Narrow Fe-Kα Reverberation Mapping Unveils the Deactivated Broad-line Region in a Changing-look Active Galactic Nucleus

Changing-look active galactic nuclei (CLAGNs) are known to change their apparent types between types 1 and 2, usually accompanied by a drastic change in their luminosity on timescales of years. However, it is still unclear whether materials in broad-line regions (BLRs) in CLAGNs appear and disappear during the type-transition or remain at the same location while the line production is simply activated or deactivated. Here we present our X-ray-optical monitoring results of a CLAGN, NGC 3516, by Suzaku, Swift, and ground telescopes, with our primary focus on the narrow Fe-K alpha emission line, which is an effective probe of the BLR materials. We detected significant variations of the narrow Fe-K alpha line on a timescale of tens of days during the type-2 (faint) phase in 2013-2014, and conducted narrow Fe-K alpha reverberation mapping, comparing its flux variation with those of the X-ray continuum from a corona and B-band continuum from an accretion disk. We derived, as a result, a time lag of 10.1-5.6+5.8

Automated summary

It is still unclear whether materials in broad-line regions (BLRs) in changing-look active galactic nuclei (CLAGNs) appear and disappear during the type-transition or remain at the same location while the line production is simply activated or deactivated. In this study, X-ray-optical monitoring of a CLAGN, NGC 3516, revealed significant variations of the narrow Fe-K alpha emission line on a timescale of tens of days during the type-2 phase. A time lag of 10.1-5.6+5.8 was derived through narrow Fe-K alpha reverberation mapping, comparing its flux variation with those of the X-ray continuum and B-band continuum.