X-Ray Properties of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies with Very Small Broad-Line Widths

TL;DR

This study examines the X-ray properties of very narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies, revealing weak Fe Kα lines, a consistent soft X-ray excess temperature, and rapid variability, suggesting small black hole masses and high accretion rates.

Contribution

It provides a homogeneous analysis of 13 VNLS1s, extending understanding of their X-ray features and their relation to black hole mass and accretion rate.

Findings

Weak Fe Kα emission lines in VNLS1s

Ubiquitous soft X-ray excess with 0.1-0.2 keV temperature

Rapid X-ray variability supporting small black hole masses

Abstract

Narrow-line Seyfert\,1 galaxies (NLS1s) with very small broad-line widths (say, FWHM(\hb) $\la $ 1200\,\kms) represent the extreme type of Seyfert\,1 galaxies that have small black hole masses (\mbh) and/or high Eddington ratios (\redd). Here we study the X-ray properties of a homogeneously and optically selected sample of 13 such objects, termed as very narrow line Seyfert\,1 galaxies (VNLS1s), using archival \xmm\ data. It is found that the Fe K$\alpha$ emission line is at most weak in these objects. A soft X-ray excess is ubiquitous, with the thermal temperatures falling within a strict range of 0.1--0.2\,keV. Our result highlights the puzzling independence of the thermal temperature by extending the relations to even smaller FWHM(\hb), i.e., smaller \mbh\ ($\sim 10^6$ \msun) and/or higher \redd. The excess emission can be modeled by a range of viable models, though the disk reflection and Comptonization models generally give somewhat better fits over the smeared absorption and the $p$-free models. At the Eddington ratios around unity and above, the X-ray spectral slopes in the 2--10\,keV band are systematically flatter than the Risaliti et al.'s predictions of the relationship with \redd\ suggested previously. Short timescale (1--2 hours) X-ray variability is common, which, together with the variability amplitude computed for some of the objects, are supportive of the scenario that NLS1s are indeed AGN with relatively small \mbh.