Testing X-Ray Reprocessing and Mapping the Soft Excess of NGC 7469 with NICER
We present an X-ray/UV reverberation analysis of NGC 7469 across 210 days, using daily NICER observations with contemporaneous monitoring by Swift UVOT+XRT. We model the X-ray spectrum with a power-law continuum and a soft excess during each NICER epoch. These emission sources demonstrate correlated...
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| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/add3ef |
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| author | Ethan R. Partington Edward M. Cackett Rick Edelson Keith Horne Jake A. Miller Aaron J. Barth Jonathan Gelbord Juan V. Hernández Santisteban |
| author_facet | Ethan R. Partington Edward M. Cackett Rick Edelson Keith Horne Jake A. Miller Aaron J. Barth Jonathan Gelbord Juan V. Hernández Santisteban |
| author_sort | Ethan R. Partington |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We present an X-ray/UV reverberation analysis of NGC 7469 across 210 days, using daily NICER observations with contemporaneous monitoring by Swift UVOT+XRT. We model the X-ray spectrum with a power-law continuum and a soft excess during each NICER epoch. These emission sources demonstrate correlated flux variability with a lag consistent with zero days. We find that the power-law emission is consistent with a compact X-ray corona, and that the soft excess can be explained by reflected coronal emission from the inner accretion disk. We test the relationship between changes in the flux of the X-ray corona and the UVW2 continuum, finding strong correlation and a negative X-ray lag of less than 1 day. This is consistent with a scenario in which the X-ray corona drives the UVW2 light curve through thermal reprocessing. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c21c4cbee96d404fa6bd1b0155bd6b10 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-c21c4cbee96d404fa6bd1b0155bd6b102025-08-20T02:09:00ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0198618110.3847/1538-4357/add3efTesting X-Ray Reprocessing and Mapping the Soft Excess of NGC 7469 with NICEREthan R. Partington0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1183-1574Edward M. Cackett1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8294-9281Rick Edelson2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8598-1482Keith Horne3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1728-0304Jake A. Miller4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8475-8027Aaron J. Barth5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3026-0562Jonathan Gelbord6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9092-8619Juan V. Hernández Santisteban7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6733-5556Department of Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University , 666 W. Hancock St., Detroit, MI 48201, USA; Institute of Astrophysics , FORTH, GR-71110, Heraklion, GreeceDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University , 666 W. Hancock St., Detroit, MI 48201, USAEureka Scientific Inc. , 2452 Delmer St. Suite 100, Oakland, CA 94602, USASUPA School of Physics and Astronomy , North Haugh, St. Andrews, KY16 9SS, UKDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University , 666 W. Hancock St., Detroit, MI 48201, USA; Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , 576 University Dr., College Station, TX 77843, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, 4129 Frederick Reines Hall, University of California , Irvine, CA 92697-4575, USASpectral Sciences Inc. , 4 Fourth Ave., Burlington, MA 01803, USASUPA School of Physics and Astronomy , North Haugh, St. Andrews, KY16 9SS, UKWe present an X-ray/UV reverberation analysis of NGC 7469 across 210 days, using daily NICER observations with contemporaneous monitoring by Swift UVOT+XRT. We model the X-ray spectrum with a power-law continuum and a soft excess during each NICER epoch. These emission sources demonstrate correlated flux variability with a lag consistent with zero days. We find that the power-law emission is consistent with a compact X-ray corona, and that the soft excess can be explained by reflected coronal emission from the inner accretion disk. We test the relationship between changes in the flux of the X-ray corona and the UVW2 continuum, finding strong correlation and a negative X-ray lag of less than 1 day. This is consistent with a scenario in which the X-ray corona drives the UVW2 light curve through thermal reprocessing.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/add3efActive galactic nucleiX-ray active galactic nucleiHigh energy astrophysicsReverberation mappingX-ray telescopesAccretion |
| spellingShingle | Ethan R. Partington Edward M. Cackett Rick Edelson Keith Horne Jake A. Miller Aaron J. Barth Jonathan Gelbord Juan V. Hernández Santisteban Testing X-Ray Reprocessing and Mapping the Soft Excess of NGC 7469 with NICER The Astrophysical Journal Active galactic nuclei X-ray active galactic nuclei High energy astrophysics Reverberation mapping X-ray telescopes Accretion |
| title | Testing X-Ray Reprocessing and Mapping the Soft Excess of NGC 7469 with NICER |
| title_full | Testing X-Ray Reprocessing and Mapping the Soft Excess of NGC 7469 with NICER |
| title_fullStr | Testing X-Ray Reprocessing and Mapping the Soft Excess of NGC 7469 with NICER |
| title_full_unstemmed | Testing X-Ray Reprocessing and Mapping the Soft Excess of NGC 7469 with NICER |
| title_short | Testing X-Ray Reprocessing and Mapping the Soft Excess of NGC 7469 with NICER |
| title_sort | testing x ray reprocessing and mapping the soft excess of ngc 7469 with nicer |
| topic | Active galactic nuclei X-ray active galactic nuclei High energy astrophysics Reverberation mapping X-ray telescopes Accretion |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/add3ef |
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