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Title:
The Typecasting of Active Galactic Nuclei: Mrk 590 no Longer Fits the Role
Authors:
Denney, K. D.; De Rosa, G.; Croxall, K.; Gupta, A.; Bentz, M. C.; Fausnaugh, M. M.; Grier, C. J.; Martini, P.; Mathur, S.; Peterson, B. M.; Pogge, R. W.; Shappee, B. J.
Affiliation:
AA(Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA ; NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow.; ), AB(Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA ; Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics, The Ohio State University, 191 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA), AC(Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA), AD(Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Department of Biological and Physical Sciences, Columbus State Community College, Columbus, OH 43215, USA 0000-0002-8675-8554), AE(Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA), AF(Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA), AG(Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA), AH(Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics, The Ohio State University, 191 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA), AI(Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics, The Ohio State University, 191 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA), AJ(Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics, The Ohio State University, 191 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA), AK(Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics, The Ohio State University, 191 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA), AL(Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA)
Publication:
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 796, Issue 2, article id. 134, 13 pp. (2014). (ApJ Homepage)
Publication Date:
12/2014
Origin:
IOP
Astronomy Keywords:
galaxies: active, galaxies: individual: Mrk 590, galaxies: nuclei, galaxies: Seyfert, quasars: emission lines
DOI:
10.1088/0004-637X/796/2/134
Bibliographic Code:
2014ApJ...796..134D

Abstract

We present multiwavelength observations that trace more than 40 yr in the life of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) in Mrk 590, traditionally known as a classic Seyfert 1 galaxy. From spectra recently obtained from Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra, and the Large Binocular Telescope, we find that the activity in the nucleus of Mrk 590 has diminished so significantly that the continuum luminosity is a factor of 100 lower than the peak luminosity probed by our long-baseline observations. Furthermore, the broad emission lines, once prominent in the UV/optical spectrum, have all but disappeared. Since AGN type is defined by the presence of broad emission lines in the optical spectrum, our observations demonstrate that Mrk 590 has now become a "changing-look" AGN. If classified by recent optical spectra, Mrk 590 would be a Seyfert ~1.9-2, where the only broad emission line still visible in the optical spectrum is a weak component of Halpha. As an additional consequence of this change, we have definitively detected UV narrow-line components in a Type 1 AGN, allowing an analysis of these emission-line components with high-resolution COS spectra. These observations challenge the historical paradigm that AGN type is only a consequence of the line-of-sight viewing angle toward the nucleus in the presence of a geometrically flattened, obscuring medium (i.e., the torus). Our data instead suggest that the current state of Mrk 590 is a consequence of the change in luminosity, which implies the black hole accretion rate has significantly decreased.
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