A wind-based unification model for NGC 5548: spectral holidays, non-disk emission, and implications for changing-look quasars

M. Dehghanian, G. J. Ferland, B. M. Peterson, G. A. Kriss, K. T. Korista, M. Chatzikos, F. Guzman, N. Arav, G. De Rosa, M. R. Goad, M. Mehdipour, P. A. M. Van Hoof

The 180-day Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping campaign on NGC 5548 discovered an anomalous period, the broad-line region (BLR) holiday, in which the emission lines decorrelated from the continuum variations. This is important since the correlation between the continuum-flux variations and the emission-line response is the basic assumption for black hole (BH) mass determinations through reverberation mapping. During the BLR holiday, the high-ionization intrinsic absorption lines also decorrelated from the continuum as a result of variable covering factor of the line of sight (LOS) obscurer. The emission lines are not confined to the LOS, so this does not explain the BLR holiday. If the LOS obscurer is a disk wind, its streamlines must extend down to the plane of the disk and the base of the wind would lie between the BH and the BLR, forming an equatorial obscurer. This obscurer can be transparent to ionizing radiation, or can be translucent, blocking only parts of the SED, depending on its density. An emission-line holiday is produced if the wind density increases only slightly above its transparent state. Both obscurers are parts of the same wind, so they can have associated behavior in a way that explains both holidays. A very dense wind would block nearly all ionizing radiation, producing a Seyfert 2 and possibly providing a contributor to the changing-look AGN phenomenon. Disk winds are very common and we propose that the equatorial obscurers are too, but mostly in a transparent state.

Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project. XIII. An Atlas of UV and X-ray Spectroscopic Signatures of theDisk Wind in NGC 5548

M. Dehghanian, G. J. Ferland, B. M. Peterson, G. A. Kriss, K. T. Korista, M. R. Goad, M. Chatzikos, M. C. Bentz, F. Guzman, M. Mehdipour, G. De Rosa

The unusual behavior of the spectral lines of NGC5548 during the STORM campaign demonstrated a missing piece in the structure of AGNs. For a two-month period in the middle of the campaign, the spectral lines showed a deficit in flux and a reduced response to the variations of the UV continuum. This was the first time that this behavior was unequivocally observed in an AGN. Our previous papers explained this as being due to a variable disk-wind which acts as a shield and alters the SED. Here we use Cloudy to create an atlas of photoionization models for a variety of disk-winds to study their effects on the SED. We show that the winds have three different cases: Case 1 winds are transparent, fully ionized and have minimal effects on the intrinsic SED, although they can produce some line emission, especially HeIIor FeKα. We propose that this is the situation in most of the AGNs. Case 2 winds have a He++-He+ionization-front, block part of the XUV continuum but transmit much of the Lyman continuum. They lead to the observed abnormal behavior. Case 3 winds have H+ionization-front and block much of the Lyman continuum. The results show that the presence of the winds has important effects on the spectral lines of AGNs. They will thus have an effect on the measurements of the black hole mass and the geometry of the AGN. This atlas of spectral simulations can serve as a guide to future reverberation campaigns

Anatomy of the AGN in NGC 5548 IV. The short-term variability of the outflows

L. Di Gesu, E. Costantini, J. Ebrero, M. Mehdipour, J. S. Kaastra, F. Ursini, P. O. Petrucci, M. Cappi, G. A. Kriss, S. Bianchi, G. Branduardi-Raymont, B. De Marco, A. De Rosa, S. Kaspi, S. Paltani, C. Pinto, G. Ponti, K. C. Steenbrugge, M. Whewell

During an extensive multiwavelength campaign that we performed in 2013-14 the prototypical Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 has been found in an unusual condition of heavy and persistent obscuration. The newly discovered "obscurer" absorbs most of the soft X-ray continuum along our line of sight and lowers the ionizing luminosity received by the classical warm absorber. Here we present the analysis of the high resolution X-ray spectra collected with XMM-Newton and Chandra throughout the campaign, which are suitable to investigate the variability of both the obscurer and the classical warm absorber. The time separation between these X-ray observations range from 2 days to 8 months. On these timescales the obscurer is variable both in column density and in covering fraction. This is consistent with the picture of a patchy wind. The most significant variation occurred in September 2013 when the source brightened for two weeks. A higher and steeper intrinsic continuum and a lower obscurer covering fraction are both required to explain the spectral shape during the flare. We suggest that a geometrical change of the soft X-ray source behind the obscurer cause the observed drop in the covering fraction. Due to the higher soft X-ray continuum level the September 2013 Chandra spectrum is the only X ray spectrum of the campaign where individual features of the warm absorber could be detected. The spectrum shows absorption from Fe-UTA, \ion{O}{iv}, and \ion{O}{v}, consistent to belong to the lower-ionization counterpart of the historical NGC 5548 warm absorber. Hence, we confirm that the warm absorber has responded to the drop in the ionizing luminosity caused by the obscurer.

Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project VI: reverberating Disk Models for NGC 5548

D. Starkey, Keith Horne, M. M. Fausnaugh, B. M. Peterson, M. C. Bentz, C. S. Kochanek, K. D. Denney, R. Edelson, M. R. Goad, G. De Rosa, M. D. Anderson, P. Arevalo, A. J. Barth, C. Bazhaw, G. A. Borman, T. A. Boroson, M. C. Bottorff, W. N. Brandt, A. A. Breeveld, E. M. Cackett, M. T. Carini, K. V. Croxall, D. M. Crenshaw, E. Dalla Bonta, A. De Lorenzo-Caceres, M. Dietrich, N. V. Efimova, J. Ely, P. A. Evans, A. V. Filippenko, K. Flatland, N. Gehrels, S. Geier, J. M. Gelbord, L. Gonzalez, V. Gorjian, C. J. Grier, D. Grupe, P. B. Hall, S. Hicks, D. Horenstein, T. Hutchison, M. Im, J. J. Jensen, M. D. Joner, J. Jones, J. Kaastra, S. Kaspi, B. C. Kelly, J. A. Kennea, S. C. Kim, M. Kim, S. A. Klimanov, K. T. Korista, G. A. Kriss, J. C. Lee, D. C. Leonard, P. Lira, F. MacInnis, E. R. Manne-Nicholas, S. Mathur, I. M. McHardy, C. Montouri, R. Musso, S. V. Nazarov, R. P. Norris, J. A. Nousek, D. N. Okhmat, A. Pancoast, J. R. Parks, L. Pei, R. W. Pogge, J. -U. Pott, S. E. Rafter, H. W. Rix, D. A. Saylor, J. S. Schimoia, K. Schnulle, S. G. Sergeev, M. H. Siegel, M. Spencer, H. -I. Sung, K. G. Teems, C. S. Turner, P. Uttley, M. Vestergaard, C. Villforth, Y. Weiss, J. -H. Woo, H. Yan, S. Young, W. Zheng, Y. Zu

We conduct a multiwavelength continuum variability study of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 to investigate the temperature structure of its accretion disk. The 19 overlapping continuum light curves (1158 to 9157 angstroms) combine simultaneous HST , Swift , and ground-based observations over a 180 day period from 2014 January to July. Light-curve variability is interpreted as the reverberation response of the accretion disk to irradiation by a central time-varying point source. Our model yields the disk inclination, i, temperature T1 at 1 light day from the black hole, and a temperature-radius slope, alpha. We also infer the driving light curve and find that it correlates poorly with both the hard and soft X-ray light curves, suggesting that the X-rays alone may not drive the ultraviolet and optical variability over the observing period. We also decompose the light curves into bright, faint, and mean accretion-disk spectra. These spectra lie below that expected for a standard blackbody accretion disk accreting at L/LEdd = 0.1

Far-UV Observations of NGC 4151 during the ORFEUS-SPAS II Mission

B. R. Espey, G. A. Kriss, J. H. Krolik, W. Zheng, Z. Tsvetanov, A. F. Davidsen

We observed the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151 on eleven occasions at 1-2 day intervals using the Berkeley spectrometer during the ORFEUS-SPAS II mission in 1996 November. The mean spectrum covers 912-1220 A at ~0.3 A resolution with a total exposure of 15,658 seconds. The mean flux at 1000 A was 4.7e-13 erg/cm^2/s/A. We identify the neutral hydrogen absorption with a number of components that correspond to the velocity distribution of \ion{H}{1} seen in our own Galaxy as well as features identified in the CIV 1549 absorption profile by Weymann et al. The main component of neutral hydrogen in NGC 4151 has a total column density of log N_HI = 18.7 +/- 1.5 cm^{-2} for a Doppler parameter b=250 +/- 50 km/s, and it covers 84 +/- 6% of the source. This is consistent with previous results obtained with the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope. Other intrinsic far-UV absorption features are not resolved, but the CIII* 1176 absorption line has a significantly higher blueshift relative to NGC 4151 than the CIII 977 resonance line. This implies that the highest velocity region of the outflowing gas has the highest density. Variations in the equivalent width of the CIII* 1176 absorption line anticorrelate with continuum variations on timescales of days. For an ionization timescale <1 day, we set an upper limit of 25 pc on the distance of the absorbing gas from the central source. The OVI 1034 and HeII 1085 emission lines also vary on timescales of 1-2 days, but their response to the continuum variations is complex. For some continuum variations they show no response, while for others the response is instantaneous to the limit of our sampling interval.

Simultaneous Ultraviolet and X-ray Observations of the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 4151. I. Physical Conditions in the X-ray Absorbers

S. B. Kraemer, I. M. George, D. M. Crenshaw, J. R. Gabel, T. J. Turner, T. R. Gull, J. B. Hutchings, G. A. Kriss, R. F. Mushotzky, H. Netzer, B. M. Peterson, Ehud Behar

We present a detailed analysis of the intrinsic X-ray absorption in the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151 using Chandra/HETGS data obtained 2002 May, as part of a program which included simultaneous UV spectra using HST/STIS and FUSE. NGC 4151 was in a relatively low flux state during the observations reported here, although roughly 2.5 times as bright in the 2 --10 keV band as during a Chandra observation in 2000. The soft X-ray band was dominated by emission lines, which show no discernible variation in flux between the two observations. The 2002 data show the presence of a very highly ionized absorber, in the form of H-like and He-like Mg, Si, and S lines, as well as lower ionization gas via the presence of inner-shell absorption lines from lower-ionization species of these elements. The former is too highly ionized to be radiatively accelerated in a sub-Eddington source such as NGC 4151. We find that the lower ionization gas had a column density a factor of ~ 3 higher during the 2000 observation. If due to bulk motion, we estimate that this component must have a velocity of more than 1250 km/sec transverse to our line-of-sight. We suggest that these results are consistent with a magneto-hydrodynamic flow.

Energy Emission by Quantum Systems in an Expanding FRW Metric

D. P. Sheehan, V. G. Kriss

Bound quantum mechanical systems not expanding with the comoving frame of an expanding, flat FRW metric are found to release energy at a rate linearly proportional to the local Hubble constant ($H_{o}$) and the systems' binding energy ($E_{b}$); {\em i.e.}, $\dot{E} = H_{o} E_{b}$. Three exemplary quantum systems are examined. For systems with early cosmological condensation times | notably hadrons | time-integrated energy release could have been significant and could account for an appreciable fraction of the dark matter inventory.

The Ionized Gas and Nuclear Environment in NGC 3783 III. Detection of a Decreasing Radial Velocity in an Intrinsic UV Absorber

J. R. Gabel, D. M. Crenshaw, S. B. Kraemer, W. N. Brandt, I. M. George, F. W. Hamann, M. E. Kaiser, S. Kaspi, G. A. Kriss, S. Mathur, R. F. Mushotzky, K. Nandra, H. Netzer, B. M. Peterson, J. C. Shields, T. J. Turner, W. Zheng

We report an intrinsic absorber with decreasing outflow velocity in the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 3783. This is the first detection of a change in radial velocity in an outflow associated with a Seyfert galaxy. These results are based on measurements from 18 observations with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, obtained between 2000 February and 2002 January. In two intervals separated by ~13 and 9 months, the absorption lines in the kinematic component with highest outflow velocity exhibited mean redward velocity shifts of ~35 and 55 km/s, respectively. The rate of velocity decrease was 2.2 +/- 0.6 times more rapid in the second interval. No variations in absorption velocities were detected in the other kinematic components. We explore potential interpretations of the observed velocity shifts: radial deceleration of the UV absorber due to a change in either the speed or direction of motion of the outflow, and the evolution of a continuous flow across our line of sight to the emission source.

ASCA Observations of the Composite Warm Absorber in NGC 3516

G. A. Kriss, J. H. Krolik, C. Otani, B. R. Espey, T. J. Turner, T. Kii, Z. Tsvetanov, T. Takahashi, A. F. Davidsen, M. Tashiro, W. Zheng, S. Murakami, R. Petre, T. Mihara

We obtained X-ray spectra of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC~3516 in March 1995 using ASCA. Simultaneous far-UV observations were obtained with HUT on the Astro-2 shuttle mission. The ASCA spectrum shows a lightly absorbed power law of energy index 0.78. The low energy absorbing column is significantly less than previously seen. Prominent O~vii and O~viii absorption edges are visible, but, consistent with the much lower total absorbing column, no Fe K absorption edge is detectable. A weak, narrow Fe~K$α$ emission line from cold material is present as well as a broad Fe~K$α$ line. These features are similar to those reported in other Seyfert 1 galaxies. A single warm absorber model provides only an imperfect description of the low energy absorption. In addition to a highly ionized absorber with ionization parameter $U = 1.66$ and a total column density of $1.4 \times 10^{22}~\rm cm^{-2}$, adding a lower ionization absorber with $U = 0.32$ and a total column of $6.9 \times 10^{21}~\rm cm^{-2}$ significantly improves the fit. The contribution of resonant line scattering to our warm absorber models limits the Doppler parameter to $< 160~\rm km~s^{-1}$ at 90\% confidence. Turbulence at the sound speed of the photoionized gas provides the best fit. None of the warm absorber models fit to the X-ray spectrum can match the observed equivalent widths of all the UV absorption lines. Accounting for the X-ray and UV absorption simultaneously requires an absorbing region with a broad range of ionization parameters and column densities.

FUSE Observations of Intrinsic Absorption in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy Mrk 509

G. A. Kriss, R. F. Green, M. Brotherton, W. Oegerle, K. R. Sembach, A. F. Davidsen, S. D. Friedman, M. E. Kaiser, W. Zheng, B. Woodgate, J. Hutchings, J. M. Shull, D. G. York

We present far-ultraviolet spectra of the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509 obtained in 1999 November with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). Our data span the observed wavelength range 915-1185 A at a resolution of ~20 km/s. The spectrum shows a blue continuum, broad OVI 1032,1038 emission, and a broad CIII 977 emission line. Superposed on these emission components, we resolve associated absorption lines of OVI 1032,1038, CIII 977, and Lyman lines through Lzeta. Seven distinct kinematic components are present, spanning a velocity range of -440 to +170 km/s relative to the systemic velocity. The absorption is clustered in two groups, one centered at -370m km/s and another at the systemic velocity. The blue-shifted cluster may be associated with the extended line emission visible in deep images of Mrk 509 obtained by Phillips et al. Although several components appear to be saturated, they are not black at their centers. Partial covering or scattering permits ~7% of the broad-line or continuum flux to be unaffected by absorption. Of the multiple components, only one has the same ionization state and column density as highly ionized gas that produces the OVII and OVIII ionization edges in X-ray spectra of Mrk 509. This paper will appear in a special issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters devoted to the first scientific results from the FUSE mission.

Reddening, Emission-Line, and Intrinsic Absorption Properties in the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy Akn 564

D. M. Crenshaw, S. B. Kraemer, T. J. Turner, S. Collier, B. M. Peterson, W. N. Brandt, J. Clavel, I. M. George, K. Horne, G. A. Kriss, S. Mathur, H. Netzer, R. W. Pogge, K. A. Pounds, P. Romano, O. Shemmer, W. Wamsteker

We use Hubble Space Telescope UV and optical spectra of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxy Akn 564 to investigate its internal reddening and properties of its emission-line and intrinsic UV absorption gas. We find that the extinction curve of Akn 564, derived from a comparison of its UV/optical continuum to that of an unreddened NLS1, lacks a 2200 A bump and turns up towards the UV at a longer wavelength (4000 A) than the standard Galactic, LMC, and SMC curves. However, it does not show the extremely steep rise to 1200 A that characterizes the extinction curve of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 3227. The emission-lines and continuum experience the same amount of reddening, indicating the presence of a dust screen that is external to the narrow-line region (NLR). Echelle spectra from the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph show intrinsic UV absorption lines due to Ly-alpha, N V, C IV, Si IV, and Si III, centered at a radial velocity of -190 km/s (relative to the host galaxy). Photoionization models of the UV absorber indicate that it has a sufficient columnand is at a sufficient distance from the nucleus (D > 95 pc) to be the source of the dust screen. Thus, Akn 564 contains a dusty ``lukewarm absorber'' similar to that seen in NGC 3227.

Multiwavelength campaign on Mrk 509: Reverberation of the Fe Kalpha line

G. Ponti, M. Cappi, E. Costantini, S. Bianchi, J. S. Kaastra, B. De Marco, R. P. Fender, P. -O. Petrucci, G. A. Kriss, K. C. Steenbrugge, N. Arav, E. Behar, G. Branduardi-Raymont, M. Dadina, J. Ebrero, P. Lubinski, M. Mehdipour, S. Paltani, C. Pinto, F. Tombesi

We report on a detailed study of the Fe K emission/absorption complex in the nearby, bright Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509. The study is part of an extensive XMM-Newton monitoring consisting of 10 pointings (~60 ks each) about once every four days, and includes also a reanalysis of previous XMM-Newton and Chandra observations. Mrk 509 shows a clear (EW=58 eV) neutral Fe Kalpha emission line that can be decomposed into a narrow (sigma=0.027 keV) component (found in the Chandra HETG data) plus a resolved (sigma=0.22 keV) component. We find the first successful measurement of a linear correlation between the intensity of the resolved line component and the 3-10 keV flux variations on time-scales of years down to a few days. The Fe Kalpha reverberates the hard X-ray continuum without any measurable lag, suggesting that the region producing the resolved Fe Kalpha component is located within a few light days-week (r<~10^3 rg) from the Black Hole (BH). The lack of a redshifted wing in the line poses a lower limit of >40 rg for its distance from the BH. The Fe Kalpha could thus be emitted from the inner regions of the BLR, i.e. within the ~80 light days indicated by the Hbeta line measurements. In addition to these two neutral Fe Kalpha components, we confirm the detection of weak (EW~8-20 eV) ionised Fe K emission. This ionised line can be modeled with either a blend of two narrow FeXXV and FeXXVI emission lines or with a single relativistic line produced, in an ionised disc, down to a few rg from the BH. Finally, we observe a weakening/disappearing of the medium and high velocity high ionisation Fe K wind features found in previous XMM-Newton observations. This campaign has made possible the first reverberation measurement of the resolved component of the Fe Kalpha line, from which we can infer a location for the bulk of its emission at a distance of r~40-1000 rg from the BH.

Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project. II. Swift and HST Reverberation Mapping of the Accretion Disk of NGC 5548

R. Edelson, J. M. Gelbord, K. Horne, I. M. McHardy, B. M. Peterson, P. Arevalo, A. A. Breeveld, G. De Rosa, P. A. Evans, M. R. Goad, G. A. Kriss, W. N. Brandt, N. Gehrels, D. Grupe, J. A. Kennea, C. S. Kochanek, J. A. Nousek, I. Papadakis, M. Siegel, D. Starkey, P. Uttley, S. Vaughan, S. Young, A. J. Barth, M. C. Bentz, B. J. Brewer, D. M. Crenshaw, E. Dalla Bonta, A. De Lorenzo-Caceres, K. D. Denney, M. Dietrich, J. Ely, M. M. Fausnaugh, C. J. Grier, P. B. Hall, J. Kaastra, B. C. Kelly, K. T. Korista, P. Lira, S. Mathur, H. Netzer, A. Pancoast, L. Pei, R. W. Pogge, J. S. Schimoia, T. Treu, M. Vestergaard, C. Villforth, H. Yan, Y. Zu

Recent intensive Swift monitoring of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 yielded 282 usable epochs over 125 days across six UV/optical bands and the X-rays. This is the densest extended AGN UV/optical continuum sampling ever obtained, with a mean sampling rate <0.5 day. Approximately daily HST UV sampling was also obtained. The UV/optical light curves show strong correlations (r_max = 0.57 - 0.90) and the clearest measurement to date of interband lags. These lags are well-fit by a τpropto λ^4/3 wavelength dependence, with a normalization that indicates an unexpectedly large disk radius of 0.35 +/- 0.05 lt-day at 1367 A, assuming a simple face-on model. The U-band shows a marginally larger lag than expected from the fit and surrounding bands, which could be due to Balmer continuum emission from the broad-line region as suggested by Korista and Goad. The UV/X-ray correlation is weaker (r_max < 0.45) and less consistent over time. This indicates that while Swift is beginning to measure UV/optical lags in general agreement with accretion disk theory (although the derived size is larger than predicted), the relationship with X-ray variability is less well understood. Combining this accretion disk size estimate with those from quasar microlensing studies suggests that AGN disk sizes scale approximately linearly with central black hole mass over a wide range of masses.

Incoherent fast variability of X-ray obscurers. The case of NGC 3783

B. De Marco, T. P. Adhikari, G. Ponti, S. Bianchi, G. A. Kriss, N. Arav, E. Behar, G. Branduardi-Raymont, M. Cappi, E. Costantini, D. Costanzo, L. di Gesu, J. Ebrero, J. S. Kaastra, S. Kaspi, J. Mao, A. Markowitz, G. Matt, M. Mehdipour, R. Middei, S. Paltani, P. O. Petrucci, C. Pinto, A. Różańska, D. J. Walton

Context. Obscuration events caused by outflowing clumps or streams of high column density, low ionisation gas, heavily absorbing the X-ray continuum, have been witnessed in a number of Seyfert galaxies. Aims. We report on the X-ray spectral-timing analysis of the December 2016 obscuration event in NGC 3783, aimed at probing variability of the X-ray obscurer on the shortest possible timescales. The main goals of this study are to obtain independent constraints on the density, and ultimately on the distance of the obscuring gas, as well as to characterise the impact of variable obscuration on the observed X-ray spectral-timing characteristics of Seyfert galaxies. Methods. We carried out a comparative analysis of NGC 3783 during unobscured (using archival 2000-2001 XMM-Newton data) and obscured states (using XMM-Newton and NuSTAR data from the 2016 observational campaign). The timescales analysed range between ten hours and about one hour. This study was then generalized to discuss the signatures of variable obscuration in the X-ray spectral-timing characteristics of Seyfert galaxies as a function of the physical properties of the obscuring gas. Results. The X-ray obscurer in NGC 3783 is found to vary on timescales between about one hour to ten hours. This variability is incoherent with the variations of the X-ray continuum. A fast response (on timescales shorter than about 1.5 ks) of the ionisation state of the obscuring gas to the short timescale variability of the primary X-ray continuum provides a satisfactory interpretation of all the observed X-ray spectral-timing properties. This study enabled us to put independent constraints on the density and location of the obscuring gas. We found the gas to have a density of $n_{e}> 7.1 \times 10^7 \rm{cm^{-3}}$, consistent with being part of the broad line region.

Study of the optical to X-ray broad emission lines of Mrk 110

A. Juráňová, E. Costantini, L. Di Gesu, J. Ebrero, J. Kaastra, K. Korista, G. A. Kriss, M. Mehdipour, E. Piconcelli, D. Rogantini

In order to shed light on the characteristics of the broad line region (BLR) in a narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy, we present an analysis of X-ray, UV, and optical spectroscopic observations of the broad emission lines in Mrk 110. For the broad-band modelling of the emission-line luminosity, we adopt the `locally optimally emitting cloud' approach, which allows us to place constraints on the gas radial and density distribution. By exploring additional environmental effects, we investigate the possible scenarios resulting in the observed spectra. We find that the photoionised gas in Mrk 110 responsible for the UV emission can fully account for the observed low-ionisation X-ray lines. The overall ionisation of the gas is lower, and one radial power-law distribution with a high integrated covering fraction $C_{\mathrm{f}} \approx 0.5$ provides an acceptable description of the emission lines spanning from X-rays to the optical band. The BLR is likely more compact than the broad-line Seyfert 1s studied so far, extending from $\sim\!10^{16}$ to $\sim\!10^{18}$ cm, and limited by the dust sublimation radius at the outer edge. Despite the large colour excess predicted by the Balmer ratio, the best fit suggests $E(B-V)\approx0.03$ for both the ionising luminosity and the BLR, indicating that extinction might be uniform over a range of viewing angles. While the adopted data-modelling technique does not allow us to place constraints on the geometry of the BLR, we show that the addition of models with a clumpy, equatorial, wind-like structure may lead to a better description of the observed spectra.

Multi-wavelength observations of the obscuring wind in the radio-quiet quasar MR 2251-178

Junjie Mao, G. A. Kriss, H. Landt, M. Mehdipour, J. S. Kaastra, J. M. Miller, D. Stern, L. C. Gallo, A. G. Gonzalez, J. J. Simon, S. G. Djorgovski, S. Anand, Mansi M. Kasliwal, V. Karambelkar

Obscuring winds driven away from active supermassive black holes are rarely seen due to their transient nature. They have been observed with multi-wavelength observations in a few Seyfert 1 galaxies and one broad absorption line radio-quiet quasar so far. An X-ray obscuration event in MR 2251-178 was caught in late 2020, which triggered multi-wavelength (NIR to X-ray) observations targeting this radio-quiet quasar. In the X-ray band, the obscurer leads to a flux drop in the soft X-ray band from late 2020 to early 2021. X-ray obscuration events might have a quasi-period of two decades considering earlier events in 1980 and 1996. In the UV band, a forest of weak blueshifted absorption features emerged in the blue wing of Ly$α$ $\lambda1216$ in late 2020. Our XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and HST/COS observations are obtained simultaneously, hence, the transient X-ray obscuration event is expected to account for the UV outflow, although they are not necessarily caused by the same part of the wind. Both blueshifted and redshifted absorption features were found for He {\sc i} $\lambda10830$, but no previous NIR spectra are available for comparison. The X-ray observational features of MR 2251-178 shared similarities with some other type 1 AGNs with obscuring wind. However, observational features in the UV to NIR bands are distinctly different from those seen in other AGN with obscuring winds. A general understanding of the observational variety and the nature of obscuring wind is still lacking.

Multiwavelength campaign on Mrk 509 IX. The Galactic foreground

C. Pinto, G. A. Kriss, J. S. Kaastra, E. Costantini, J. Ebrero, K. C. Steenbrugge, M. Mehdipour, G. Ponti

The diffuse gas in and nearby the Milky Way plays an important role in the evolution of the entire Galaxy. It has a complex structure characterized by neutral, weakly and highly ionized gas, dust, and molecules. We probe this gas through the observation of its absorption lines in the high-energy spectra of background sources. We use high-quality spectra of AGN Mrk 509, located at high Galactic latitudes obtained with XMM-Newton, HST and FUSE. We use advanced absorption models consisting of photo- and collisional-ionization. We constrain the column density ratios of the different phases of the interstellar medium (ISM) and measure the abundances of C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Al, Si, S, and Fe. We detect seven discrete interstellar clouds with different velocities. One is a typical low-velocity cloud (LVC) and three belong to the family of the intermediate-velocity clouds (IVCs) found near the Galactic disk. These four clouds show large deviation from Solar abundances in the gas phase, mostly caused by dust depletion. The other three clouds are ionized high-velocity clouds (HVCs) and are located either in the Galactic environment or in the Local Group halo as suggested by the signatures of collisional ionization. The similar abundances and ionization structure of the HVCs suggest a common location and origin: they might belong to the remainder of an extragalactic cloud which was captured by the Galaxy. We have shown that combined UV / X-ray spectroscopy is a powerful tool to investigate the ISM. In common Galactic clouds, like LVCs and IVCs, the ISM shows a complex structure consisting of at least three different temperature phases.

Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project. XII. Broad-Line Region Modeling of NGC 5548

P. R. Williams, A. Pancoast, T. Treu, B. J. Brewer, B. M. Peterson, A. J. Barth, M. A. Malkan, G. De Rosa, Keith Horne, G. A. Kriss, N. Arav, M. C. Bentz, E. M. Cackett, E. Dalla Bontà, M. Dehghanian, C. Done, G. J. Ferland, C. J. Grier, J. Kaastra, E. Kara, C. S. Kochanek, S. Mathur, M. Mehdipour, R. W. Pogge, D. Proga, M. Vestergaard, T. Waters, S. M. Adams, M. D. Anderson, P. Arévalo, T. G. Beatty, V. N. Bennert, A. Bigley, S. Bisogni, G. A. Borman, T. A. Boroson, M. C. Bottorff, W. N. Brandt, A. A. Breeveld, M. Brotherton, J. E. Brown, J. S. Brown, G. Canalizo, M. T. Carini, K. I. Clubb, J. M. Comerford, E. M. Corsini, D. M. Crenshaw, S. Croft, K. V. Croxall, A. J. Deason, A. De Lorenzo-Cáceres, K. D. Denney, M. Dietrich, R. Edelson, N. V. Efimova, J. Ely, P. A. Evans, M. M. Fausnaugh, A. V. Filippenko, K. Flatland, O. D. Fox, E. Gardner, E. L. Gates, N. Gehrels, S. Geier, J. M. Gelbord, L. Gonzalez, V. Gorjian, J. E. Greene, D. Grupe, A. Gupta, P. B. Hall, C. B. Henderson, S. Hicks, E. Holmbeck, T. W. -S. Holoien, T. Hutchison, M. Im, J. J. Jensen, C. A. Johnson, M. D. Joner, J. Jones, S. Kaspi, P. L. Kelly, J. A. Kennea, M. Kim, S. Kim, S. C. Kim, A. King, S. A. Klimanov, C. Knigge, Y. Krongold, M. W. Lau, J. C. Lee, D. C. Leonard, Miao Li, P. Lira, C. Lochhaas, Zhiyuan Ma, E. R. Manne-Nicholas, F. MacInnis, J. C. Mauerhan, R. McGurk, I. M. Mc Hardy, C. Montuori, L. Morelli, A. Mosquera, D. Mudd, F. Müller-Sánchez, S. V. Nazarov, R. P. Norris, J. A. Nousek, M. L. Nguyen, P. Ochner, D. N. Okhmat, I. Papadakis, J. R. Parks, L. Pei, M. T. Penny, A. Pizzella, R. Poleski, J. -U. Pott, S. E. Rafter, H. -W. Rix, J. Runnoe, D. A. Saylor, J. S. Schimoia, B. Scott, S. G. Sergeev, B. J. Shappee, I. Shivvers, M. Siegel, G. V. Simonian, A. Siviero, A. Skielboe, G. Somers, M. Spencer, D. Starkey, D. J. Stevens, H. -I. Sung, J. Tayar, N. Tejos, C. S. Turner, P. Uttley, J. Van Saders, S. A. Vaughan, L. Vican, S. Villanueva, C. Villforth, Y. Weiss, J. -H. Woo, H. Yan, S. Young, H. Yuk, W. Zheng, W. Zhu, Y. Zu

Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project. XI. Disk-wind characteristics and contributions to the very broad emission lines of NGC 5548

M. Dehghanian, G. J. Ferland, G. A. Kriss, B. M. Peterson, K. T. Korista, M. R. Goad, M. Chatzikos, F. Guzman, G. de Rosa, M. Mehdipour, J. Kaastra, S. Mathur, M. Vestergaard, D. Proga, T. Waters, M. C. Bentz, S. Bisogni, W. N. Brandt, E. Dalla Bont`a, M. M. Fausnaugh, J. M. Gelbord, Keith Horne, I. M. McHardy, R. W. Pogge, D. A. Starkey

In 2014 the NGC 5548 Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping campaign discovered a two-month anomaly when variations in the absorption and emission lines decorrelated from continuum variations. During this time the soft X-ray part of the intrinsic spectrum had been strongly absorbed by a line-of-sight (LOS) obscurer, which was interpreted as the upper part of a disk wind. Our first paper showed that changes in the LOS obscurer produce the decorrelation between the absorption lines and the continuum. A second study showed that the base of the wind shields the BLR, leading to the emission-line decorrelation. In that study, we proposed the wind is normally transparent with no effect on the spectrum. Changes in the wind properties alter its shielding and affect the SED striking the BLR, producing the observed decorrelations. In this work, we investigate the impact of a translucent wind on the emission lines. We simulate the obscuration using XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and HST observations to determine the physical characteristics of the wind. We find that a translucent wind can contribute a part of the He II and Fe K? emission. It has a modest optical depth to electron scattering, which explains the fainter far-side emission in the observed velocity delay maps. The wind produces the very broad base seen in the UV emission lines and may also be present in the Fe K? line. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for the effects of such winds in the analysis of the physics of the central engine.

Multi-wavelength campaign on NGC 7469 V. Analysis of the HST/COS observations: Super solar metallicity, distance, and trough variation models

N. Arav, X. Xu, G. A. Kriss, C. Chamberlain, T. Miller, E. Behar, J. S. Kaastra, J. C. Ely, U. Peretz, M. Mehdipour, G. Branduardi-Raymont, S. Bianchi, M. Cappi, E. Costantini, B. De Marco, L. di Gesu, J. Ebrero, S. Kaspi, R. Middei, P. -O. Petrucci, G. Ponti

Aims. Our aim is to determine the distance of the UV outflow components from the central source, their abundances and total column density, and the mechanism responsible for their observed absorption variability. Methods. We studied the UV spectra acquired during the campaign as well as from three previous epochs (2002-2010). Our main analysis tools are ionic column-density extraction techniques and photoionization models (both equilibrium and time-dependent models) based on the code Cloudy. Results. For component 1 (at -600 km/s) our findings include the following: metallicity that is roughly twice solar; a simple model based on a fixed total column-density absorber, reacting to changes in ionizing illumination that matches the different ionic column densities derived from four spectroscopic epochs spanning 13 years; and a distance of R=6+2.5-1.5 pc from the central source. Component 2 (at -1430 km/s) has shallow troughs and is at a much larger R. For component 3 (at -1880 km/s) our findings include: a similar metallicity to component 1; a photoionization-based model can explain the major features of its complicated absorption trough variability and an upper limit of 60 or 150 pc on R. This upper limit is consistent and complementary to the X-ray derived lower limit of 12 or 31 pc for R. The total column density of the UV phase is roughly 1% and 0.1% of the lower and upper ionization components of the warm absorber, respectively. Conclusions. The NGC 7469 outflow shows super-solar metallicity similar to the outflow in Mrk 279, carbon and nitrogen are twice and four times more abundant than their solar values, respectively. Similar to the NGC 5548 case, a simple model can explain the physical characteristics and the variability observed in the outflow.