<i>XMM‐Newton</i>Observations of the Narrow‐Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy Mrk 335 in a Historical Low X‐Ray Flux State

Grupe, D.; Komossa, Stefanie; Gallo, Luigi; Fabian, A. C.; Larsson, Josefin; Pradhan, Anil K.; Xu, Dawei; Miniutti, G.

doi:10.1086/588213

Cited by 86 publications

(150 citation statements)

References 92 publications

(135 reference statements)

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“…Schartel et al (2007) and Ballo et al (2008) discussed reflection-dominated scenarios for low states of PG 2112+059 and PG 1535+547, respectively. Similar scenarios were proposed by Gallo (2006) for narrow-line Seyfert 1s, by Grupe et al (2008a) for the historical low state of Mrk 335, and by Vignali et al (2008) for the narrow-line quasar PG 1543+489. The most impressive case of a reflection-dominated AGN is the narrowline Seyfert 1 1H 0707-495.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 67%

A long hard look at the minimum state of PG 2112+059 with XMM-Newton

Schartel¹,

Rodríguez-Pascual²,

Santos-Lleo³

et al. 2010

A&A

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Aims. Our observational aim is to perform a long X-ray observation of the quasar PG 2112+059 in its low or minimum state. Starting form this very peculiar emission state, we intend to constrain the intrinsic emission mechanism by comparing new and old data, corresponding to different source states. Methods. XMM-Newton successfully detected the minimum state of PG 2112+059 during a short snapshot observation and performed a long follow-up observation. The high signal-to-noise spectra are modelled assuming different emission scenarios and compared with archival spectra taken by XMM-Newton and Chandra. Results. The PG 2112+059 X-ray spectra acquired in May 2007 allowed the detection of a weak iron fluorescent line, which is interpreted as being caused by reflection from neutral material at some distance from the primary X-ray emitting source. The X-ray spectra of PG 2112+059 taken at five different epochs during different flux states can be interpreted within two different scenarios. The first consists of two layers of ionised material with column densities of N H ∼ 5 × 10 22 cm −2 and N H ∼ 3.5 × 10 23 cm −2 , respectively. The first layer is moderately ionised and its ionisation levels follow the flux changes, while the other layer is highly ionised and does not show any correlation with the flux of the source. The spectra can also be interpreted assuming reflection by an ionised accretion disk seen behind a warm absorber. The warm absorber ionisation is consistent with being correlated with the flux of the source, which provides an additional degree of self-consistency with the overall reflection-based model. We explain the spectral variability with light bending according to the models of Miniutti and Fabian and constrain the black hole spin to be a/M > 0.86. Both scenarios also assume that a distant cold reflector is responsible for the Fe K α emission line. Conclusions. Light bending provides an attractive explanation of the different states of PG 2112+059 and may also describe the physical cause of the observed properties of other X-ray weak quasars. The observations of PG 2112+059 in different states provide valuable constraints, although are unable to break the degeneracy between complex absorption scenarios and reflection from an ionised disk.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 67%

A long hard look at the minimum state of PG 2112+059 with XMM-Newton

Schartel¹,

Rodríguez-Pascual²,

Santos-Lleo³

et al. 2010

A&A

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“…Fitting the spectra in a self-consistent manner was difficult with partial covering models that have been previously suggested for this source (e.g. Grupe et al 2008;G12). The high-flux spectrum could result from a continuum-dominated source without any line-of-sight absorption.…”

Section: Long-term Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Suzaku observations of Mrk 335: confronting partial covering and relativistic reflection

Gallo

Wilkins

Bonson

et al. 2014

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

101

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We report on the deepest X-ray observation of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 335 in the low-flux state obtained with Suzaku. The data are compared to a 2006 high-flux Suzaku observation when the source was ∼ 10× brighter. Describing the two flux levels self-consistently with partial covering models would require extreme circumstances, as the source would be subject to negligible absorption during the bright state and ninety-five per cent covering with near Compton-thick material when dim. Blurred reflection from an accretion disc around a nearly maximum spinning black hole (a > 0.91, with preference for a spin parameter as high as ∼ 0.995) appears more likely and is consistent with the long-term and rapid variability. Measurements of the emissivity profile and spectral modelling indicate the high-flux Suzaku observation of Mrk 335 is consistent with continuum-dominated, jet-like emission (i.e. beamed away from the disc). It can be argued that the ejecta must be confined to within ∼ 25 r g if it does not escape the system. During the low-flux state the corona becomes compact and only extends to about 5 r g from the black hole, and the spectrum becomes reflectiondominated. The low-frequency lags measured at both epochs are comparable indicating that the accretion mechanism is not changing between the two flux levels. Various techniques to study the spectral variability (e.g. principal component analysis, fractional variability, difference spectra, and hardness ratio analysis) indicate that the low-state variability is dominated by changes in the power law flux and photon index, but that changes in the ionisation state of the reflector are also required. Most notably, the ionisation parameter becomes inversely correlated with the reflected flux after a long-duration flare-like event during the observation.

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“…After the discovery of Mkn 335 in this unusual state, we initiated a 20ks Target of Opportunity (ToO) observation with XMM. The X-ray spectrum ( Figure 5) again shows the typical curvature associated with a partial covering absorber or by blurred reflection of an X-ray source on the disk [22]. Since 2007, we have continued monitoring Mkn 335 with Swift and it has persistently shown dramatic variability in the X-ray and UV as shown in state.…”

Section: The Nls1 Mkn 335mentioning

confidence: 87%

AGN with extreme X-ray amplitude variations

Grupe

Komossa

Leighly

et al. 2012

EPJ Web of Conferences

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Abstract. We present active galactic nuclei (AGNs) that have shown extreme amplitude variability in X-rays. These AGN appear as bright for long periods, but then suddenly become extremely X-ray weak sources. Most likely this behavior is due to strong absorption along the line of sight or by relativistically blurred reflection. Two extreme examples are the Narrow Line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies WPVS 007 and Mkn 335. WPVS 007 is a peculiar AGN because it combines the properties of a normal NLS1 with those of a broad-absorption line (BAL) quasar, which typically only appear in high-luminousity, high black hole mass systems. Mkn 335 has appeared an an X-ray bright AGN for most of the past few decades, but was caught by Swift in a deep X-ray flux minimum state in 2007, and has remained in that state for most of the time since. One potential explanation for this low state is absorption. Several Other AGN have been in deep minimum X-ray flux states, including PG 0844+349 and 1H 0707-495, for which the dramatic drops in X-ray flux have been explained by blurred X-ray reflection.

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XMM‐NewtonObservations of the Narrow‐Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy Mrk 335 in a Historical Low X‐Ray Flux State

Cited by 86 publications

References 92 publications

A long hard look at the minimum state of PG 2112+059 with XMM-Newton

A long hard look at the minimum state of PG 2112+059 with XMM-Newton

Suzaku observations of Mrk 335: confronting partial covering and relativistic reflection

AGN with extreme X-ray amplitude variations

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