The Astrophysical Journal (Jan 2023)
UV–Optical Disk Reverberation Lags despite a Faint X-Ray Corona in the Active Galactic Nucleus Mrk 335
- Erin Kara,
- Aaron J. Barth,
- Edward M. Cackett,
- Jonathan Gelbord,
- John Montano,
- Yan-Rong Li,
- Lisabeth Santana,
- Keith Horne,
- William N. Alston,
- Douglas Buisson,
- Doron Chelouche,
- Pu Du,
- Andrew C. Fabian,
- Carina Fian,
- Luigi Gallo,
- Michael R. Goad,
- Dirk Grupe,
- Diego H. González Buitrago,
- Juan V. Hernández Santisteban,
- Shai Kaspi,
- Chen Hu,
- S. Komossa,
- Gerard A. Kriss,
- Collin Lewin,
- Tiffany Lewis,
- Michael Loewenstein,
- Anne Lohfink,
- Megan Masterson,
- Ian M. McHardy,
- Missagh Mehdipour,
- Jake Miller,
- Christos Panagiotou,
- Michael L. Parker,
- Ciro Pinto,
- Ron Remillard,
- Christopher Reynolds,
- Daniele Rogantini,
- Jian-Min Wang,
- Jingyi Wang,
- Dan Wilkins
Affiliations
- Erin Kara
- ORCiD
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ; [email protected]
- Aaron J. Barth
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, 4129 Frederick Reines Hall, University of California , Irvine, CA, 92697-4575, USA
- Edward M. Cackett
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University , 666 W. Hancock St., Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
- Jonathan Gelbord
- ORCiD
- Spectral Sciences Inc. , 4 Fourth Ave., Burlington, MA 01803, USA
- John Montano
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, 4129 Frederick Reines Hall, University of California , Irvine, CA, 92697-4575, USA
- Yan-Rong Li
- ORCiD
- Key Laboratory for Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics , Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19B Yuquan Rd., Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of China
- Lisabeth Santana
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh , 3941 O’Hara St., Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Keith Horne
- ORCiD
- SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy , North Haugh, St. Andrews, KY16 9SS, Scotland, UK
- William N. Alston
- ORCiD
- European Space Agency (ESA), European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) , Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid, E-28691, Spain
- Douglas Buisson
- Independent
- Doron Chelouche
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa , Haifa 3498838, Israel; Haifa Research Center for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, University of Haifa , Haifa 3498838, Israel
- Pu Du
- ORCiD
- Key Laboratory for Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics , Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19B Yuquan Rd., Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of China
- Andrew C. Fabian
- ORCiD
- Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge , Madingley Rd., Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK
- Carina Fian
- Haifa Research Center for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, University of Haifa , Haifa 3498838, Israel; School of Physics and Astronomy and Wise observatory, Tel Aviv University , Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
- Luigi Gallo
- Department of Astronomy and Physics, Saint Mary's University , 923 Robie St., Halifax, NS, B3H 3C3, Canada
- Michael R. Goad
- ORCiD
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester , University Rd., Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
- Dirk Grupe
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Geology, and Engineering Technology, Northern Kentucky University , 1 Nunn Dr., Highland Heights, KY 41099, USA
- Diego H. González Buitrago
- ORCiD
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Km 103 Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, 22860 Ensenada B.C., MÉxico
- Juan V. Hernández Santisteban
- ORCiD
- SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy , North Haugh, St. Andrews, KY16 9SS, Scotland, UK
- Shai Kaspi
- ORCiD
- School of Physics and Astronomy and Wise observatory, Tel Aviv University , Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
- Chen Hu
- Key Laboratory for Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics , Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19B Yuquan Rd., Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of China
- S. Komossa
- ORCiD
- Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie , Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
- Gerard A. Kriss
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Dr., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Collin Lewin
- ORCiD
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ; [email protected]
- Tiffany Lewis
- ORCiD
- NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow , Astroparticle Physics Lab, Goddard Space Flight Center, USA; Astrophysics Science Division , NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd., Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Michael Loewenstein
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Science Division , NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd., Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland , College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Anne Lohfink
- Department of Physics, Montana State University , P.O. Box 173840, Bozeman, MT 59717-3840, USA
- Megan Masterson
- ORCiD
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ; [email protected]
- Ian M. McHardy
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton , Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
- Missagh Mehdipour
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Dr., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Jake Miller
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University , 666 W. Hancock St., Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
- Christos Panagiotou
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ; [email protected]
- Michael L. Parker
- ORCiD
- Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge , Madingley Rd., Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK
- Ciro Pinto
- ORCiD
- INAF—IASF Palermo , Via U. La Malfa 153, I-90146 Palermo, Italy
- Ron Remillard
- ORCiD
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ; [email protected]
- Christopher Reynolds
- ORCiD
- Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge , Madingley Rd., Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK
- Daniele Rogantini
- ORCiD
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ; [email protected]
- Jian-Min Wang
- ORCiD
- Key Laboratory for Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics , Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19B Yuquan Rd., Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of China; School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , 19A Yuquan Rd., Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of China; National Astronomical Observatories of China , 20A Datun Rd., Beijing 100020, People’s Republic of China
- Jingyi Wang
- ORCiD
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ; [email protected]
- Dan Wilkins
- ORCiD
- Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University , 452 Lomita Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acbcd3
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 947,
no. 2
p. 62
Abstract
We present the first results from a 100-day Swift, NICER, and ground-based X-ray–UV–optical reverberation mapping campaign of the Narrow-line Seyfert 1 Mrk 335, when it was in an unprecedented low X-ray flux state. Despite dramatic suppression of the X-ray variability, we still observe UV–optical lags as expected from disk reverberation. Moreover, the UV–optical lags are consistent with archival observations when the X-ray luminosity was >10 times higher. Interestingly, both low- and high-flux states reveal UV–optical lags that are 6–11 times longer than expected from a thin disk. These long lags are often interpreted as due to contamination from the broad line region; however the u- band excess lag (containing the Balmer jump from the diffuse continuum) is less prevalent than in other active galactic nuclei. The Swift campaign showed a low X-ray-to-optical correlation (similar to previous campaigns), but NICER and ground-based monitoring continued for another 2 weeks, during which the optical rose to the highest level of the campaign, followed ∼10 days later by a sharp rise in X-rays. While the low X-ray countrate and relatively large systematic uncertainties in the NICER background make this measurement challenging, if the optical does lead X-rays in this flare, this indicates a departure from the zeroth-order reprocessing picture. If the optical flare is due to an increase in mass accretion rate, this occurs on much shorter than the viscous timescale. Alternatively, the optical could be responding to an intrinsic rise in X-rays that is initially hidden from our line of sight.
Keywords
