The nature of the broadband X-ray variability in the dwarf Seyfert galaxy NGC 4395

Abstract

We present a flux-resolved X-ray analysis of the dwarf Seyfert 1.8 galaxy NGC 4395, based on three archival $XMM-Newton$ and one archival $NuSTAR$ observations. The source is known to harbor a low mass black hole ($\sim 10^4-\mathrm{a}\mathrm{few}\times 10^5{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$) and shows strong variability in the full X-ray range during these observations. We model the flux-resolved spectra of the source assuming three absorbing layers: neutral, mildly ionized, and highly ionized ($N_{\mathrm{H}}\sim 1.6\times 10^{22}-3.4\times 10^{23}\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^{-2}$, $\sim 0.8-7.8\times 10^{22}\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^{-2}$, and $3.8\times 10^{22}\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^{-2}$, respectively. The source also shows intrinsic variability by a factor of $\sim 3$, on short timescales, due to changes in the nuclear flux, assumed to be a power law ($\Gamma =1.6-1.67$). Our results show a positive correlation between the intrinsic flux and the absorbers' ionization parameter. The covering fraction of the neutral absorber varies during the first $XMM-Newton$ observation, which could explain the pronounced soft X-ray variability. However, the source remains fully covered by this layer during the other two observations, largely suppressing the soft X-ray variability. This suggests an inhomogeneous and layered structure in the broad line region. We also find a difference in the characteristic timescale of the power spectra between different energy ranges and observations. We finally show simulated spectra with $XRISM$, $Athena$, and $eXTP$, which will allow us to characterize the different absorbers, study their dynamics, and will help us identify their locations and sizes.

Accepted for publication in ApJ

References in corpus (10)

• HI4PI: A full-sky HI survey based on EBHIS and GASS
• An XMM-Newton survey of broad iron lines in Seyfert galaxies
• Testing thermal reprocessing in AGN accretion discs
• A fast and long-lived outflow from the supermassive black hole in NGC 5548
• On why the Iron K-shell absorption in AGN is not a signature of the local Warm/Hot Intergalactic Medium
• A 10,000-solar-mass black hole in the nucleus of a bulgeless dwarf galaxy
• Timing the warm absorber in NGC 4051
• Revealing the X-ray Variability of AGN with Principal Component Analysis
• A hard look at thermal reverberation and optical/UV lags in NGC 5548
• X-ray emission from active galactic nuclei with intermediate mass black holes

Cited by in corpus (7)

• Extreme ultra-soft X-ray variability in an eROSITA observation of the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy 1H 0707-495
• EUCLIA. II. On the puzzling large UV to X-ray lags in Seyfert galaxies
• A hard look at local, optically-selected, obscured Seyfert galaxies
• Is there a sub-parsec-scale jet base in the nearby dwarf galaxy NGC 4395?
• NuSTAR observations of a heavily X-ray obscured AGN in the dwarf galaxy J144013+024744
• Nuclear Activity and Host Galaxy Properties of Low-Luminosity AGN Identified from VLA Observations
• Energy dependence of the X-ray power spectrum in NGC4051 and NGC4395