SDSS J211852.96-073227.5: a new {\gamma}-ray flaring narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a new gamma-ray flaring narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy, J2118-0732, with multiwavelength observations revealing jet activity and variability, offering insights into jet formation in low-mass black hole systems.

Contribution

The study identifies and characterizes a new gamma-ray emitting NLS1 galaxy with multiwavelength variability, expanding understanding of jet phenomena in such sources.

Findings

Detection of gamma-ray flares during 2009-2013

X-ray flux varied by a factor of ~2.5 in five months

Broadband SED consistent with a one-zone leptonic jet model

Abstract

We report on the identification of a new {\gamma}-ray-emitting narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxy, SDSS J211852.96-073227.5 (hereinafter J2118-0732). The galaxy, at a redshift of 0.26, is associated with a radio source of flat/inverted spectrum at high radio frequencies. The analysis of its optical spectrum obtained in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) revealed a small linewidth of the broad component of the H{\beta} line (full width at half-maximum = 1585 km s^{-1}), making it a radio-loud NLS1 galaxy -- an intriguing class of active galactic nuclei with exceptional multiwavelength properties. A new {\gamma}-ray source centred at J2118-0732 was sporadically detected during 2009--2013 in form of flares by the Fermi-LAT. Our XMM-Newton observations revealed a flat X-ray spectrum described by a simple power law, and a flux variation by a factor of ~2.5 in five months. The source also shows intraday variability in the infrared band. Its broad-band spectral energy distribution can be modelled by emission from a simple one-zone leptonic jet model, and the flux drop from infrared to X-rays in five months can be explained by changes of the jet parameters, though the exact values may be subject to relatively large uncertainties. With the NLS1-blazar composite nucleus, the clear detection of the host galaxy, and the synchronous variations in the multiwavelength fluxes, J2118-0732 provides a new perspective on the formation and evolution of relativistic jets under the regime of relatively small black hole masses and high accretion rates.