scholarly journals Soft X-ray Variability and the Covering Fraction of Active Galactic Nuclei

1989 ◽  
Vol 134 ◽  
pp. 118-119
Author(s):  
Michael A. Strauss ◽  
Kenneth W. Wachter ◽  
Alexei V. Filippenko
Keyword(s):  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Line Of Sight ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Broad Line ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Broad Line Region ◽  
Line Region ◽  
Partial Covering

The variability of soft X-rays (0.2 – 2 keV) in some low-luminosity type 1 Seyferts may partly be due to an extrinsic mechanism: dense clouds of gas in the broad-line region, opaque to soft X-rays, move across our line of sight to the X-ray emitting portions of the accretion disk (Reichert, Mushotzky, and Holt 1986; Lawrence and Elvis 1982; Halpern 1984). As the clouds move, the covering fraction changes stochastically. Evidence for partial covering of the X-ray source in low-luminosity AGNs has been seen in soft X-ray spectra by Holt et al. (1980) and Reichert et al. (1985).

scholarly journals X-ray spectral and eclipsing model of the clumpy obscurer in active galactic nuclei

2019 ◽  
Vol 629 ◽  
pp. A16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Buchner ◽  
Murray Brightman ◽  
Kirpal Nandra ◽  
Robert Nikutta ◽  
Franz E. Bauer
Keyword(s):  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Column Density ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Line Of Sight ◽  
Broad Line ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Line Region ◽  
Self Consistent ◽  
Multi Wavelength ◽  
Table Model

We present a unification model for a clumpy obscurer in active galactic nuclei (AGN) and investigate the properties of the resulting X-ray spectrum. Our model is constructed to reproduce the column density distribution of the AGN population and cloud eclipse events in terms of their angular sizes and frequency. We developed and released a generalised Monte Carlo X-ray radiative transfer code, XARS, to compute X-ray spectra of obscurer models. The geometry results in strong Compton scattering, causing soft photons to escape also along Compton-thick sight lines. This makes our model spectra very similar to our TORUS previous model. However, only if we introduce an additional Compton-thick reflector near the corona, we achieve good fits to NuSTAR spectra. This additional component in our model can be interpreted as part of the dust-free broad-line region, an inner wall or rim, or a warped disk. It cannot be attributed to a simple disk because the reflector must simultaneously block the line of sight to the corona and reflect its radiation. We release our model as an Xspec table model and present corresponding CLUMPY infrared spectra, paving the way for self-consistent multi-wavelength analyses.

scholarly journals The role of failed accretion disk winds in active galactic nuclei

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S356) ◽  
pp. 82-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margherita Giustini ◽  
Daniel Proga
Keyword(s):  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Accretion Disks ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Broad Line ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Broad Line Region ◽  
Line Region ◽  
Gravitational Pull ◽  
Theoretical Evidence

AbstractBoth observational and theoretical evidence point at outflows originating from accretion disks as fundamental ingredients of active galactic nuclei (AGN). These outflows can have more than one component, for example an unbound supersonic wind and a failed wind (FW). The latter is a prediction of the simulations of radiation-driven disk outflows which show that the former is accompanied by an inner failed component, where the flow struggles to escape from the strong gravitational pull of the supermassive black hole. This FW component could provide a physical framework to interpret various phenomenological components of AGN. Here we briefly discuss a few of them: the broad line region, the X-ray obscurer, and the X-ray corona.

scholarly journals Lifting the curtain: The Seyfert galaxy Mrk 335 emerges from deep low-state in a sequence of rapid flare events

2020 ◽  
Vol 643 ◽  
pp. L7
Author(s):  
S. Komossa ◽  
D. Grupe ◽  
L. C. Gallo ◽  
P. Poulos ◽  
D. Blue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Spectral Energy Distribution ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Seyfert Galaxy ◽  
Optical Emission ◽  
Line Of Sight ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
X Rays ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Partial Covering

Context. The narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 335 was one of the X-ray brightest active galactic nuclei, but it has systematically faded since 2007. Aims. 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. Methods. Results are based on our dedicated multiyear monitoring of Mrk 335 with Swift. Results. Unlike other bright active galactic nuclei, 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 line of sight. The UV and optical, however, are closely correlated at the 99.99% confidence level. The UV is leading the optical by Δt = 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 count rates, 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. Conclusions. 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 the 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.

scholarly journals Supernova Fragments and the Origin of the Rapid X-ray Variability

1994 ◽  
Vol 159 ◽  
pp. 371-371
Author(s):  
R. Cid Fernandes ◽  
R. Terlevich ◽  
G. Tenorio-Tagle ◽  
J. Franco ◽  
M. Rozyczka
Keyword(s):  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Luminosity Function ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Seyfert Galaxies ◽  
Broad Line ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Broad Line Region ◽  
Line Region

The Starburst model for Radio Quiet Active Galactic Nuclei proved able to explain the origin of the broad line region, the variability characteristics of line and continuum in Seyfert galaxies, X-ray spectra, the luminosity function of QSOs and etc. But can we understand the rapid X-ray variability observed in several AGN with supernovae?

scholarly journals Pumping of H2O Megamasers

1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 960-963
Author(s):  
Moshe Elitzur
Keyword(s):  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Broad Line ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Broad Line Region ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
Disk Rotation ◽  
Line Region ◽  
Pump Mechanism

AbstractStrong H2O maser emission is detected from active galactic nuclei (AGN) as well as Galactic objects such as star-forming regions and late-type stars. In spite of the widely different luminosities of the different masers, a common pump mechanism seems adequate: neutral collisions at densities of ˜ 108-1010 cm-3 and temperatures of ˜ 250-500 K. The different properties of the various masers can be attributed to geometry. Although disk rotation controls the AGN maser geometry it does not directly determine the dimensions. X-ray radiation and spiral shocks have been suggested as the heating sources of H2O megamasers. Both are capable of explaining the observations, and the radiative scenario seems best understood in terms of chance alignment of standard broad-line-region clouds. It is not yet clear whether these different proposals produce distinct maser signatures.

scholarly journals Steps toward Determination of the Size and Structure of the Broad‐Line Region in Active Galactic Nuclei. X. Variability of Fairall 9 from Optical Data

1997 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Santos‐Lleo ◽  
E. Chatzichristou ◽  
C. Mendes de Oliveira ◽  
C. Winge ◽  
D. Alloin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Optical Data ◽  
Broad Line ◽  
Broad Line Region ◽  
Line Region ◽  
Size And Structure

scholarly journals Spectral Variability in Seyfert Galaxies

1987 ◽  
Vol 121 ◽  
pp. 161-167
Author(s):  
B.M. Peterson
Keyword(s):  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Seyfert Galaxies ◽  
Broad Line ◽  
Spectral Variability ◽  
Broad Line Region ◽  
Broad Emission ◽  
Line Region ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Optical Continuum

Recent observations of spectral variability in active galactic nuclei have established the connection between the broad emission-line and optical continuum flux changes. The inferred size of the broad-line region is at least an order of magnitude smaller than conventional estimates based on photoionization models, which leads to new conclusions about the nature of the broad-line region.

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