Changing Look AGN: An X-ray Look

TL;DR

This study analyzes the X-ray spectral evolution of the changing-look AGN NGC1566 during outbursts, revealing transitions between Seyfert types, spectral index saturation, and accretion regime changes, enhancing understanding of the physical processes behind CL phenomena.

Contribution

It provides detailed spectral analysis of NGC1566 during CL events, compares its behavior with other AGNs, and estimates black hole masses using a scaling method, offering new insights into CL physics.

Findings

NGC1566 transitions from Sy1.2 to Sy1.9 in 2019.

Spectral indices saturate during outbursts (~1.1 for NGC1566).

Black hole mass estimated at ~2x10^5 solar masses.

Abstract

To date, a number of changing-look (CL) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are known. We studied, in detail what happens to the X-ray spectrum during the CL events using the example of the nearby CL Seyfert NGC1566, which was observed by Swift, NuSTAR, XMM-Newton, and Suzaku. We applied the Comptonization model to describe an evolution of NGC~1566 X-ray spectra during outbursts and compared these results with a typical behavior for other AGNs to identify some differences and common properties that can ultimately help us to better understand the physics of the CL phenomenon. We found that changes in the X-ray properties of NGC1566 are characterized by a different combination of Sy1 (using 1H0707-495 as a representative) and Sy2 properties (using NGC7679 and Mrk3 as their representatives). At high X-ray luminosities NGC1566 exhibits the behavior typical for Sy1, and at low luminosities we see a transition of NGC1566 from the Sy1 behavior to the Sy2 pattern. We revealed the saturation of the spectral indices, \=a for these four AGNs during outbursts (\=a_1566~1.1, \=a _0707~2, \=a _7679~0.9 and \=a_mrk3~0.9) and determined the masses of the black holes (BHs) in the centers of these AGNs namely, M_0707~6.8x10^7 M_sol, M_7679~8.4x10^6 M_sol, M_mrk3~2.2x10^8 M_sol and M_1566~2x10^5 M_sol, applying the scaling method. Our spectral analysis shows that the changing-look of NGC1566 from Sy1.2 to Sy1.9 in 2019 was accompanied by the transition of NGC1566 to an accretion regime which is typical for the intermediate and highly soft spectral states of other BHs. We also find that when going from Sy2 to Sy1, the spectrum of NGC1566 shows an increase in the soft excess accompanied by a decrease in the Comptonized fraction (0.1<f<0.5), which is consistent with the typical behavior of BH sources during X-ray outburst decay.