The Variable X-ray Spectrum of Markarian 766 - II. Time-Resolved Spectroscopy

Abstract

CONTEXT: The variable X-ray spectra of AGN systematically show steep power-law high states and hard-spectrum low states. The hard low state has previously been found to be a component with only weak variability. The origin of this component and the relative importance of effects such as absorption and relativistic blurring are currently not clear. AIMS: In a follow-up of previous principal components analysis, we aim to determine the relative importance of scattering and absorption effects on the time-varying X-ray spectrum of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk~766. METHODS: Time-resolved spectroscopy, slicing XMM and Suzaku data down to 25 ks elements, is used to investigate whether absorption or scattering components dominate the spectral variations in Mrk 766.Time-resolved spectroscopy confirms that spectral variability in Mrk 766 can be explained by either of two interpretations of principal components analysis. Detailed investigation confirm rapid changes in the relative strengths of scattered and direct emission or rapid changes in absorber covering fraction provide good explanations of most of the spectral variability. However, a strong correlation between the 6.97 keV absorption line and the primary continuum together with rapid opacity changes show that variations in a complex and multi-layered absorber, most likely a disk wind, are the dominant source of spectral variability in Mrk 766

References in corpus (2)

• The variable X-ray spectrum of Markarian 766 - I. Principal components analysis
• Variable iron-line emission near the black hole of Markarian 766

Cited by in corpus (22)

• On why the Iron K-shell absorption in AGN is not a signature of the local Warm/Hot Intergalactic Medium
• An absorption origin for the X-ray spectral variability of MCG-6-30-15
• X-ray Absorption and Reflection in Active Galactic Nuclei
• Testing the space-time geometry around black hole candidates with the analysis of the broad K$\alpha$ iron line
• Multi-dimensional modelling of X-ray spectra for AGN accretion-disk outflows
• The broad band spectral variability of MCG-6-30-15 observed by NuSTAR and XMM-Newton
• Searching for Ultra-fast Outflows in AGN using Variability Spectra
• Revealing the X-ray Variability of AGN with Principal Component Analysis
• Super-Eddington QSO RX J0439.6-5311. II. Multi-wavelength Constraints on the Global Structure of the Accretion Flow
• Long Term Wind-Driven X-Ray Spectral Variability of NGC 1365 with Swift
• The Extreme Super-Eddington NLS1 RX J0134.2-4258 -- II. A Weak-Line Seyfert Linking to the Weak-Line Quasar
• Fourier-resolved energy spectra of the Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Mkn 766
• On the presence of ultra-fast outflows in the WAX sample of Seyfert galaxies
• Complex Narrow Line Seyfert 1s: High spin or high inclination?
• Origin of X-rays in the low state of the FSRQ 3C 273: Evidence of inverse Compton emission
• Multi-wavelength Campaign on the Super-Eddington NLS1 RX J0134.2-4258 -- I. Peculiar X-ray Spectra and Variability
• Uncovering the primary X-ray emission and possible starburst component in the polarized NLS1 Mrk 1239
• The nature of X-ray spectral variability in MCG-6-30-15
• Origin of the complex iron line structure and spectral variation in Mrk 766
• Relativistic Reflection Modeling in AGN and Related Variability from PCA: A Brief Review
• A Systematic Study of the Short-Term X-ray Variability of Seyfert Galaxies I. Diversity of the X-ray Rms Spectra
• Investigating the complex absorbers of Mrk 766 with XMM-Newton