Driving Extreme Variability: Measurements of the changing coronae and evidence for jet launching
Abstract
Through analysis of the X-rays reflected from the accretion disc, it is possible to probe the innermost structures around accreting black holes and to measure the geometry and structure of the corona that produces the intense X-ray continuum. We conducted detailed analysis of the narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxies 1H0707-495 and Markarian 335, over observations with XMM-Newton as well as Suzaku and NuSTAR spanning nearly a decade to measure the underlying changes in the structure of the X-ray emitting corona that gave rise to more than an order of magnitude variation in luminosity. Underlying this long timescale variability lies much more complex patterns of behaviour on short timescales. We are, for the first time, able to measure the changes accompanying transient phenomena including a flare from Markarian 335 seen during a low flux state. This flaring event was found to mark a reconfiguration of the corona while there is evidence that the flare itself was caused by an aborted jet-launching event. This gives us important insight into the processes by which energy is liberated from black hole accretion flows and allows observational constraints to be placed upon models of how jets are launched and how these extreme objects are powered.
- Publication:
-
The Extremes of Black Hole Accretion
- Pub Date:
- July 2015
- DOI:
- 10.48550/arXiv.1511.01090
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1511.01090
- Bibcode:
- 2015ebha.confE..66W
- Keywords:
-
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
- E-Print:
- 6 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in Astron. Nach. - Proceedings of the XMM-Newton 2015 Science Workshop "The Extremes of Black Hole Accretion"