We present the first systematic physical modelling of the time-lag spectra between the soft (0.3-1 keV) and the hard (1.5-4 keV) X-ray energy bands, as a function of Fourier frequency, in a sample of 12 active galactic nuclei which have been observed by XMM-Newton. We concentrate particularly on the negative X-ray time-lags (typically seen above $10^{-4}$ Hz) i.e. soft band variations lag the hard band variations, and we assume that they are produced by reprocessing and reflection by the accretion disc within a lamp-post X-ray source geometry. We also assume that the response of the accretion disc, in the soft X-ray bands, is adequately described by the response in the neutral iron line (Fe k$α$) at 6.4 keV for which we use fully general relativistic ray-tracing simulations to determine its time evolution. These response functions, and thus the corresponding time-lag spectra, yield much more realistic results than the commonly-used, but erroneous, top-hat models. Additionally we parametrize the positive part of the time-lag spectra (typically seen below $10^{-4}$ Hz) by a power-law. We find that the best-fitting BH masses, M, agree quite well with those derived by other methods, thus providing us with a new tool for BH mass determination. We find no evidence for any correlation between M and the BH spin parameter, $α$, the viewing angle, $θ$, or the height of the X-ray source above the disc, $h$. Also on average, the X-ray source lies only around 3.7 gravitational radii above the accretion disc and the viewing angles are distributed uniformly between 20 and 60 degrees. Finally, there is a tentative indication that the distribution of spin parameters may be bimodal above and below 0.62.
Many theoretical models of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) predict that the X-ray corona, lying above the black hole, constitutes the base of the X-ray jet. Thus, by studying the exact geometry of the close black hole environment, we can pinpoint the launching site of the jet. Detection of negative X-ray reverberation time delays (i.e. soft band X-ray variations lagging behind the corresponding hard band X-ray variations) can yield significant information about the geometrical properties of the AGN, such as the location of the X-ray source, as well as the physical properties of the the black hole…
The dust reverberation mapping is one of powerful methods to investigate the structure of the dusty tori in AGNs, and it has been performed on more than a hundred type 1 AGNs. However, no clear results have been reported on type 2 AGNs because their strong optical-UV extinction completely hides their accretion disc emission. Here we focus on an X-ray-bright type 2 AGN, NGC 2110, and utilize 2-20 keV X-ray variation monitored by MAXI to trace disc emission, instead of optical-UV variation. Comparing it with light curves in the WISE infrared (IR) W1 band ($λ= 3.4$ $μ$m) and W2 band ($λ= 4.6$ $μ$…
XMM-Newton is capable of making a transformational advance in our understanding of how luminous accreting black holes work, by dedicating about 10 per cent of future observing time to long observations, of order Megaseconds, to X-ray variable Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) research. This would enable reverberation studies, already a commonplace feature of AGN, to proceed to the next level and follow the behaviour of the powerful dynamic corona. Such a dedicated legacy programme can only be carried out with XMM-Newton.
Recently, two of us have studied iron line reverberation mapping to test black hole candidates, showing that the time information in reverberation mapping can better constrain the Kerr metric than the time-integrated approach. Motivated by this finding, here we explore the constraining power of another time-dependent measurement: an AGN iron line eclipse. An obscuring cloud passes between the AGN and the distant observer, covering different parts of the accretion disk at different times. Similar to the reverberation measurement, an eclipse might help to better identify the relativistic effects…
Reverberation lags have recently been discovered in a handful of nearby, variable AGN. Here, we analyze a ~100 ksec archival XMM-Newton observation of the highly variable AGN, ESO 113-G010 in order to search for lags between hard, 1.5 - 4.5 keV, and soft, 0.3 - 0.9 keV, energy X-ray bands. At the lowest frequencies available in the lightcurve (<1.5E-4 Hz), we find hard lags where the power-law dominated hard band lags the soft band (where the reflection fraction is high). However, at higher frequencies in the range (2-3)E-4 Hz we find a soft lag of -325 +/- 89 s. The general evolution from har…
A framework is developed to perform Fourier-domain timing analysis on X-ray light curves with gaps, employing Gaussian processes to model the probability distribution underlying the observed time series from which continuous samples can be drawn. A technique is developed to measure X-ray reverberation from the inner regions of accretion discs around black holes in the low frequency components of the variability, on timescales longer than can be probed employing standard Fourier techniques. This enables X-ray reverberation experiments to be performed using data from satellites in low-Earth orbi…
Models of X-ray reverberation from extended coronae are developed from general relativistic ray tracing simulations. Reverberation lags between correlated variability in the directly observed continuum emission and that reflected from the accretion disc arise due to the additional light travel time between the corona and reflecting disc. X-ray reverberation is detected from an increasing sample of Seyfert galaxies and a number of common properties are observed, including a transition from the characteristic reverberation signature at high frequencies to a hard lag within the continuum componen…
Continuum Reverberation in Bright Quasars Using NASA/ATLAS
Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University（澳大利亚国立大学天文与天体物理研究学院）；Centre for Gravitational Astrophysics (CGA), Australian National University（澳大利亚国立大学引力天体物理学中心）；Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast（贝尔法斯特女王大学数学与物理学院天体物理研究中心）；Research Center for Space and Cosmic Evolution, Ehime University（爱媛大学宇宙演化研究中心）；University of Belgrade-Faculty of Mathematics, Department of Astronomy（贝尔格莱德大学数学系天文学系）；Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS)（天体物理学千年研究所）；Instituto de Astrofísica, Facultad de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile（智利天主教Pontificia大学物理学院天体物理研究所）
X-ray reverberation echoes are assumed to be produced in the strongly distorted spacetime around accreting supermassive black holes. This signal allows us to spatially map the geometry of the inner accretion flow - a region which cannot yet be spatially resolved by any telescope - and provides a direct measure of the black hole mass and spin. The reverberation timescale is set by the light travel path between the direct emission from a hot X-ray corona and the reprocessed emission from the inner edge of the accretion disc. However, there is an inherent degeneracy in the reverberation signal be…
The recent detection of X-ray reverberation lags, especially in the Fe Kα line region, around Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) has opened up the possibility of studying the time-resolved response (reflection) of hard X-rays from the accretion disk around supermassive black holes. Here, we use general relativistic transfer functions for reflection of X-rays from a point source located at some height above the black hole to study the time lags expected as a function of frequency and energy in the Fe Kα line region. We explore the models and the dependence of the lags on key parameters such as the he…
Extracting the X-ray reverberation response functions from the AGN light curves using an autoencoder
Suranaree University of Technology（素拉那瑞理工学院）；Center of Excellence in High Energy Physics and Astrophysics, Suranaree University of Technology（素拉那瑞理工学院高能天体物理卓越中心）；Srinakharinwirot University（斯里纳卡林威洛大学）；National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand（泰国国家天文研究所）；University of Warwick（华威大学）；Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge（剑桥大学天文研究所）；Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies（海德堡理论研究所）
We present a new release of the RELTRANS model to fit the complex cross-spectrum of accreting black holes as a function of energy. The model accounts for continuum lags and reverberation lags self-consistently in order to consider the widest possible range of X-ray variability timescales. We introduce a more self-consistent treatment of the reverberation lags, accounting for how the time variations of the illuminating flux change the ionisation level of the accretion disc. This process varies the shape of the reflection spectrum in time causing an additional source of lags besides the light cr…
The X-ray emission from accreting black hole (BH) systems displays strong variability. Short reverberation lags are expected between the primary hard X-ray continuum and the reprocessed disc emission. These lags depend on light-travel distances, thus offering the opportunity to map the geometry of the innermost accretion flow. X-ray reverberation lags have been observed in several BH accreting systems. In radio quiet active galactic nuclei (AGN) these lags scale with BH mass and point to a reprocessing region located close to the Comptonizing X-ray corona. On the other hand, reverberation lags…
The central engines of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) are powered by accreting supermassive black holes, and while AGNs are known to play an important role in galaxy evolution, the key physical processes occur on scales that are too small to be resolved spatially (aside from a few exceptional cases). Reverberation mapping is a powerful technique that overcomes this limitation by using echoes of light to determine the geometry and kinematics of the central regions. Variable ionizing radiation from close to the black hole drives correlated variability in surrounding gas/dust, but with a time dela…
We present a revised analysis of the photometric reverberation mapping campaign of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy PKS 0558-504 carried out with the Swift Observatory during 2008--2010. Previously, Gliozzi et al.\ found using the Discrete Correlation Function (DCF) method that the short-wavelength continuum variations lagged behind variations at longer wavelengths, the opposite of the trend expected for thermal reprocessing of X-rays by the accretion disc, and they interpreted their results as evidence against the reprocessing model. We carried out new DCF measurements that demonstrate that t…
Variable X-ray reverberation in the rapidly accreting AGN Ark 564: the response of the soft excess to the changing geometry of the inner accretion flow
Reverberation lags viewed in hard X-rays from an accreting stellar-mass black hole
Wuhan University（武汉大学）；Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院高能物理研究所）；Newcastle University（纽卡斯尔大学）；Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya（加泰罗尼亚理工大学）；Beijing Normal University（北京师范大学）
General relativistic ray tracing simulations of the time-averaged spectrum and energy-dependent time delays in AGN are presented. We model the lamp-post geometry in which the accreting gas is illuminated by an X-ray source located on the rotation axis of the black hole. The spectroscopic features imprinted in the reflection component are modelled using REFLIONX. The associated time delays after the direct continuum, known as reverberation lags, are computed including the full effects of dilution and ionization gradients on the disc. We perform, for the first time, simultaneous fitting of the t…
X-ray reverberation mapping has emerged as a powerful probe of microparsec scales around AGN, and with high sensitivity detectors, its full potential in echo-mapping the otherwise inaccessible disk-corona at the black hole horizon scale will be revealed.
Reverberation mapping technique is an important milestone in AGN demographics, kinematics and the structure of the Broad Line Region (BLR) based on the time-delay response between the continuum and emission line. The time delay is directly related to the size of BLR which is related to the continuum luminosity of the source, producing the well-known Radius-Luminosity (RL) relation. The majority of sources have been monitored for their H$β$ emission line in low redshift sources ($z<0.1$), while there are some attempts using the MgII line for higher redshifts. We present a recent MgII monitoring…
Recent X-ray observations have enabled the study of reverberation delays in AGN for the first time. All the detections so far are in sources with a strong soft excess, and the measured delay is between the hard (1-3 keV) direct continuum and the soft excess (0.5-1 keV), interpreted as the reflection continuum smeared by relativistic effects. There is however an inherent ambiguity in identifying and studying the details of the lines in the soft excess. Here we report the first detection of reverberation in the iron K band in any AGN. Using XMM-Newton observations of NGC 4151, we find delays of …
The unusually red delay spectrum of the low-mass black hole AGN NGC\,4051 as revealed by intensive continuum reverberation mapping with the Las Cumbres Observatory
Wayne State University（韦恩州立大学）；University of St Andrews（圣安德鲁斯大学）；Durham University（杜伦大学）；Spectral Sciences Inc.（光谱科学公司）；University of Johannesburg（约翰内斯堡大学）；University of California, Irvine（加州大学尔湾分校）；University of Leicester（莱斯特大学）
NGC 4051低质量黑洞的异常红色延迟光谱通过密集连续反照率测绘揭示，其i和z_s波段延迟显著超出预期，可能由尘埃reddening或连续贡献解释。
X-ray reverberation in Active Galactic Nuclei, believed to be the result of the reprocessing of coronal photons by the underlying accretion disc, has allowed us to probe the properties of the inner-most regions of the accretion flow and the central black hole. Our current model (KYNREFREV) computes the time-dependent reflection spectra of the disc as a response to a flash of primary power-law radiation from a point source corona located on the axis of the black hole accretion disc (lamp-post geometry). Full relativistic effects are taken into account. The ionization of the disc is set for each…
The determination of the size and geometry of the broad line region (BLR) in active galactic nuclei is one of the major ingredients for determining the mass of the accreting black hole. This can be done by determining the delay between the optical continuum and the flux reprocessed by the BLR, in particular via the emission lines. We propose here that the delay between polarized and unpolarized light can also be used in much the same way to constrain the size of the BLR; we check that meaningful results can be expected from observations using this technique. We use our code STOKES for performi…
We compute fully relativistic disc response functions in the case of the "lamp-post" geometry using the full observed reflection spectrum for various X-ray source heights, disc inclination, and spin values of the central black hole. Since the observed PSD is equal to the product of the intrinsic power spectrum with the "transfer function" (i.e. the Fourier transform of the disc response function), we are able to predict the observed PSDs in the case of X-ray illumination of the inner disc. The observed PSD should show a prominent dip at high frequencies and an oscillatory behaviour, with a dec…
Contemporary reverberation mapping campaigns are employing wide-area photometric data and high-multiplex spectroscopy to efficiently monitor hundreds of active galactic nuclei (AGN). However, the interaction of the window function(s) imposed by the observation cadence with the reverberation lag and AGN variability time scales (intrinsic to each source over a range of luminosities) impact our ability to recover these fundamental physical properties. Time dilation effects due to the sample source redshift distribution introduces added complexity. We present comprehensive analysis of the implicat…
The Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4593 was monitored spectroscopically with the Hubble Space Telescope as part of a reverberation mapping campaign that also included Swift, Kepler and ground-based photometric monitoring. During 2016 July 12 - August 6, we obtained 26 spectra across a nearly continuous wavelength range of ~1150 - 10,000A. These were combined with Swift data to produce a UV/optical "lag spectrum", which shows the interband lag relative to the Swift UVW2 band as a function of wavelength. The broad shape of the lag spectrum appears to follow the $τ\propto λ^{4/3}$ relation seen previously …
Several active galactic nuclei show correlated variations in the ultraviolet/optical range, with time delays increasing at longer wavelengths. Thermal reprocessing of the X-rays illuminating the accretion disk has been proposed as a viable explanation. In this scenario, the variable X-ray flux irradiating the accretion disk is partially reflected in X-rays, and partially absorbed, thermalized and re-emitted with some delay by the accretion disk at longer wavelengths. We investigate this scenario assuming an X-ray point-like source illuminating a standard Novikov-Thorne accretion disk, around a…
Short X-ray reverberation lags are seen across a broad Fe-K energy band in more than twenty active galactic nuclei (AGNs). This broad iron line feature in the lag spectrum is most significant in super-Eddington sources such as Ark 564 ($L/L_{\rm Edd}\sim 1$) and 1H 0707--495 ($L/L_{\rm Edd}\gtrsim 10$). The observed lag timescales correspond to very short distances of several $R_g/c$, so that they have been used to argue for extremely small `lamp-post' coronae close to the event horizon of rapidly spinning black holes. Here we show for the first time that these Fe-K short lags are more likely …
X-ray reverberation lags have recently been discovered in both active galactic nuclei (AGN) and black hole X-ray binaries. A recent study of the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1608-52 has also shown significant lags, whose properties hint at a reverberation origin. Here, we adapt general relativistic ray tracing impulse response functions used to model X-ray reverberation in AGN for neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries. Assuming relativistic reflection forms the broad iron line and associated reflection continuum, we use reflection fits to the energy spectrum along with the impulse resp…
MCG-5-23-16 is one of the first AGN where relativistic reverberation in the iron K line originating in the vicinity of the supermassive black hole was found, based on a short XMM-Newton observation. In this work, we present the results from long X-ray observations using Suzaku, XMM-Newton and NuSTAR designed to map the emission region using X-ray reverberation. A relativistic iron line is detected in the lag spectra on three different time-scales, allowing the emission from different regions around the black hole to be separated. Using NuSTAR coverage of energies above 10 keV reveals a lag bet…
Long-exposure Suzaku X-ray observations of the active galaxy NGC 4051 from 2005 and 2008 are analysed, in an attempt to reach a self-consistent understanding of the spectral variability on long timescales and at high time resolution. Principal components analysis and a maximum likelihood method of power spectrum analysis are used. In common with other type I AGN, the spectral variability is dominated by a varying-normalisation power-law component together with a quasi-steady, hard-spectrum offset component that contains Fe K atomic features. NGC 4051 displays a strong excess over a power-law a…
Simulating X-ray Reverberation in the UV-Emitting Regions of Active Galactic Nuclei Accretion Disks with 3D Multi-Frequency Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations
Two years' worth of u-, g-, r-, i-, and z-band optical light curves were obtained for the massive type 1 quasar PG 2308+098 at z=0.433 using the 1.05-m Kiso Schmidt telescope/Kiso Wide Field Camera, and inter-band time lags of the light curves were measured. Wavelength-dependent continuum reverberation lag signals of several tens of days relative to the u-band were detected at g-, r-, i-, and z-bands, where the longer wavelength bands showed larger lags. From the wavelength-dependent lags, and assuming the standard disk temperature radial profile $T \propto R_{\rm disk}^{-3/4}$ and an X-ray/fa…
We fit a new vertically extended corona model to previously measured reverberation time lags observed by \emph{XMM-Newton} in two extremely variable Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), 1H~0707-495 and IRAS~13224-3809, in a variety of similarly observed flux groups and explore the model in all observations over a 16 year period. The model employs two X-ray sources located along the black hole rotational axis at height, $h_1$ and $h_2$ respectively. These sources have their associated photon indices $Γ_1$ and $Γ_2$ which respond to fluctuations in the disc with a maximum response…
In the near future, the arrival of new surveys promises a significant increment in the number of quasars (QSO) at large redshift ranges. This will help to constrain the dark energy models using quasars. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will cover over 10 million QSO in six photometric bands during its 10-year run. QSO will be monitored and subsequently analysed using the photometric reverberation mapping technique. Oncoming LSST data will decrease the uncertainties in the dark energy determination using reverberating--mapped sources, particularly at high redshifts. We present the fir…
We show that X-ray reverberation mapping can be used to measure the distance to type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs). This is because X-ray photons originally emitted from the `corona' close to the black hole irradiate the accretion disc and are re-emitted with a characteristic `reflection' spectrum that includes a prominent $\sim 6.4$ keV iron emission line. The shape of the reflection spectrum depends on the irradiating flux, and the light-crossing delay between continuum photons observed directly from the corona and the reflected photons constrains the size of the disc. Simultaneously model…
Swift intensive accretion disk reverberation mapping of four AGN yielded light curves sampled $\sim$200-350 times in 0.3-10 keV X-ray and six UV/optical bands. Uniform reduction and cross-correlation analysis of these datasets yields three main results: 1) The X-ray/UV correlations are much weaker than those within the UV/optical, posing severe problems for the lamp-post reprocessing model in which variations in a central X-ray corona drive and power those in the surrounding accretion disk. 2) The UV/optical interband lags are generally consistent with $ τ\propto λ^{4/3} $ as predicted by the …
We present an X-ray spectral and timing model to investigate the broad and variable iron line seen in the high flux state of Mrk 335. The model consists of a variable X-ray source positioned along the rotation axis of the black hole that illuminates the accretion disc producing a back-scattered, ionized reflection spectrum. We compute time lags including full dilution effects and perform simultaneous fitting of the 2-10 keV spectrum and the frequency-dependent time lags of 2.5-4 vs. 4-6.5 keV bands. The best-fitting parameters are consistent with a black hole mass of approximately 1.3 x 10^7 M…
We develop a physically motivated, spherical corona model to investigate the frequency-dependent time lags in AGN. The model includes the effects of Compton up-scattering between the disc UV photons and coronal electrons, and the subsequent X-ray reverberation from the disc. The time lags are associated with the time required for multiple scatterings to boost UV photons up to soft and hard X-ray energies, and the light crossing time the photons take to reach the observer. This model can reproduce not only low-frequency hard and high-frequency soft lags, but also the clear bumps and wiggles in …
