Intensive disc-reverberation mapping of Fairall 9: 1st year of Swift & LCO monitoring

J. V. Hernández Santisteban, R. Edelson, K. Horne, J. M. Gelbord, A. J. Barth, E. M. Cackett, M. R. Goad, H. Netzer, D. Starkey, P. Uttley, W. N. Brandt, K. Korista, A. M. Lohfink, C. A. Onken, K. L. Page, M. Siegel, M. Vestergaard, S. Bisogni, A. A. Breeveld, S. B. CenkoE. Dalla Bontà, P. A. Evans, G. Ferland, D. H. Gonzalez-Buitrago, D. Grupe, M. D. Joner, G. Kriss, S. J. LaPorte, S. Mathur, F. Marshall, M. Mehdipour, D. Mudd, B. M. Peterson, T. Schmidt, S. Vaughan, S. Valenti

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We present results of time-series analysis of the first year of the Fairall 9 intensive disc-reverberation campaign. We used Swift and the Las Cumbres Observatory global telescope network to continuously monitor Fairall 9 from X-rays to near-infrared at a daily to sub-daily cadence. The cross-correlation function between bands provides evidence for a lag spectrum consistent with the τ ∝ λ4/3 scaling expected for an optically thick, geometrically thin blackbody accretion disc. Decomposing the flux into constant and variable components, the variable component's spectral energy distribution is slightly steeper than the standard accretion disc prediction. We find evidence at the Balmer edge in both the lag and flux spectra for an additional bound-free continuum contribution that may arise from reprocessing in the broad-line region. The inferred driving light curve suggests two distinct components, a rapidly variable (< 4 days) component arising from X-ray reprocessing, and a more slowly varying (> 100 days) component with an opposite lag to the reverberation signal.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5399–5416
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume498
Issue number4
Early online date21 Sept 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2020

Keywords

  • Accretion discs
  • Galaxies: active
  • Quasars: individual: Fairall 9

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  • Intensive disc-reverberation mapping of Fairall 9: 1st year of Swift & LCO monitoring (dataset)

    Hernandez Santisteban, J. V. (Creator), Edelson, R. (Creator), Horne, K. D. (Creator), Gelbord, J. M. (Creator), Barth, A. J. (Creator), Cackett, E. M. (Creator), Goad, M. (Creator), Netzer, H. (Creator), Starkey, D. (Creator), Uttley, P. (Creator), Brandt, W. N. (Creator), Korista, K. (Creator), Lohfink, A. M. (Creator), Onken, C. A. (Creator), Page, K. L. (Creator), Siegel, M. (Creator), Vestergaard, M. (Creator), Bisogni, S. (Creator), Breeveld, A. A. (Creator), Cenko, S. B. (Creator), Dalla Bontà, E. (Creator), Evans, P. A. (Creator), Ferland, G. (Creator), Gonzalez-Buitrago, D. H. (Creator), Grupe, D. (Creator), Joner, M. D. (Creator), Kriss, G. (Creator), LaPorte, S. J. (Creator), Mathur, S. (Creator), Marshall, F. (Creator), Mehdipour, M. (Creator), Mudd, D. (Creator), Peterson, B. M. (Creator), Schmidt, T. (Creator), Vaughan, S. (Creator) & Valenti, S. (Creator), Zenodo, 22 Jul 2020

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