Test for Echo: X-Ray Reflection Variability in the Seyfert-2 Active Galactic Nucleus NGC 4388

Abstract

We report on a study of the narrow Fe K α line and reflection spectrum in the well-known Seyfert-2 active galactic nucleus (AGN), NGC 4388. X-ray spectra summed from two extensive NICER monitoring campaigns, separated by years, show strong evidence of variation in the direct continuum and reflected emission, but only small variations in the obscuring gas. Fits to the spectra from individual NICER observations find a strong, positive correlation between the power-law photon index, Γ, and direct flux that is commonly observed in unobscured AGN. A search for a reverberation lag between the direct and reflected spectra—dominated by the narrow Fe K α emission line—measures a timescale of $t={16.37}_{-0.38}^{+0.46}$ days, or a characteristic radius of $r={1.374}_{-0.032}^{+0.039}\,\times {10}^{-2}$ pc $={\,3.4}_{-0.1}^{+0.1}\times {10}^{4}\,{GM}/{c}^{2}$ . Only one cycle of this tentative lag is observed, but it is driven by a particularly sharp drop in the direct continuum that leads to the subsequent disappearance of the otherwise prominent Fe K α line. Physically motivated fits to high-resolution Chandra spectra of NGC 4388 measure a line production radius of $r={2.9}_{-0.7}^{+1.2}\,\times {10}^{4}\,{GM}/{c}^{2}$ , formally consistent with the tentative lag. The line profile also prefers a Compton-thick reflector, indicating an origin in the disk and/or thick clumps within a wind. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our analysis and methods for testing our results in future observations, and we note the potential for X-ray reverberation lags to constrain black hole masses in obscured Seyferts wherein the optical broad line region is not visible.

Keywords

• Black holes
• X-ray active galactic nuclei
• Active galactic nuclei