Variability of the X-Ray-obscuring Wind in Mrk 335 with the XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer

Le résumé fourni par la source

Abstract Transient X-ray obscuration in Seyfert 1 galaxies likely arises from clumpy accretion-disk winds near the broad-line region (BLR), but the wind structure and short-timescale variability are difficult to measure because high-resolution spectra are often suppressed during deep low states. We analyse a coordinated XMM-Newton + NuSTAR campaign on Mrk 335 in 2021 June, with long-term Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory monitoring, capturing the source in an intermediate-flux state with strong Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) absorption features. We model the broadband spectral energy distribution to determine the ionizing continuum for self-consistent photoionization modelling of the RGS spectra. The stacked RGS spectrum requires three photoionized absorbers with log ξ ≃ 3.69 , 2.97, and 1.91, outflowing at ∣ v out ∣ ≃ 5800, 3200, and 2100 km s −1 , respectively. Their properties are consistent with the three-phase obscurer reported in 2009, indicating that a similar multiphase obscuring wind can persist over decade timescales. Using five consecutive RGS observations, we track the wind evolution on day timescales and find strong variability in column density and ionization in all phases, together with smaller but coherent velocity changes. During a flare, the low-ionization phase shows a significant drop in opacity, while in the subsequent epoch all phases show increased outflow velocities, suggesting a possible connection between continuum variability and changes in the line-of-sight absorber. The high-ionization phase responds most directly to changes in ionizing luminosity, while the lowest-ionization phase shows at most a delayed response. Order-of-magnitude constraints place the obscurer at BLR scales ∼ 10 3 –10 5 R g , with kinetic power potentially reaching the percent level of L bol for plausible assumptions on geometry and clumpiness.

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