Since the discovery of the first broad iron-K line in 1995 from the Seyfert Galaxy MCG-6-30-15 1 , broad iron-K lines have been found in several other Seyfert galaxies 2 , from accreting stellar mass black holes 3 and even from accreting neutron stars 4 . The iron-K line is prominent in the reflection spectrum 5,6 created by the hard X-ray continuum irradiating dense accreting matter. Relativistic distortion 7 of the line makes it sensitive to the strong gravity and spin of the black hole 8 . The accompanying iron-L line emission should be detectable when the iron abundance is high. Here we report the first discovery of both iron-K and L emission, using XMM-Newton observations of the Narrow-1

We present a large sample of type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGN) spectra taken with XMM–Newton, and fit them with both the conventional model (a power law and blackbody) and the relativistically blurred photoionized disc reflection model of Ross & Fabian. We find that the disc reflection model is a better fit. The disc reflection model successfully reproduces the continuum shape, including the soft excess, of all the sources. The model also reproduces many features that would conventionally be interpreted as absorption edges. We are able to use the model to infer the properties of the sources, specifically that the majority of black holes in the sample are strongly rotating, and that there is a deficit in sources with an inclination >70°. We conclude that the disc reflection model is an important tool in the study of AGN X‐ray spectra.

SDSS J015957.64+003310.5 is an X-ray selected, z = 0.31 active galactic nucleus (AGN) from the Stripe 82X survey that transitioned from a Type 1 quasar to a Type 1.9 AGN between 2000 and 2010. This is the most distant AGN, and first quasar, yet observed to have undergone such a dramatic change. We re-observed the source with the double spectrograph on the Palomar 5 m telescope in 2014 July and found that the spectrum is unchanged since 2010. From fitting the optical spectra, we find that the AGN flux dropped by a factor of 6 between 2000 and 2010 while the broad Hα emission faded and broadened. Serendipitous X-ray observations caught the source in both the bright and dim state, showing a similar 2-10 keV flux diminution as the optical while lacking signatures of obscuration. The optical and X-ray changes coincide with g-band magnitude variations over multiple epochs of Stripe 82 observations. We demonstrate that variable absorption, as might be expected from the simplest AGN unification paradigm, does not explain the observed photometric or spectral properties. We interpret the changing state of J0159+0033 to be caused by dimming of the AGN continuum, reducing the supply of ionizing photons available to excite gas in the immediate vicinity around the black hole. J0159+0033 provides insight into the intermittency of black hole growth in quasars, as well as an unprecedented opportunity to study quasar physics (in the bright state) and the host galaxy (in the dim state), which has been impossible to do in a single sources until now.

We have conducted a multiwavelength survey of 42 radio loud narrow-1ine Seyfert 1 galaxies (RLNLS1s), selected by searching among all the known sources of this type and omitting those with steep radio spectra. We analyse data from radio frequencies to X-rays, and supplement these with information available from online catalogues and the literature in order to cover the full electromagnetic spectrum. This is the largest known multiwavelength survey for this type of source. We detected 90% of the sources in X-rays and found 17% at γ rays. Extreme variability at high energies was also found, down to timescales as short as hours. In some sources, dramatic spectral and flux changes suggest interplay between a relativistic jet and the accretion disk. The estimated masses of the central black holes are in the range ∼ 10 6−8 M ⊙ , lower than those of blazars, while the accretion luminosities span a range from ∼ 0.01 to ∼ 0.49 times the Eddington limit, with an outlier at 0.003, similar to those of quasars. The distribution of the calculated jet power spans a range from ∼ 10 42.6 to ∼ 10 45.6 erg s −1 , generally lower than quasars and BL Lac objects, but partially overlapping with the latter. Once normalised by the mass of the central black holes, the jet power of the three types of active galactic nuclei are consistent with each other, indicating that the jets are similar and the observational differences are due to scaling factors. Despite the observational differences, the central engine of RLNLS1s is apparently quite similar to that of blazars. The historical difficulties in finding radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies might be due to their low power and to intermittent jet activity.

We present a X-ray spectral analysis of a large sample of 25 'bare' active galactic nuclei, sources with little or no complicating intrinsic absorption, observed with Suzaku. Our work focuses on studying the potential contribution from relativistic disc reflection, and examining the implications of this interpretation for the intrinsic spectral complexities frequently displayed by AGN in the X-ray bandpass. During the analysis, we take the unique approach of attempting to simultaneously undertake a systematic analysis of the whole sample, as well as a detailed treatment of each individual source, and find that disc reflection has the required flexibility to successfully reproduce the broadband spectrum observed for all of the sources considered. Where possible, we use the reflected emission to place constraints on the black hole spin for this sample of sources. Our analysis suggests a general preference for rapidly rotating black holes, which if taken at face value is most consistent with the scenario in which SMBH growth is dominated by prolonged, ordered accretion. However, there may be observational biases towards AGN with high spin in the compiled sample, limiting our ability to draw strong conclusions for the general population at this stage. Finally, contrary to popular belief, our analysis also implies that the dichotomy between radio loud/radio quiet AGN is not solely related to black hole spin.