Driving extreme variability: The evolving corona and evidence for jet launching in Markarian 335

TL;DR

This study analyzes X-ray variability in the galaxy Markarian 335, revealing how the corona's size and shape change over time, including evidence for jet launching, which enhances understanding of AGN X-ray emission mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the dynamic evolution of the corona in Mrk 335, including evidence for jet-like structures and relativistic motion, based on multi-epoch X-ray observations.

Findings

Corona expands during high flux states to ~26rg

Corona contracts to ~5rg during low flux states

Evidence of jet-like collimation during flares

Abstract

Variations in the X-ray emission from the narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxy, Markarian 335 (Mrk 335), are studied on both long and short timescales through observations made between 2006 and 2013 with XMM-Newton, Suzaku and NuSTAR. Changes in the geometry and energetics of the corona that give rise to this variability are inferred through measurements of the relativistically blurred reflection seen from the accretion disc. On long timescales, we find that during the high flux epochs the corona has expanded, covering the inner regions of the accretion disc out to a radius of 26(-7,+10)rg. The corona contracts to within 12rg and 5rg in the intermediate and low flux epochs, respectively. While the earlier high flux observation made in 2006 is consistent with a corona extending over the inner part of the accretion disc, a later high flux observation that year revealed that the X-ray source had become collimated into a vertically-extended jet-like corona and suggested relativistic motion of material upward. On short timescales, we find that an X-ray flare during a low flux epoch in 2013 corresponded to a reconfiguration from a slightly extended corona to one much more compact, within just 2~3rg of the black hole. There is evidence that during the flare itself, the spectrum softened and the corona became collimated and slightly extended vertically as if a jet-launching event was aborted. Understanding the evolution of the X-ray emitting corona may reveal the underlying mechanism by which the luminous X-ray sources in AGN are powered.