The variability and soft X-ray excess properties of narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies: The Swift view

N. Ding, Q. S. Gu, Y. Y. Tang, D. R. Xiong, X. T. Guo, X. P. Xu, X. F. Geng, X. Ge, Y. Y. Chen
2022 Astronomy and Astrophysics  
We present here a systematic study on the mechanism of the long/short timescale variability and the origin of soft X-ray excess for narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLSy1s) based on the multi-epoch multi-band observations of the Swift telescope. The main results are as follows: (1) The ensemble structure functions of radio-quiet NLSy1s in the optical, ultraviolet, and X-ray bands all show a unique double 'S' structure. The structural feature reveals that the long and short timescale variability
more » ... f radio-quiet NLSy1s could be generated by the accretion fluctuation propagation mechanism and the X-ray reprocessing mechanism, respectively, which together cause the complex random light variability. (2) Radio-quiet NLSy1s exhibit significant soft X-ray excess features in their X-ray spectra, but the relative strength of the soft X-ray excess (R) and the power-law spectral index (Γ) do not show a significant positive correlation, unlike what is seen in broad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (BLSy1s), suggesting that NLSy1s and BLSy1 have different soft X-ray excess mechanisms. After combining the correlation analysis results of model parameters for individual sources at different flux states with the findings in previous work based on XMM-Newton and Suzaku data, we propose that the origin of the soft X-ray excess of NLSy1s prefers the relativistically smeared reflection scenario.
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202142650 fatcat:2qfw6bj5s5ff7auj6acgrpgrta