DETECTION OF STRONG SHORT-TERM VARIABILITY IN NGC 6946 X-1

Using two archival XMM-Newton observations, we identify strong X-ray flux variations in NGC6946 X-1 indicating that it is the most variable ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) on mHz timescales known so far. The 1-10 keV light curve exhibits variability with a fractional rms amplitude of 60% integrated in the frequency range of 1-100 mHz. The power spectral density of the source shows a flat-topped spectrum that breaks at about 3mHz with possible quasi-periodic oscillations near 8.5 mHz. Black hole binaries usually produce strong fast variability in the hard or intermediate state. The energy spectrum of NGC 6946 X-1 is dominated by two components, a 0.18 keV thermal disk and a power law with a photon index of approximate to 2.2, which is consistent with the intermediate state. The characteristic timescales of the X-ray emission suggest that the ULX may contain a black hole with a mass on the order of 10(3) solar masses.