No Arabic abstract
We found a possible ~ 1 hour quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) in a ~ 55 ks X-ray observation of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy MCG--06--30--15 made with the XMM-Newton EPIC/pn detector in the energy range 0.3 -- 10 keV. We identify a total modulation of ~ 16% in the light curve and find a $simeq$ 3670~s quasi-period using Lomb-Scargle periodogram (LSP) and weighted wavelet Z-transform (WWZ) techniques. Our analyses of eight light curves of MCG--06--30--15, indicated the possible presence of an oscillation during one of them. The LSP indicates a statistically significant ($simeq$ 3$sigma$) QPO detection. A WWZ analysis shows that the signal at this possible roughly 3670s period is present, and rather persistent, throughout the observation; however, a signal around 8735s is more persistent. We briefly discuss models that can produce X-ray QPOs with such periods in narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxies, as both other claimed QPO detections in this class of AGN had very similar periods.
We present a multiwaveband spectroscopic study of the nearby Seyfert 1 galaxy MCG-6-30-15. New optical spectra from the Anglo-Australian Telescope are presented which clearly show the effects of dust extinction/reddening on both the emission line spectrum and the non-stellar AGN continuum. The reddening is constrained to be in the range E(B-V)=0.61-1.09. Spectroscopy in the X-ray band, with both ROSAT and ASCA, reveal absorption by the warm absorber but little or no neutral absorption expected to accompany the dust responsible for the optical reddening. The dusty warm absorber solution to this discrepancy is discussed and photoionization models of such warm absorbers are constructed. The optical spectrum also displays the relatively strong `coronal lines of [FeX]6375, [FeXI]7892 and [FeXIV]5303. We show that these lines may plausibly originate from the outer regions of the warm absorber, although better calculations of the collision strengths for these transitions are required in order to conclusively address this issue. We also present new ultraviolet data from the International Ultraviolet Explorer and suggest that much of the observed UV flux is scattered into our line of sight (with a scattering fraction of 1-5 per cent). We conclude with a discussion of the global energetics of this system.
Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) class of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is generally radio-quiet, but a small percent of them are radio-loud. The recent discovery by Fermi/LAT of high-energy gamma-ray emission from 4 NLS1s proved the existence of relativistic jets in these systems. It is therefore important to study this new class of gamma-ray emitting AGNs. Here we report preliminary results about the observations of the July 2010 gamma-ray outburst of PMN J0948+0022, when the source flux exceeded for the first time 10^-6 ph cm^-2 s^-1 (E > 100 MeV).
[Abridged] We present observations of PS16dtm, a luminous transient that occurred at the nucleus of a known Narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy hosting a 10$^6$ M$_odot$ black hole. The transient was previously claimed to be a Type IIn SLSN due to its luminosity and hydrogen emission lines. The light curve shows that PS16dtm brightened by about two magnitudes in ~50 days relative to the archival host brightness and then exhibited a plateau phase for about 100 days followed by the onset of fading in the UV. During the plateau PS16dtm showed no color evolution, maintained a blackbody temperature of 1.7 x 10$^4$ K, and radiated at approximately $L_{Edd}$ of the SMBH. The spectra exhibit multi-component hydrogen emission lines and strong FeII emission, show little evolution with time, and closely resemble the spectra of NLS1s while being distinct from those of Type IIn SNe. Moreover, PS16dtm is undetected in the X-rays to a limit an order of magnitude below an archival X-ray detection of its host galaxy. These observations strongly link PS16dtm to activity associated with the SMBH and are difficult to reconcile with a SN origin or any known form of AGN variability, and therefore we argue that it is a TDE in which the accretion of the stellar debris powers the rise in the continuum and excitation of the pre-existing broad line region, while providing material that obscures the X-ray emitting region of the pre-existing AGN accretion disk. A detailed TDE model fit to the light curve indicates that PS16dtm will remain bright for several years; we further predict that the X-ray emission will reappear on a similar timescale as the accretion rate declines. Finally, we place PS16dtm in the context of other TDEs and find that TDEs in AGN galaxies are an order of magnitude more efficient and reach Eddington luminosities, likely due to interaction of the stellar debris with the pre-existing accretion disk.
We examine a 200 ks XMM-Newton observation of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 493. The active galaxy was half as bright as in a previous 2003 snapshot observation and the current lower flux enables a study of the putative reflection component in detail. We determine the characteristics of the 2015 X-ray continuum by first analyzing the short-term variability using model-independent techniques. We then continue with a time-resolve analysis including spectral fitting and modelling the fractional variability. We determine that the variability arises from changes in the amount of primary flux striking the accretion disk, which induces changes in the ionization parameter and flux of the blurred reflection component. The observations seem consistent with the picture that the primary source is of roughly constant brightness and that variations arise from changes in the degree of light bending happening in the vicinity of the supermassive black hole.
The narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy SBS 0846+513 was first detected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on-board Fermi in 2011 June-July when it underwent a period of flaring activity. Since then, as Fermi continues to accumulate data on this source, its flux has been monitored on a daily basis. Two further gamma-ray flaring episodes from SBS 0846+513 were observed in 2012 May and August, reaching a daily peak flux integrated above 100 MeV of (50+/-12)x10^-8 ph/cm^2/s, and (73+/-14)x10^-8 ph/cm^2/s on May 24 and August 7, respectively. Three outbursts were detected at 15 GHz by the Owens Valley Radio Observatory 40-m telescope in 2012 May, 2012 October, and 2013 January, suggesting a complex connection with the gamma-ray activity. The most likely scenario suggests that the 2012 May gamma-ray flare may not be directly related to the radio activity observed over the same period, while the two gamma-ray flaring episodes may be related to the radio activity observed at 15 GHz in 2012 October and 2013 January. The gamma-ray flare in 2012 May triggered Swift observations that confirmed that SBS 0846+513 was also exhibiting high activity in the optical, UV and X-ray bands, thus providing a firm identification between the gamma-ray source and the lower-energy counterpart. We compared the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the flaring state in 2012 May with that of a quiescent state. The two SEDs, modelled as an external Compton component of seed photons from a dust torus, could be fitted by changing the electron distribution parameters as well as the magnetic field. No significant evidence of thermal emission from the accretion disc has been observed. Interestingly, in the 5 GHz radio luminosity vs. synchrotron peak frequency plot SBS 0846+513 seems to lie in the flat spectrum radio quasar part of the so-called `blazar sequence.