Rapid Infrared Variability of Three Radio-loud Narrow-line Seyfert 1 Galaxies: A View from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

Abstract

Using newly released data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, we report the discovery of rapid infrared variability in three radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) selected from the 23 sources in the sample of Yuan et al. (2008). J0849+5108 and J0948+0022 clearly show intraday variability, while J1505+0326 has a longer measurable time scale within 180 days. Their variability amplitudes, corrected for measurement errors, are $\sim 0.1-0.2$ mag. The detection of intraday variability restricts the size of the infrared-emitting region to $\sim 10^{-3}$ pc, significantly smaller than the scale of the torus but consistent with the base of a jet. The three variable sources are exceptionally radio-loud, have the highest radio brightness temperature among the whole sample, and all show detected $\gamma$-ray emission in Fermi/LAT observations. Their spectral energy distributions resemble those of low-energy-peaked blazars, with a synchrotron peak around infrared wavelengths. This result strongly confirms the view that at least some radio-loud NLS1s are blazars with a relativistic jet close to our line of sight. The beamed synchrotron emission from the jet contributes significantly to and probably dominates the spectra in the infrared and even optical bands.

To appear in The Astrophysical Journal Letters

References in corpus (10)

• A Catalog of Quasar Properties from SDSS DR7
• A Comprehensive Study of 2 000 Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: I. The Sample
• Radio-loud Narrow-Line Type 1 Quasars
• SDSS Standard Star Catalog for Stripe 82: the Dawn of Industrial 1% Optical Photometry
• A Population of Radio-loud Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies with Blazar-like Properties?
• A radio-emitting outflow in the quiescent state of A0620-00: implications for modelling low-luminosity black hole binaries
• A narrow line Seyfert 1--blazar composite nucleus in 2MASX J0324+3410
• SBS 0846+513: a new gamma-ray emitting Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 galaxy
• Violent Intranight Optical Variability of a Radio-Loud Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy: SDSS J094857.3+002225
• Exploring the Variable Sky with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Cited by in corpus (50)

• Properties of flat-spectrum radio-loud Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• Mid-infrared variability of changing-look AGN
• The WISE Detection of an Infrared Echo in Tidal Disruption Event ASASSN-14li
• Mid-InfraRed Outburst in Nearby Galaxies (MIRONG) I: Sample Selection and Characterization
• The Peculiar Radio-Loud Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy 1H 0323+342
• The host-galaxy of the gamma-ray Narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy 1H~0323+342
• Identification of a New $\gamma$-ray-emitting narrow-line Seyfert 1 Galaxy, at Redshift $\sim 1$
• General Physical Properties of Gamma-ray Emitting Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• Initial results from a systematic search for changing-look active galactic nuclei selected via mid-infrared variability
• Mid-infrared flare of TDE candidate PS16dtm: dust echo and implications for the spectral evolution
• Infrared echo and late-stage rebrightening of nuclear transient PS1-10adi: exploring Torus by tidal disruption event in active galactic nuclei
• Long Fading Mid-Infrared Emission in Transient Coronal Line Emitters: Dust Echo of Tidal Disruption Flare
• Discovery of a Mid-infrared Echo from the TDE candidate in the nucleus of ULIRG F01004-2237
• The ordinary life of the gamma-ray emitting narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy PKS 1502+036
• Jet Properties of GeV-Selected Radio-Loud Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies and Possible Connection to Their Disk and Corona
• A comparative study of optical/ultraviolet variability of narrow-line Seyfert 1 and broad-line Seyfert 1 active galactic nuclei
• The Nature of gamma-ray Loud Narrow Line Seyfert I Galaxies PKS 1502+036 and PKS 2004-447
• SDSS J211852.96-073227.5: a new γ-ray flaring narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy
• WISE view of changing-look AGNs: evidence for a transitional stage of AGNs
• Intra-night optical variability characteristics of different classes of narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxies
• Extreme Gaseous Outflows in Radio-Loud Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• The awakening of the gamma-ray narrow-Line Seyfert 1 galaxy PKS 1502+036
• Broadband Observations of the Gamma-ray Emitting Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy SBS 0846+513
• Fermi Monitoring of Radio-loud Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• The First GeV Outburst of the Radio-loud Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxy PKS 1502+036
• WISE view of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 galaxies: mid-infrared color and variability
• Intra-Night Optical monitoring of three γ-ray detected Narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies
• SDSS J094635.06+101706.1: a redshift one, very radio-loud, γ-ray emitting narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy
• Gamma-ray Emitting Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies: Past, Present, and Future
• Are Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies powered by low mass black holes?
• Multi-wavelength variability of CGRaBS J0733+0456: identifying a distant $\gamma$-ray blazar at z = 3.01
• Radio jet structures at ~100 parsec and larger scales of the $\gamma$-ray-emitting narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy PMN J0948+0022
• TXS 1206+549: a new $\gamma$-ray detected narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy at redshift 1.34?
• A Mid-infrared Flare in the Active Galaxy MCG-02-04-026: Dust Echo of a Nuclear Transient Event
• Multiwavelength variability of gamma-ray emitting narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies
• Flaires: A Comprehensive Catalog of Dust-Echo-like Infrared Flares
• A γ-ray emitting NLS1 galaxy SDSS J095909.51+460014.3 identified by multiwavelength contemporaneous brightening
• The mid-infrared variability of the SDSS optical quasars
• The Quasar CTD 135 is Not a Compact Symmetric Object
• Solid Identification of Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Source Using High-Resolution Radio Interferometric Observation
• Multi-wavelength observations of the BL Lac object Fermi J1544-0649: one year after its awakening
• Is BZB J1450+5201 the most distant $\gamma$-ray BL Lacertae object?
• Intra-night optical variability and radio characteristics of extremely radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies
• Radio and mid-infrared properties of the blazar J1419$-$0838
• Mid-infrared variability of the neutrino source blazar TXS 0506$+$056
• A Panchromatic View of Relativistic Jets in Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• Zooming into the neutrino-associated blazar candidate J1718+4239
• Long-term Mid-infrared Color Variations of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• Intra-night optical variability study of a non-jetted narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy: SDSS J163401.94+480940.1
• Evidence of jet induced optical microvariability in radio-loud Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies