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Evidence for variability timescale dependent UV/X-ray delay in Seyfert 1 AGN NGC 7469

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journal contribution
posted on 2020-05-11, 11:26 authored by Mayukh Pahari, Ian M McHardy, Federico Vincentelli, Edward M Cackett, Bradley M Peterson, Michael R Goad, Kayhan Gültekin, Keith Horne
Using a month-long X-ray light curve from RXTE/PCA and 1.5 month-long UV continuum light curves from IUE spectra in 1220–1970 Å, we performed a detailed time-lag study of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 7469. Our cross-correlation analysis confirms previous results showing that the X-rays are delayed relative to the UV continuum at 1315 Å by 3.49 ± 0.22 d, which is possibly caused by either propagating fluctuation or variable Comptonization. However, if variations slower than 5 d are removed from the X-ray light curve, the UV variations then lag behind the X-ray variations by 0.37 ± 0.14 d, consistent with reprocessing of the X-rays by a surrounding accretion disc. A very similar reverberation delay is observed between Swift/XRT X-ray and Swift/UVOT UVW2, U light curves. Continuum light curves extracted from the Swift/GRISM spectra show delays with respect to X-rays consistent with reverberation. Separating the UV continuum variations faster and slower than 5 d, the slow variations at 1825 Å lag those at 1315 Å by 0.29 ± 0.06 d, while the fast variations are coincident (0.04 ± 0.12 d). The UV/optical continuum reverberation lag from IUE, Swift, and other optical telescopes at different wavelengths are consistent with the relationship: τ ∝ λ4/3, predicted for the standard accretion disc theory while the best-fitting X-ray delay from RXTE and Swift/XRT shows a negative X-ray offset of ∼0.38 d from the standard disc delay prediction.

Funding

MP acknowledges Royal Society-SERB Newton International Fellowship support funded jointly by the Royal Society, UK and the Science and Engineering Board of India (SERB) through Newton–Bhabha Fund. IMcH acknowledges support from a Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship LT160006 and from STFC grant ST/M001326/1. EMC gratefully acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation through award number AST-1909199. KH acknowledges support from STFC grant ST/R000824/1.

History

Citation

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 494, Issue 3, May 2020, Pages 4057–4068, https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa1055

Version

  • VoR (Version of Record)

Published in

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Volume

494

Issue

3

Pagination

4057–4068

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP), Royal Astronomical Society

eissn

1365-2966

Acceptance date

2020-04-16

Copyright date

2020

Available date

2020-04-21

Publisher version

https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/494/3/4057/5823135

Language

en

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