FRAMEx. II. Simultaneous X-Ray and Radio Variability in Active Galactic Nucleiâ€"The Case of NGC 2992.

Autor: Fernandez, Luis C., Secrest, Nathan J., Johnson, Megan C., Schmitt, Henrique R., Fischer, Travis C., Cigan, Phillip J., Dorland, Bryan N.
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Zdroj: Astrophysical Journal; 3/1/2022, Vol. 927 Issue 1, p1-13, 13p
Abstrakt: Using simultaneous Very Long Baseline Array and Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory X-ray Telescope observations of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) in NGC 2992 over a six-month observing campaign, we observed a large drop in core 5 cm radio luminosity, by a factor of >3, in tandem with a factor of >5 increase in 2â€"10 keV X-ray luminosity. While NGC 2992 has long been an important object for studies of X-ray variability, our study is the first simultaneous X-ray and radio variability campaign for this object. We observe that the X-ray spectral index does not change over the course of the flare, consistent with a change in the bulk amount of Comptonizing plasma, potentially due to a magnetic reconnection event in the accretion disk. The drop in apparent radio luminosity can be explained by a change in freeâ€"free absorption, which we calculate to correspond to an ionized region with a physical extent and electron density consistent with the broad-line region (BLR). Our results are consistent with magnetic reconnection events in the dynamic accretion disk creating outbursts of ionizing material, increasing Compton up-scattering of UV accretion disk photons and feeding material into the BLR. These findings present an important physical picture for the dynamical relationship between X-ray and radio emission in AGNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index