The 2MIG isolated AGNs. 3. Optical--IR variability and dust reverberation in the NLSy1 galaxies Mrk~42 and Mrk~493
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| Natura: | Preprint |
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2026
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| author | Izviekova, I. O. Vavilova, I. B. Kompaniiets, O. V. Zamora, O. Clavero, R. |
| author_facet | Izviekova, I. O. Vavilova, I. B. Kompaniiets, O. V. Zamora, O. Clavero, R. |
| contents | This work presents the first dedicated optical--mid-infrared time-domain variability and dust-reverberation analysis of the isolated NLSy1 galaxies Mrk 42 and Mrk 493. We combine ZTF optical light curves, WISE mid-infrared monitoring, archival Swift and SDSS data, and high-cadence IAC80 optical observations. Using colour--magnitude relations, flux--flux analysis, and interpolated cross-correlation functions, we trace variable optical continuum and delayed dust response. Both galaxies show positive optical--MIR lags consistent with dust reverberation. For Mrk 493, we measure an observed-frame g--W1 lag of $τ_{\rm obs}=79.4\pm2.2$ d, corresponding to $R_{\rm dust}(W1)\simeq0.0648$ pc. For Mrk 42, the corresponding lag is $τ_{\rm obs}=39.1\pm2.6$ d, giving $R_{\rm dust}(W1)\simeq0.0320$ pc. These lags provide optical--MIR dust-reverberation radii and BLR--dust scale comparisons for both objects; the resulting $R_{\rm dust}/R_{\rm BLR}$ ratios are $\simeq6.8$ for Mrk 493 and $\sim6$--7 for Mrk 42. For Mrk 42, we derive the first host-subtracted AGN continuum luminosity at 5100 Å from SDSS spectral decomposition, giving a self-consistent BLR--dust comparison on an AGN-only luminosity basis. Both galaxies have similar radial hierarchies but different colour behaviour: Mrk 493 shows significant optical and MIR bluer-when-brighter trends, whereas Mrk 42 shows strong optical but weak MIR colour variability. We also identify and analyse a major optical flare in Mrk 42 with four internal maxima spaced by 45--47 d. We interpret this signal as quasi-periodic substructure within a broader accretion-driven flare, rather than as a strictly coherent periodic process. These results indicate that, even in dynamically isolated environments, the variability of low-mass, high-accretion-rate AGNs is governed mainly by the intrinsic state of the accretion flow and its coupling to circumnuclear dust. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_06517 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | The 2MIG isolated AGNs. 3. Optical--IR variability and dust reverberation in the NLSy1 galaxies Mrk~42 and Mrk~493 Izviekova, I. O. Vavilova, I. B. Kompaniiets, O. V. Zamora, O. Clavero, R. Astrophysics of Galaxies Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics This work presents the first dedicated optical--mid-infrared time-domain variability and dust-reverberation analysis of the isolated NLSy1 galaxies Mrk 42 and Mrk 493. We combine ZTF optical light curves, WISE mid-infrared monitoring, archival Swift and SDSS data, and high-cadence IAC80 optical observations. Using colour--magnitude relations, flux--flux analysis, and interpolated cross-correlation functions, we trace variable optical continuum and delayed dust response. Both galaxies show positive optical--MIR lags consistent with dust reverberation. For Mrk 493, we measure an observed-frame g--W1 lag of $τ_{\rm obs}=79.4\pm2.2$ d, corresponding to $R_{\rm dust}(W1)\simeq0.0648$ pc. For Mrk 42, the corresponding lag is $τ_{\rm obs}=39.1\pm2.6$ d, giving $R_{\rm dust}(W1)\simeq0.0320$ pc. These lags provide optical--MIR dust-reverberation radii and BLR--dust scale comparisons for both objects; the resulting $R_{\rm dust}/R_{\rm BLR}$ ratios are $\simeq6.8$ for Mrk 493 and $\sim6$--7 for Mrk 42. For Mrk 42, we derive the first host-subtracted AGN continuum luminosity at 5100 Å from SDSS spectral decomposition, giving a self-consistent BLR--dust comparison on an AGN-only luminosity basis. Both galaxies have similar radial hierarchies but different colour behaviour: Mrk 493 shows significant optical and MIR bluer-when-brighter trends, whereas Mrk 42 shows strong optical but weak MIR colour variability. We also identify and analyse a major optical flare in Mrk 42 with four internal maxima spaced by 45--47 d. We interpret this signal as quasi-periodic substructure within a broader accretion-driven flare, rather than as a strictly coherent periodic process. These results indicate that, even in dynamically isolated environments, the variability of low-mass, high-accretion-rate AGNs is governed mainly by the intrinsic state of the accretion flow and its coupling to circumnuclear dust. |
| title | The 2MIG isolated AGNs. 3. Optical--IR variability and dust reverberation in the NLSy1 galaxies Mrk~42 and Mrk~493 |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.06517 |