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Abstract We describe photometric monitoring of the Seyfert 1 galaxy MCG–06-30-15 with the Las Cumbres Observatory network. Using theVfilter, 496 images were collected between 2023 December and 2024 June from observatories in Chile, South Africa, and Australia. We created light curves of the active galactic nucleus continuum emission using aperture photometry and image subtraction methods. We find that the typical magnitude difference between the two light curves is ΔV ≈ 1.9 mag, indicating that the host galaxy contributes approximately 85% of the total flux through the photometric aperture. The amplitude of variation is significantly enhanced when the host galaxy is removed: ΔV = 0.1 mag from aperture photometry compared to ΔV = 0.5 mag with image subtraction. Future work will compare the continuum light curve with the broad emission-line flux variations to provide insight into the physical parameters of the broad-line region in MCG–06-30-15 and the mass of the central supermassive black hole.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available April 16, 2026
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Abstract We presentV-band continuum light curves of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) in NGC 4151 created from a new photometric monitoring campaign with the Las Cumbres Observatory network. A total of 336 images were collected from 2023 December to 2024 June, with an average cadence of ∼2 images per day. Using aperture photometry and image subtraction, we constructed continuum light curves. Though both techniques generated similar light curves and demonstrated AGN variability on the scale of ΔV ≈ 0.4 mag, the galactic starlight contribution to the aperture photometry light curve produced a flux offset of ∼19% within a circular aperture of radius 31. The final light curves from this work will be compared against the variability of the broad emission lines to constrain the mass of the supermassive black hole and to model the broad-line region kinematics and geometry in NGC 4151.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available March 5, 2026
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Abstract We observed the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 817 during an intensive multiwavelength reverberation mapping campaign for 16 months. Here, we examine the behavior of narrow UV absorption lines seen in the Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph spectra, both during the campaign and in other epochs extending over 14 yr. We conclude that, while the narrow absorption outflow system (at −3750 km s−1with FWHM = 177 km s−1) responds to the variations of the UV continuum as modified by the X-ray obscurer, its total column density (logNH= 19.5 cm−2) did not change across all epochs. The adjusted ionization parameter (scaled with respect to the variations in the hydrogen-ionizing continuum flux) is logUH= −1.0 . The outflow is located at a distance smaller than 38 pc from the central source, which implies a hydrogen density ofnH> 3000 cm−3. The absorption outflow system only covers the continuum emission source and not the broad emission line region, which suggests that its transverse size is small (< 1016cm), with potential cloud geometries ranging from spherical to elongated along the line of sight.more » « less
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Abstract X-ray reverberation mapping is a powerful technique for probing the innermost accretion disk, whereas continuum reverberation mapping in the UV, optical, and infrared (UVOIR) reveals reprocessing by the rest of the accretion disk and broad-line region (BLR). We present the time lags of Mrk 817 as a function of temporal frequency measured from 14 months of high-cadence monitoring from Swift and ground-based telescopes, in addition to an XMM-Newton observation, as part of the AGN STORM 2 campaign. The XMM-Newton lags reveal the first detection of a soft lag in this source, consistent with reverberation from the innermost accretion flow. These results mark the first simultaneous measurement of X-ray reverberation and UVOIR disk reprocessing lags—effectively allowing us to map the entire accretion disk surrounding the black hole. Similar to previous continuum reverberation mapping campaigns, the UVOIR time lags arising at low temporal frequencies are longer than those expected from standard disk reprocessing by a factor of 2–3. The lags agree with the anticipated disk reverberation lags when isolating short-timescale variability, namely timescales shorter than the Hβlag. Modeling the lags requires additional reprocessing constrained at a radius consistent with the BLR size scale inferred from contemporaneous Hβ-lag measurements. When we divide the campaign light curves, the UVOIR lags show substantial variations, with longer lags measured when obscuration from an ionized outflow is greatest. We suggest that, when the obscurer is strongest, reprocessing by the BLR elongates the lags most significantly. As the wind weakens, the lags are dominated by shorter accretion disk lags.more » « less
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We present the results of the XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations taken as part of the ongoing, intensive multiwavelength monitoring program of the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 817 by the AGN Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping 2 (AGN STORM 2) Project. The campaign revealed an unexpected and transient obscuring outflow, never before seen in this source. Of our four XMM-Newton/NuSTAR epochs, one fortuitously taken during a bright X-ray state has strong narrow absorption lines in the high-resolution grating spectra. From these absorption features, we determine that the obscurer is in fact a multiphase ionized wind with an outflow velocity of ∼5200 km s−1, and for the first time find evidence for a lower ionization component with the same velocity observed in absorption features in the contemporaneous Hubble Space Telescope spectra. This indicates that the UV absorption troughs may be due to dense clumps embedded in diffuse, higher ionization gas responsible for the X-ray absorption lines of the same velocity. We observe variability in the shape of the absorption lines on timescales of hours, placing the variable component at roughly 1000R_g if attributed to transverse motion along the line of sight. This estimate aligns with independent UV measurements of the distance to the obscurer suggesting an accretion disk wind at the inner broad line region. We estimate that it takes roughly 200 days for the outflow to travel from the disk to our line of sight, consistent with the timescale of the outflow's column density variations throughout the campaign.more » « less
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