X-ray Fluctuation Power Spectral Densities of Seyfert 1 Galaxies

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

27 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Typo corrected

Scientific paper

10.1086/375330

By combining complementary monitoring observations spanning long, medium and short time scales, we have constructed power spectral densities (PSDs) of six Seyfert~1 galaxies. These PSDs span $\gtrsim$4 orders of magnitude in temporal frequency, sampling variations on time scales ranging from tens of minutes to over a year. In at least four cases, the PSD shows a "break," a significant departure from a power law, typically on time scales of order a few days. This is similar to the behavior of Galactic X-ray binaries (XRBs), lower mass compact systems with breaks on time scales of seconds. NGC 3783 shows tentative evidence for a doubly-broken power law, a feature that until now has only been seen in the (much better-defined) PSDs of low-state XRBs. It is also interesting that (when one previously-observed object is added to make a small sample of seven), an apparently significant correlation is seen between the break time scale $T$ and the putative black hole mass $M_{\rm BH}$, while none is seen between break time scale and luminosity. The data are consistent with the linear relation $ T = M_{\rm BH}/10^{6.5} \Msun$; extrapolation over 6--7 orders of magnitude is in reasonable agreement with XRBs. All of this strengthens the case for a physical similarity between Seyfert~1s and XRBs.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

X-ray Fluctuation Power Spectral Densities of Seyfert 1 Galaxies does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with X-ray Fluctuation Power Spectral Densities of Seyfert 1 Galaxies, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and X-ray Fluctuation Power Spectral Densities of Seyfert 1 Galaxies will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-562377

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.