We examine archival XMM-Newton data on the extremely variable narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) active galactic nucleus (AGN) 1H 0707-495. We construct fractional excess variance (Fvar) spectra for each epoch, including the recent 2019 observation taken simultaneously with eROSITA. We explore both intrinsic and environmental absorption origins for the variability in different epochs, and examine the effect of the photoionised emission lines from outflowing gas. In particular, we show that the unusual soft variability first detected by eROSITA in 2019 is due to a combination of an obscuration event and strong suppression of the variance at 1 keV by photoionised emission, which makes the variance below 1 keV appear more extreme. We also examine the variability on long timescales, between observations, and find that it is well described by a combination of intrinsic variability and absorption variability. We suggest that the typical extreme high frequency variability which 1H 0707-495 is known for is intrinsic to the source, but the large amplitude, low frequency variability that causes prolonged low-flux intervals is likely dominated by variable low-ionisation, low velocity absorption.

It is thought that the spacetime metric around astrophysical black holes is well described by the Kerr solution of Einstein’s gravity. However, robust observational evidence of the Kerr nature of these objects is still lacking. Here we fit the X-ray spectrum of the stellar-mass black hole in GS 1354–645 with a disk reflection model beyond Einstein’s gravity in order test the Kerr black hole hypothesis. We consider the Johannsen metric with the deformation parameters α 13 and α 22. The Kerr metric is recovered for . For α 22 = 0, our measurements of the black hole spin and of the deformation parameter α 13 are and −0.34 < α 13 < 0.16, respectively. For α 13 = 0, we find a * >  0.975 and −0.09 < α 22 < 0.42. All the reported uncertainties are at 99% of confidence level for two relevant parameters.

We present a detailed spectral analysis of the joint XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations of the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the Seyfert 1.5 Galaxy ESO 362-G18. The broadband (0.3-79 keV) spectrum shows the presence of a power-law continuum with a soft excess below 2 keV, iron Kα emission (∼6.4 keV), and a Compton hump (peaking at ∼20 keV). We find that the soft excess can be modeled by two different possible scenarios: a warm (kT e ∼ 0.2 keV) and optically thick (τ ∼ 34) Comptonizing corona, or with a relativistically blurred reflection off a high-density ( [ ]>n log cm 18.3 e 3) inner disk. These two models cannot be easily distinguished solely from their fit statistics. However, the low temperature (kT e ∼ 20 keV) and the thick optical depth (τ ∼ 5) of the hot corona required by the warm corona scenario are uncommon for AGNs. We also fit a "hybrid" model, which includes both disk reflection and a warm corona. Unsurprisingly, as this is the most complex of the models considered, this provides the best fit, and more reasonable coronal parameters. In this case, the majority of the soft excess flux arises in the warm corona component. However, based on recent simulations of warm coronae, it is not clear whether such a structure can really exist at the low accretion rates relevant for ESO 362-G18 ( m 0.015). This may therefore argue in favor of a scenario in which the soft excess is instead dominated by the relativistic reflection. Based on this model, we find that the data would require a compact hot corona (h ∼ 3 R Horizon ) around a rapidly spinning (a å > 0.927) black hole.Unified Astronomy Thesaurus concepts: Supermassive black holes (1663); X-ray astronomy (1810); Seyfert galaxies (1447); High energy astrophysics (739); Active galactic nuclei (16); Astrophysical black holes (98); Spectroscopy (1558); X-ray active galactic nuclei (2035)