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Main Authors: Mitchell, J. A. J., Ward, M. J., Kynoch, D., Santisteban, J. V. Hernández, Horne, K., Pott, J. -U., Esser, J., Mercatoris, P., Packham, C., Ferland, G. J., Lawrence, A., Fischer, T., Barth, A. J., Villforth, C., Winkler, H.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.06930
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author Mitchell, J. A. J.
Ward, M. J.
Kynoch, D.
Santisteban, J. V. Hernández
Horne, K.
Pott, J. -U.
Esser, J.
Mercatoris, P.
Packham, C.
Ferland, G. J.
Lawrence, A.
Fischer, T.
Barth, A. J.
Villforth, C.
Winkler, H.
author_facet Mitchell, J. A. J.
Ward, M. J.
Kynoch, D.
Santisteban, J. V. Hernández
Horne, K.
Pott, J. -U.
Esser, J.
Mercatoris, P.
Packham, C.
Ferland, G. J.
Lawrence, A.
Fischer, T.
Barth, A. J.
Villforth, C.
Winkler, H.
contents Near IR spectroscopic reverberation of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) potentially allows the infrared (IR) broad line region (BLR) to be reverberated alongside the disc and dust continua, while the spectra can also reveal details of dust astro-chemistry. Here, we describe results of a short pilot study (17 near-IR spectra over a 183 d period) for Mrk 509. The spectra give a luminosity-weighted dust radius of $\langle R_{\mathrm{d,lum}} \rangle = 186 \pm 4$ light-days for blackbody (large grain dust), consistent with previous (photometric) reverberation campaigns, whereas carbon and silicate dust give much larger radii. We develop a method of calibrating spectral data in objects where the narrow lines are extended beyond the slit width. We demonstrate this by showing our resultant photometric band light curves are consistent with previous results, with a hot dust lag at >40 d in the K band, clearly different from the accretion disc response at <20 d in the z band. We place this limit of 40 d by demonstrating clearly that the modest variability that we do detect in the H and K band does not reverberate on time-scales of less than 40 d. We also extract the Pa$β$ line light curve, and find a lag which is consistent with the optical BLR H$β$ line of $\sim$70-90 d. This is important as direct imaging of the near-IR BLR is now possible in a few objects, so we need to understand its relation to the better studied optical BLR.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_06930
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The first spectroscopic IR reverberation programme on Mrk 509
Mitchell, J. A. J.
Ward, M. J.
Kynoch, D.
Santisteban, J. V. Hernández
Horne, K.
Pott, J. -U.
Esser, J.
Mercatoris, P.
Packham, C.
Ferland, G. J.
Lawrence, A.
Fischer, T.
Barth, A. J.
Villforth, C.
Winkler, H.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Near IR spectroscopic reverberation of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) potentially allows the infrared (IR) broad line region (BLR) to be reverberated alongside the disc and dust continua, while the spectra can also reveal details of dust astro-chemistry. Here, we describe results of a short pilot study (17 near-IR spectra over a 183 d period) for Mrk 509. The spectra give a luminosity-weighted dust radius of $\langle R_{\mathrm{d,lum}} \rangle = 186 \pm 4$ light-days for blackbody (large grain dust), consistent with previous (photometric) reverberation campaigns, whereas carbon and silicate dust give much larger radii. We develop a method of calibrating spectral data in objects where the narrow lines are extended beyond the slit width. We demonstrate this by showing our resultant photometric band light curves are consistent with previous results, with a hot dust lag at >40 d in the K band, clearly different from the accretion disc response at <20 d in the z band. We place this limit of 40 d by demonstrating clearly that the modest variability that we do detect in the H and K band does not reverberate on time-scales of less than 40 d. We also extract the Pa$β$ line light curve, and find a lag which is consistent with the optical BLR H$β$ line of $\sim$70-90 d. This is important as direct imaging of the near-IR BLR is now possible in a few objects, so we need to understand its relation to the better studied optical BLR.
title The first spectroscopic IR reverberation programme on Mrk 509
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.06930