A Long-term Study of Mrk 50: Appearance and Disappearance of Soft Excess

We present an extensive temporal and spectral study of the Seyfert 1 AGN Mrk 50 using 15 yr (2007–2022) of multiwavelength observations from XMM-Newton, Swift, and NuSTAR for the first time. From the timing analysis, we found that the source exhibited variability of ∼20% during the 2007 observation,...

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Main Authors: Narendranath Layek, Prantik Nandi, Sachindra Naik, Arghajit Jana
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adabc0
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author Narendranath Layek
Prantik Nandi
Sachindra Naik
Arghajit Jana
author_facet Narendranath Layek
Prantik Nandi
Sachindra Naik
Arghajit Jana
author_sort Narendranath Layek
collection DOAJ
description We present an extensive temporal and spectral study of the Seyfert 1 AGN Mrk 50 using 15 yr (2007–2022) of multiwavelength observations from XMM-Newton, Swift, and NuSTAR for the first time. From the timing analysis, we found that the source exhibited variability of ∼20% during the 2007 observation, which reduced to below 10% in the subsequent observations and became nonvariable in the observations from 2010 onward. From the spectral study, we found that the spectra are nearly featureless. Nondetection of absorption in the low-energy domain during the 15 yr of observation infers the absence of obscuration around the central engine, rendering the nucleus a “bare” type. A prominent soft X-ray excess below 2 keV was detected in the source spectrum during the observations between 2007 and 2010, which vanished during the later observations. To describe the nature of the soft excess, we use two physical models, such as warm Comptonization and blurred reflection from the ionized accretion disk. Both of the physical models explain the nature and origin of the soft excess in this source. Our analysis found that Mrk 50 accretes at a sub-Eddington accretion rate ( λ _Edd  = 0.13–0.02) during all of the observations used in this work.
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spelling doaj-art-5091bfa28ca1414f8bbc5c3c0645e9722025-08-20T02:03:38ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0198117410.3847/1538-4357/adabc0A Long-term Study of Mrk 50: Appearance and Disappearance of Soft ExcessNarendranath Layek0https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8761-1798Prantik Nandi1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3840-0571Sachindra Naik2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2865-4666Arghajit Jana3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7500-5752Astronomy and Astrophysics Division, Physical Research Laboratory , Navrangpura, Ahmedabad 380009, Gujarat, India ; narendral@prl.res.in, narendranathlayek2017@gmail.com; Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar , Palaj, Gandhinagar 382055, Gujarat, IndiaIndian Centre for Space Physics , 466 Barakhola, Netaji Nagar, Kolkata, 700099, IndiaAstronomy and Astrophysics Division, Physical Research Laboratory , Navrangpura, Ahmedabad 380009, Gujarat, India ; narendral@prl.res.in, narendranathlayek2017@gmail.comInstituto de Estudios Astrofísicos , Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Diego Portales, Av. Ejército Libertador 441, Santiago, ChileWe present an extensive temporal and spectral study of the Seyfert 1 AGN Mrk 50 using 15 yr (2007–2022) of multiwavelength observations from XMM-Newton, Swift, and NuSTAR for the first time. From the timing analysis, we found that the source exhibited variability of ∼20% during the 2007 observation, which reduced to below 10% in the subsequent observations and became nonvariable in the observations from 2010 onward. From the spectral study, we found that the spectra are nearly featureless. Nondetection of absorption in the low-energy domain during the 15 yr of observation infers the absence of obscuration around the central engine, rendering the nucleus a “bare” type. A prominent soft X-ray excess below 2 keV was detected in the source spectrum during the observations between 2007 and 2010, which vanished during the later observations. To describe the nature of the soft excess, we use two physical models, such as warm Comptonization and blurred reflection from the ionized accretion disk. Both of the physical models explain the nature and origin of the soft excess in this source. Our analysis found that Mrk 50 accretes at a sub-Eddington accretion rate ( λ _Edd  = 0.13–0.02) during all of the observations used in this work.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adabc0Active galactic nucleiX-ray active galactic nucleiSeyfert galaxies
spellingShingle Narendranath Layek
Prantik Nandi
Sachindra Naik
Arghajit Jana
A Long-term Study of Mrk 50: Appearance and Disappearance of Soft Excess
The Astrophysical Journal
Active galactic nuclei
X-ray active galactic nuclei
Seyfert galaxies
title A Long-term Study of Mrk 50: Appearance and Disappearance of Soft Excess
title_full A Long-term Study of Mrk 50: Appearance and Disappearance of Soft Excess
title_fullStr A Long-term Study of Mrk 50: Appearance and Disappearance of Soft Excess
title_full_unstemmed A Long-term Study of Mrk 50: Appearance and Disappearance of Soft Excess
title_short A Long-term Study of Mrk 50: Appearance and Disappearance of Soft Excess
title_sort long term study of mrk 50 appearance and disappearance of soft excess
topic Active galactic nuclei
X-ray active galactic nuclei
Seyfert galaxies
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adabc0
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