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Space telescope and optical reverberation mapping project. IV. Anomalous behavior of the broad ultraviolet emission lines in NGC5548

Space telescope and optical reverberation mapping project. IV. Anomalous behavior of the broad ultraviolet emission lines in NGC5548
Space telescope and optical reverberation mapping project. IV. Anomalous behavior of the broad ultraviolet emission lines in NGC5548
During an intensive Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) UV monitoring campaign of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC5548 performed from 2014 February to July, the normally highly correlated far-UV continuum and broad emission-line variations decorrelated for ∼ 60–70 days, starting ∼ 75 days after the first HST/COS observation. Following this anomalous state, the flux and variability of the broad emission lines returned to a more normal state. This transient behavior, characterised by significant deficits in flux and equivalent width of the strong broad UV emission lines, is the first of its kind to be unambiguously identified in an active galactic nucleus reverberation mapping campaign. The largest corresponding emission-line flux deficits occurred for the high-ionization collisionally excited lines, C iv and Si iv(+O iv]), and also He ii(+O iii]), while the anomaly in Lywas substantially smaller. This pattern of behavior indicates a depletion in the flux of photons with Eph > 54 eV, relative to those near 13.6 eV. We suggest two plausible mechanisms for the observed behavior: (i) temporary obscuration of the ionizing continuum incident upon BLR clouds by a moving veil of material lying between the inner accretion disk and inner BLR, perhaps resulting from an episodic ejection of material from the disk, or (ii) a temporary change in the intrinsic ionizing continuum spectral energy distribution resulting in a deficit of ionizing photons with energies > 54 eV, possibly due to a transient restructuring of the Comptonizing atmosphere above the disk. Current evidence appears to favor the latter explanation.
0004-637X
Mchardy, Ian
4f215137-9cc4-4a08-982e-772a0b24c17e
Mchardy, Ian
4f215137-9cc4-4a08-982e-772a0b24c17e

Mchardy, Ian (2016) Space telescope and optical reverberation mapping project. IV. Anomalous behavior of the broad ultraviolet emission lines in NGC5548. The Astrophysical Journal. (In Press)

Record type: Article

Abstract

During an intensive Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) UV monitoring campaign of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC5548 performed from 2014 February to July, the normally highly correlated far-UV continuum and broad emission-line variations decorrelated for ∼ 60–70 days, starting ∼ 75 days after the first HST/COS observation. Following this anomalous state, the flux and variability of the broad emission lines returned to a more normal state. This transient behavior, characterised by significant deficits in flux and equivalent width of the strong broad UV emission lines, is the first of its kind to be unambiguously identified in an active galactic nucleus reverberation mapping campaign. The largest corresponding emission-line flux deficits occurred for the high-ionization collisionally excited lines, C iv and Si iv(+O iv]), and also He ii(+O iii]), while the anomaly in Lywas substantially smaller. This pattern of behavior indicates a depletion in the flux of photons with Eph > 54 eV, relative to those near 13.6 eV. We suggest two plausible mechanisms for the observed behavior: (i) temporary obscuration of the ionizing continuum incident upon BLR clouds by a moving veil of material lying between the inner accretion disk and inner BLR, perhaps resulting from an episodic ejection of material from the disk, or (ii) a temporary change in the intrinsic ionizing continuum spectral energy distribution resulting in a deficit of ionizing photons with energies > 54 eV, possibly due to a transient restructuring of the Comptonizing atmosphere above the disk. Current evidence appears to favor the latter explanation.

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SPACE TELESCOPE AND OPTICAL REVERBERATION MAPPING PROJECT. - Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 25 March 2016
Organisations: Astronomy Group

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Local EPrints ID: 411762
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/411762
ISSN: 0004-637X
PURE UUID: 7a74d758-50db-412a-a075-785cdb6a7af7

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Date deposited: 23 Jun 2017 16:31
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 14:45

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Author: Ian Mchardy

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