Fourier-Resolved Spectroscopy of AGN using XMM-Newton data: I. The 3-10 keV band results

Abstract

We present the results from the Fourier Resolved Spectroscopy of archival XMM-Newton data of five AGN, namely, Mrk 766, NGC 3516, NGC 3783, NGC 4051 and Ark 564. This work supplements the earlier study of MCG-6-30-15 as well as those of several Galactic Black Hole Candidate sources. Our results exhibit much larger diversity than those of Galactic sources, a fact we attribute to the diversity of their masses. When we take into account this effect and combine our results with those from Cyg X-1, it seems reasonable to conclude that, at high frequencies, the slope of the Fourier-resolved spectra in accreting black hole systems decreases with increasing frequency as proportional to f^{-0.25}, irrespective of whether the system is in its High or Low state. This result implies that the flux variations in AGN are accompanied by complex spectral slope variations as well. We also find that the Fe Ka line in Mrk 766, NGC 3783 and NGC 4051 is variable on time scales ~day - 1 hour. The iron fluorescence line is absent in the spectra of the highest frequencies,and there is an indication that, just like in Cyg X-1, the equivalent width of the line in the Fourier-resolved of AGN decreases with increasing frequency.

45 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ

References in corpus (8)

• MCG-6-30-15: Long Timescale X-Ray Variability, Black Hole Mass and AGN High States
• Spectral and Fourier analyses of X-ray QPO in accreting black holes
• Spectral-timing evidence for a Very High State in the Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Ark 564
• Variable iron-line emission near the black hole of Markarian 766
• XMM-Newton observation of the NLS1 Galaxy Ark 564: I. Spectral analysis of the time-average spectrum
• Boundary layer emission in luminous LMXBs
• Fourier Resolved Spectroscopy of the XMM-Newton Observations of MCG -6-30-15
• Fourier resolved spectroscopy of 4U 1543-47 during the 2002 outburst

Cited by in corpus (8)

• An XMM-Newton survey of broad iron lines in Seyfert galaxies
• Discovery of multiple Lorentzian components in the X-ray timing properties of the Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Ark 564
• Multi-Wavelength Variability. Accretion and Ejection at the Fastest Timescales
• A physical model for the UV/optical power spectra of AGN
• Multiwavelength power-spectrum analysis of NGC 5548
• Fourier-resolved energy spectra of the Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Mkn 766
• Deconvolving X-ray Spectral Variability Components in the Seyfert 1.5 NGC 3227
• Timescale Resolved Spectroscopy of Cyg X-1