C. Done, M. Fausnaugh, E. Gardner, N. Gehrels, M. Goad, K. Horne, I. McHardy, B. M. Peterson, S. Vaughan, M. Vestergaard, A. Breeveld, A. J. Barth, M. Bentz, M. Bottorff, W. N. Brandt, S. M. Crawford, E. Dalla Bonta, D. Emmanoulopoulos, P. Evans, R. Figuera Jaimes, A. V. Filippenko, G. Ferland, D. Grupe, M. Joner, J. Kennea, K. T. Korista, H. A. Krimm, G. Kriss, D. C. Leonard, S. Mathur, H. Netzer, J. Nousek, K. Page, E. Romero-Colmenero, M. Siegel, D. A. Starkey, T. Treu, H. A. Vogler, H. Winkler, W. Zheng
Mar 20, 2017·astro-ph.HE·PDF Swift monitoring of NGC 4151 with ~6 hr sampling over a total of 69 days in early 2016 is used to construct light curves covering five bands in the X-rays (0.3-50 keV) and six in the ultraviolet (UV)/optical (1900-5500 A). The three hardest X-ray bands (>2.5 keV) are all strongly correlated with no measurable interband lag while the two softer bands show lower variability and weaker correlations. The UV/optical bands are significantly correlated with the X-rays, lagging ~3-4 days behind the hard X-rays. The variability within the UV/optical bands is also strongly correlated, with the UV appearing to lead the optical by ~0.5-1 day. This combination of >~3 day lags between the X-rays and UV and <~1 day lags within the UV/optical appears to rule out the "lamp-post" reprocessing model in which a hot, X-ray emitting corona directly illuminates the accretion disk, which then reprocesses the energy in the UV/optical. Instead, these results appear consistent with the Gardner & Done picture in which two separate reprocessings occur: first, emission from the corona illuminates an extreme-UV-emitting toroidal component that shields the disk from the corona; this then heats the extreme-UV component which illuminates the disk and drives its variability.
E. Costantini, J. S. Kaastra, K. C. Steenbrugge, N. Arav, J. R. Gabel, G. Kriss
Dec 22, 2004·astro-ph·PDF We present the Chandra-LETGS analysis of Mrk 279, a bright Seyfert 1 galaxy. The spectrum shows a variety of features arising from different physical environments in the vicinity of the black hole. We detect three absorption components, located at the redshift of the source. One of them is likely to arise from the host galaxy. An additional component due to absorption by a collisionally ionized gas at z=0 is also observed. Such an absorption can be produced in the outskirts of our Galaxy or in the local group. The emission spectrum is rich in narrow and broad emission features. We tested the hypothesis that the broad emission lines originate in the Broad Line Region (BLR), as studied in the UV band. We find that at least 2 components with different ionization parameters are necessary to simultaneously interpret the broad emission line measured in the UV (by HST-STIS and FUSE) and in the X-rays.
K. C. Steenbrugge, J. S. Kaastra, R. G. Detmers, J. Ebrero, G. Ponti, E. Costantini, G. A. Kriss, M. Mehdipour, C. Pinto, G. Branduardi-Raymont, E. Behar, N. Arav, M. Cappi, S. Bianchi, P. -O. Petrucci, E. M. Ratti, T. Holczer
Aug 11, 2011·astro-ph.CO·PDF Context. The study of abundances in the nucleus of active galaxies allows us to investigate the evolution of abundance by comparing local and higher redshift galaxies. However, the methods used so far have substantial drawbacks or rather large uncertainties. Some of the measurements are at odds with the initial mass function derived from the older stellar population of local elliptical galaxies. Aims. We determine accurate and reliable abundances of C, N, Ne, and Fe relative to O from the narrow absorption lines observed in the X-ray spectra of Mrk 509. Methods. We use the stacked 600 ks XMM-Newton RGS and 180 ks Chandra LETGS spectra. Thanks to simultaneous observations with INTEGRAL and the optical monitor on-board XMM-Newton for the RGS observations and HST-COS and Swift for the LETGS observations, we have an individual spectral energy distribution for each dataset. Owing to the excellent quality of the RGS spectrum, the ionisation structure of the absorbing gas is well constrained, allowing for a reliable abundance determination using ions over the whole observed range of ionisation parameters. Results. We find that the relative abundances are consistent with the proto-solar abundance ratios: C/O = 1.19$\pm$0.08, N/O = 0.98$\pm$0.08, Ne/O = 1.11$\pm$0.10, Mg/O = 0.68$\pm$0.16, Si/O = 1.3$\pm$0.6, Ca/O = 0.89$\pm$0.25, and Fe/O = 0.85$\pm$0.06, with the exception of S, which is slightly under-abundant, S/O = 0.57$\pm$0.14. Our results, and their implications, are discussed and compared to the results obtained using other techniques to derive abundances in galaxies.