X-ray Characteristics of NGC 3516: A View through the Complex Absorber

Abstract

We consider new Suzaku data for NGC 3516 taken during 2009, along with other recent X-ray observations of the source. The cumulative characteristics of NGC 3516 cannot be explained without invoking changes in the line-of-sight absorption. Contrary to many other well-studied Seyfert galaxies, NGC 3516 does not show a positive lag of hard X-ray photons relative to soft photons over the timescales sampled. In the context of reverberation models for the X-ray lags, the lack of such a signal in NGC 3516 is consistent with flux variations being dominated by absorption changes. The lack of any reverberation signal in such a highly variable source disfavors intrinsic continuum variability in this case. Instead, the colorless flux variations observed at high flux states for NGC 3516 are suggested to be a consequence of Compton-thick clumps of gas crossing the line-of-sight.

12 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

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Cited by in corpus (33)

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• A Suzaku survey of Fe K lines in Seyfert 1 AGN
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• A remarkable long-term light curve, and deep, low-state spectroscopy: Swift & XMM-Newton monitoring of the NLS1 galaxy Mkn 335
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• Revealing the X-ray Variability of AGN with Principal Component Analysis
• An Examination of the Spectral Variability in NGC 1365 with Suzaku
• X-ray and Optical Correlation of Type I Seyfert NGC 3516 Studied with Suzaku and Japanese Ground-Based Telescopes
• Variability of the High Velocity Outflow in the Quasar PDS 456
• Multi-Wavelength Monitoring and Reverberation Mapping of a Changing Look Event in the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 3516
• Changing-look event in NGC 3516: continuum or obscuration variability?
• A flare in the optical spotted in the changing-look Seyfert NGC 3516
• The Global Implications of the Hard X-ray Excess in Type 1 AGN
• Relativistic components of the Ultra-Fast Outflow in the Quasar PDS 456 from Chandra/HETGS, NuSTAR and XMM-Newton observations
• The role of the Gamma-Eddington ratio relation on the X-ray Baldwin effect in Active Galactic Nuclei
• Lifting the curtain: The Seyfert galaxy Mrk 335 emerges from deep low-state in a sequence of rapid flare events
• The relationship between X-ray and optical absorbers in active galactic nuclei
• The changing X-ray time lag in MCG-6-30-15
• Synthetic X-ray spectra for simulations of the dynamics of an accretion flow irradiated by a quasar
• New Insights in the Spectral Variability and Physical Conditions of the X-ray Absorbers in NGC 4151
• X-ray flaring in PDS 456 observed in a high-flux state
• Tracking the Complex Absorption in NGC 2110 with Two Suzaku Observations
• Long-term optical spectral monitoring of a changing-look active galactic nucleus NGC 3516 -- II. Broad-line profile variability
• Suzaku Discovery of a Slowly Varying Hard X-ray Continuum from the Type I Seyfert Galaxy NGC 3516
• Observations of Outflowing UV Absorbers in NGC 4051 with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
• A detailed analysis of the high resolution X-ray spectra of NGC 3516: Variability of the ionized absorbers
• Broad-line Region Clouds orbiting an AGN sample
• Active galaxy 4U 1344-60: did the relativistic line disappear?
• Broadband short term variability of the quasar PDS 456
• Elucidating the global distribution of reprocessing gas in NGC 1194