Spectral energy distribution variations of nearby Seyfert galaxies during AGN watch monitoring programs

We present and analyse quasi-simultaneous multi-epoch spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of seven reverberation-mapped active galactic nuclei (AGNs) for which accurate black hole mass measurements and suitable archival data are available from the `AGN Watch' monitoring programs. We explore the potential of optical-UV and X-ray data, obtained within 2 d, to provide more accurate SED-based measurements of individual AGN and quantify the impact of source variability on key measurements typically used to characterize the black hole accretion process plus on bolometric correction factors at 5100 Å, 1350 Å and for the 2-10 keV X-ray band, respectively. The largest SED changes occur on long time-scales (≳1 year). For our small sample, the 1μm to 10 keV integrated accretion luminosity typically changes by 10 per cent on short time-scales (over 20 d), by ∼30 per cent over a year, but can change by 100 per cent or more for individual AGN. The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) gap is the most uncertain part of the intrinsic SED, introducing a ∼25 per cent uncertainty in the accretion-induced luminosity, relative to the model independent interpolation method that we adopt. That aside, our analysis shows that the uncertainty in the accretion-induced luminosity, the Eddington luminosity ratio and the bolometric correction factors can be reduced (by a factor of two or more) by use of the SEDs built from data obtained within 20 d. However, \dot{M} and η are mostly limited by the unknown EUV emission and the unknown details of the central engine and our aspect angle.