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Evolution of a Relativistic Outflow and X-Ray Corona in the Extreme Changing-look AGN 1ES 1927+654

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Abstract

jats:titleAbstract</jats:title> jats:p1ES 1927+654 is a paradigm-defying active galactic nucleus (AGN) and one of the most peculiar X-ray nuclear transients. In early 2018, this well-known AGN underwent a changing-look event, in which broad optical emission lines appeared and the optical flux increased. Yet, by 2018 July, the X-ray flux had dropped by over two orders of magnitude, indicating a dramatic change in the inner accretion flow. With three years of observations with NICER, XMM-Newton, and NuSTAR, we present the X-ray evolution of 1ES 1927+654, which can be broken down into three phases: (1) an early super-Eddington phase with rapid variability in X-ray luminosity and spectral parameters, (2) a stable super-Eddington phase at the peak X-ray luminosity, and (3) a steady decline back to the pre-outburst luminosity and spectral parameters. For the first time, we witnessed the formation of the X-ray corona, as the X-ray spectrum transitioned from thermally dominated to primarily Comptonized. We also track the evolution of the prominent, broad 1 keV feature in the early X-ray spectra and show that this feature can be modeled with blueshifted reflection (jats:italicz</jats:italic> = −0.33) from a single-temperature blackbody irradiating spectrum using jats:monospacexillverTDE</jats:monospace>, a new flavor of the jats:monospacexillver</jats:monospace> models. Thus, we propose that the 1 keV feature could arise from reflected emission off the base of an optically thick outflow from a geometrically thick, super-Eddington inner accretion flow, connecting the inner accretion flow with outflows launched during extreme accretion events (e.g., tidal disruption events). Lastly, we compare 1ES 1927+654 to other nuclear transients and discuss applications of jats:monospacexillverTDE</jats:monospace> to super-Eddington accretors.</jats:p>

Description

Keywords

5101 Astronomical Sciences, 51 Physical Sciences

Journal Title

Astrophysical Journal

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0004-637X
1538-4357

Volume Title

Publisher

American Astronomical Society
Sponsorship
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (80NSSC21K0661)
ANID ∣ Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT) (11190831)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (80NSSC19K1287)
EC ∣ European Research Council (ERC) (852097)
Israel Science Foundation (ISF) (2752/19)